The Industry still needs new drivers....but beware

Trucking is stupid. There's no point in anyone with any brains doing it. There isn't now, and there never will be any money in it. You can't get a good job. All companies suck. Trucking schools don't teach ANYTHING but getting your CDL, so you'll fail on the road test at the training company anyway, and get sent home on a BUS and still owe them the student loan. Training companies will only take your money and let you sit without a truck, and if you get a truck, there isn't any work. No one is making any miles. There's no freight.
If you DO manage to get through training and solo driving, you're gonna sign a stupid company provided lease, and soon wish you hadn't, when you realize that all the people who loved you so much when you signed the lease don't remember you, or your shiny new leased truck. You don't get paid fairly for your time and you never see your family. You're gonna stay dirty all the time, never shower, your teeth will fall out, you'll get fat and get diabetes and heart disease cause you'll never quit smoking.

When you DO go home, your wife won't be able to get you up off the couch, and will have a new boyfriend who DOESN'T have hemorrhoids by the time you get back from this next trip. When you DO get on the road, you'll have to sleep in a truck with no heat or air conditioning. You have to be nice to people who hate you, like your wife. You have to absolutely LIVE on the road if you want to make enough money to keep from having your car repossessed and your mortgage foreclosed. If you're still hanging in there, and once your wife is gone with the cars and the house, you can probably still get a loan for your own rig, then you can run 150 miles a day, and then go sit at the truck stop with all your earthly possessions in it, and talk to the other old hands about the good old days.

Give up. If you really want to be a trucker, just pull over and quit breathing, you've already started wasting your life, just get it over with.

See you on the road!!

 

Gee, you make me wanna go reapply again! But I found out I can sit at the computer and talk about the good ol' days and not miss my wife or my life!
It sure ain't what it used to be: and we thought we had it bad back THEN!

 

I know, huh? It's like a challenge or something... lol

 

she found your credit card again did she?

 

I don't recommend that anyone pay for truck school unless you KNOW that's what you always wanted to do, not because you just got laid off from some other kind of work. The hours are long and the traffic isn't getting any easier. If Yellow Roadway Freight, one of the nations largest LTL carrier goes belly up, there will be 40,000 eperienced drivers looking for driving jobs. So its your folks choice to take a chance on $4000 to $6000 dollars for truck school, make #### sure that you know that going into this business in an economic meltdown won't be a cakewalk.

 

I am not about to read all these other posts what I can tell anyone thing of getting into this industry that I HAVE BEEN IN FOR 24YRS and am a complete owner op (authority and the whole 9 yards) for over 5yrs...I love my job...But I did'nt start out with my own authority...#1. This industry does not fall under the 1938 fair labor standards act...#2. If being away from home is a problem ? Don't get into this job.#3.If you don't mind dealing with people of all education levels, ethical and ethnic backgrounds you will do fine...The other thing is no matter what you haul tank,reefer,dry van,moving van,flat bed...It is all relivent another words if you haul a tank, insurance is higher the tank and pump are more expensive so your going to get a higher rate than a dry van...Same holds true with all the other divisions in this industry... Don't be fooled by fools...

 

And if you're sensitive to how people view you, don't drive. I've had to defend drivers at times on our construction jobs who were delivering dumpster boxes, materials, paint etc.
The owners or GC's treat me (field supervisor) like an underling at times, and drivers like some sort of intruder.
One left his car in the way of a truck delivery because he thought he was so important the driver should wait. I told him "You need to move your car so I can get my delivery" and you'd have thought I'd slapped his face.
Good thing is that I have my say because without me, there IS no job. But expect to be treated like dog poo at times.