Trucker with degree ? Anyone

I had to re-read your closing statement to determine whether you were apologizing for being French-Canadian or for any grammar mishaps.

Anyway, nothing wrong with finishing what you started... including getting your degree. I'm actually a CPA (car parking attendant jokes aside), which requires a business degree in accounting, among other things like the occasional suit... and tie, blah, blah, blah. It afforded me and my family many so-called nicities and a way of life that's tough for some to give up. I'll take fresh air and some manual labor over shuffling stuff back and forth any day.

There's also nothing wrong with getting out and getting to work - it's good for what ails you. Work, any work, is better than the alternative. Including trucking. Keep in mind, you need to prepare for how you will deal with loneliness, if you're susceptible to such a thing, and most of us are at some point. Home is really comfortable for a reason and you're going to miss it and all of your friends and family once in awhile, especially the first 7 years. You'll learn to cherish home like never before, but home won't pay the rent.

The other thing you'll need to prepare for is how you'll budget your finances. Plan to be more frugal than you've ever had to be. Learn to be grateful for George Washington Carver, Smucker's and the most wholesome loaf of wheat bread you can afford. It's simply a matter of self-discipline.

Most important of all you'll need to prepare your mind and heart for how will drive. Defensive driving is one thing - protective driving is quite another. Will you be prepared to be patient enough to shut down and rest BEFORE you're eyelids get heavy, even if it means delivering a load late or missing the potential next load and getting hung out to dry over labor day weekend? Will you be patient enough to allow car after car after car to come into your safety zone of space between you and the next vehicle in front of you, thus forcing you to drive even slower? Will you be willing to take the ditch to save a life when you know there's no way you can stop your truck in time?

It's not for everyone, trucking. In fact, it's not for most of the "truckers" out here today - wait until you hear them on the CB. It's their highway, don't ya know?

Best of luck to you in deciding. And if you decide to be a driver, do yourself and the rest of the world a favor and research/select the school that will teach you how to be the safest driver. I'm hoping I'm not the only one on this blog who sees a hazmat-shaped red placard on the $200 training course. No, you don't have to spend $10,000 but I would no sooner trust the $200 blue-light special than I would trust a politician.

Ping me if you have more questions or thoughts and I'll be glad to give you my 2 cents worth of wisdom (ha) and more even if I have to copy/paste the answer from Plato's "Theaetetus".

Whatever you do, enjoy it!

 

I have an Associate's degree in Industrial Maintenance.

Sent from waterproof phone using Tapatalk 2 Blue

 

Ah, no I understand. Sounds like a good plan then.

Keep us posted on your journey. Sounds like you're going to have a story to tell as well!

Tire side down, dip stick up and your good to go.

 

please note: in order to be a good trucker you must also learn the grammar. "your", as in "you're good to go" is totally appropriate in truckertalk.

 

Associates in History and Bacchelors in Gov. and Politics....Just curious why you would work toward a degree you don't seem all that interested in having?

 

sure, give it a go, just know that as far as trucking goes,

doesn't take much for it to be all over, at any time

particularly for rookies

 

There's plenty of refugees from the technical sector in trucking. I have a BSEE, and a 20-year career in engineering. Then came recessions, downsizing, offshoring - oh, and we can hire multiple kiddies right out of college for your salary. Oh, and by the way, chuck the kiddies overboard - lets go with 20 underpaid foreign workers...

The education certainly doesn't hurt. Trucking may be classified as unskilled labor, but it's anything but that. Get your degree, then your CDL and drive. All of the management positions at my carrier require a degree and driving/transportation experience.

 

Does a black belt in B.S. count?

 

exactly...