Thinking Out loud

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by ChicagoGal, Jan 19, 2011.

  1. PurpleKW

    PurpleKW Medium Load Member

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    I'm going with Da Bears... even though Aaron Rodgers and The Pack have been playing pretty well lately. A Bears-Steelers Super Bowl would be great... but then again, so would a Packers-Steelers Super Bowl!!! I can tell ya this: this upcoming Bears-Packers game is gonna be good!!! WAHOO!!!!!! Can't wait for kickoff... :biggrin_25514:
     
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  3. Zuma

    Zuma Light Load Member

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    I'm a student...as noted on my status.

    So what are you getting at? There's endless whining about the OTR gig here, right?. And there are other trucking jobs other than OTR, right?

    But time and again, I see all kinds of warnings about how people should stay away from trucking because OTR is a miserable job, as if that's the only job out there.

    So that's what I'm getting at.

    Or maybe rename the site "Over The Road Truckers Forum" and restrict the discussion to that.
     
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  4. Zuma

    Zuma Light Load Member

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    Well I won't be going OTR, so you won't hear the whining from me. But I'm sure there'll be no shortage of it in spite of that.
     
  5. Rerun8963

    Rerun8963 Road Train Member

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    oh, you'll be a trucker that whines, even as a local....you ain't spared the whiners curse....your time is coming.....yep, your time is coming....
     
  6. PurpleKW

    PurpleKW Medium Load Member

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    I'm guessing that there are more whiners per capita in OTR than there are in local positions... :biggrin_25523: Reminds me of that old joke:

    Q. How many truck drivers does it take to change a light bulb?

    A. None... they'd all rather sit in the dark and ##### about it!!!

    BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!! "BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!!" :biggrin_25523::biggrin_2556::biggrin_25521:
     
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  7. Bumpy

    Bumpy Road Train Member

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    Ah,so basically you are a "armchair trucker",kinda like a "armchair quarterback" or better still,not unlike a know it all teen-ager,who knows everything about the world at large...and yet,at the end of the day,(today being thursday) you know absolutely nothing..,about trucking,and probably much,much more.(less) :biggrin_2559: about anything,everything?:biggrin_2556:
     
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  8. PurpleKW

    PurpleKW Medium Load Member

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    Kinda harsh on the hand, yeah? I'm still going with Da Bears, even if ya curse me roundly... :biggrin_25523: It's okay, I get cursed all the time... and WOMEN??? They laugh at me all the time... usually at the size of my... um... WALLET!!! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
     
    ChicagoGal Thanks this.
  9. FoodStamp

    FoodStamp Bobtail Member

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    ChicagoGal, if you have a job that you enjoy and pays well THEN KEEP! About 90% of people in this country hates their job or it doesn't pay well enough. Everyone always thinks the grass is greener on the other side but it reall isn't.

    Trucking is a LIFESTYLE not just a job (well atleast OTR is and as a newbie you will have to put in your time before you can get a local gig). Think about being away from your family and friends for 2 or 3 weeks at a time.

    As for the winters being tough just save up in the summer when the money is is rolling in. Do you think you are going to start in the trucking career at top rate or on the bottom? How much do you really expect to take home every week during your first 6-12 months? What kind of benifits?

    My brother and I both got into trucking and didn't last long at all. Now my brother has to pay back $5,000 to his trucking school who rushed in through the school and half trained him.

    As for Greyhound the starting pay is pretty much the same you are making now but maybe even less. As another poster has stated you will be on the extraboard, on call (not 24/7) and hours arent promised.

    Since you have your CDL try applying for a trash company. Republic Services, Veolia, Waste Management. They pay well and you'll be home everynight.

    As for the guys talking about busses flying down the highway have you ever been to New York? They have Chinatown busses driven by illegals who speak no English what-so-ever who fly down the turnpikes at 85+ mph. I never see them pulled over and yes, they stay in the left lane even when the signs says No Trucks or Busses! WTF
     
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  10. Zuma

    Zuma Light Load Member

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    Postings here are a good example of the "winner vs. loser" mentality of trucking.

    Losers have things happen to them, and then sit around whining to their counterparts about what a rotten industry it is, how much better things were back in the "old days", and what they'd do if things were different (if pigs had wings they could fly). They also continue doing what they've been doing, and complain about their circumstances, rather than doing anything different.

    Winners recognize how things are and what they have to do to take advantage of the situation. They set objectives, work toward them, make adjustments as necessary, and persist. They seek out other winners to find out how to succeed.

    I'm a winner.

    Objective #1 - obtain my learners permit, including airbrakes, combinations, tankers, doubles/triples, hazmat, first time up, no retest. Done.

    Objective #2 - obtain my CDL license. Coming up, no sweat. This won't be the first time I've driven a heavy truck, and I have a really good instructor who'll make sure I learn what I need to.

    Objective #3 - obtain a good local job that works for me. I'm already working on it, even though I won't get my license for a few months. How? I'm out talking with local truckers and companies that hire them, instead of sending out applications over the Internet and hanging around on forums whining about how there are no opportunities.

    So you keep preaching your gospel about how rotten the industry is, and how the "powers that be" are conspiring to keep you down. And you keep on telling everyone how it is with your lives; the way you do it is the only way it can be done and there's no sense thinking about the possibility that there may be more than one way to skin this trucking cat. And guess what...it isn't a "lifestyle", it's a job. And that's why so many of you are unhappy; you confuse the two.

    I'll keep checking in with my success stories.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 21, 2011
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  11. Zuma

    Zuma Light Load Member

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    I guess an apology is in order. I used a term that is considered to be an insult. So, I'll accept my status as a "reader" or "armchair trucker" or "textbook trucker", and bow to those who know all there is to know. :biggrin_25514:

    One thing I've learned at this point in life is that if an "Internet persona" with many postings to their credit makes a claim, it must be so.
     
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