The Calling

Wow - thanks for all the input! I feel like a 4-wheeler stuck on the side of the road of life who then finds a line of truckers willing to pull over and lend a hand - or at least give some advice.

One thing that's impressed me since researching this is the great diversity of perspectives and experiences in trucking. Some love it and find it to be the ideal job and a romantic lifestyle. Others make it sound like a prison and a meat grinder. I appreciate hearing all perspectives though, which is helpful when considering any possible career choice.

Good luck PattyJ in finding something else. I would trade places with you if I could - at least for a while. You made me think of some youtube videos called "tired of trucking" - I genuinely felt sorry for the guy who made those. Other youtube trucking videos however make me feel envious. Again, different perspectives, different experiences.

Good luck 33RHUNT3R. Sounds like you have a great plan there. Chinatown I survive on the income you mentioned currently but with NO benefits or retirement plan. In this case trucking might be a financial improvement, if I could get up to that level at least, and I realize it would take some time and hard work. I also fear the possibility of working like crazy for a couple of years in trucking to get up to that level but then developing a sudden new health issue at age 50 and being forced out by DOT.

77smartin I live in New Mexico. Puppage I'm glad to hear of someone else who feels this way. If I had a lot of money maybe I would happier buying an RV and finding a way to take off 6 weeks a year to travel and pretending to be a trucker. One thing that strikes me that might be quite frustrating as a trucker is that I like to roam around different towns I visit and explore - even simple and mundane things. But due to driving time restrictions and schedules and such, it looks like you're often chained to a truckstop, often just outside of town or in an industrial part of town, and you can't really go anywhere. And even I can figure out that that all truck stops look alike after a while.

Thanks to ChefBrianN and gpsman and everyone else as well for your thoughts - this is indeed probably a midlife thing, born of the mix of boredome, restlessness, and stress that makes up my current life. On the other hand, there are some deeper issues in my career and life that trouble me, things I cannot discuss here, and sometimes I think I may end up being in genuine need of a new career. Either way, while I'm at my desk I usually have a trucker's webcam on so I can follow him on the highway on his daily journeys. I find it soothing and I often wish I were in his place.

Ultimately, I think my family situation will probably keep me from ever actually going forward with this career change, at least for now. I would be leaving quite a burden on my wife to finish raising two teenagers. However, regardless of what I do, thanks to the things I've learned recently in my research, I have developed a profound new respect for truck drivers. Thanks to all of you for the work you do. Any of you drivers out there come through Albuquerque and find yourself chained to a truckstop, if the timing permits, I would be glad to bring you a box of donuts for breakfast or even take you to dinner some place and say thank you in person.