Your thoughts.

I lost my wife, my home, and a bunch of other goodies due to this economy, Im still in the throes of filing for bankruptcy and cleaning all that stuff up... That was before I came into this industry..... And now Im here and Im broker and more broke than I was before, this industry will turn around and there is still good places to be with out here if you know the right people and have the right experience... I don't yet, but I hold out hope that when it turns around I will have just enough of whats required to move up and out and move on and along with the industry

 

You wont get a better answer than that from anybody...its tough for new drivers, not only because of the economy but because when they get started they quickly find that truck driving is not what they thought it would be and they quit before they get to the good stuff.

Experience is everything when you're looking for a good truck driving job.

ETA: I know it says I'm a wannabe up there too...but I've been doing this for a few years and I'm still here...and I still love it. If its what you really wanna do then go for it, but don't let it beat you within the first 6 months as so many do. It gradually gets easier and better after that and if you make it to 3 years with one company and a clean MVR...you can have pretty much ANY job you want.

 

Here is something my trainer told me back in 06 when I started driving.."If your only here for the money, tell me now. Please don't waste my time or yours, as you will not make it in this industry".

 

Hey...I just noticed you're in Paragould...I delivered a load of steel there this morning.

 

PM sent...I don't know why, but I'm leery of posting about the company's customers, just don't seem like a good idea for some reason.

 

There are many right reasons to begin driving, I'd have to agree that money is not one of them. Look at where you start. 90% of us do not have access to a truck, or a "Sweet Uncle Louie" to teach us how to drive one, so we have to pick a school, either a company, or a private school. When you go private, I've found $3K to be a steal these days, when you go company, look out...skys the limit, but I have heard of starter companys charging upwards of $8K, and it's not comming out of the goodness of their hearts, it's comming out of your wallet. You'll have to want this to make it work for you, or all you'll become is really broke chasing a pipe dream in the shape of a buck. My meager landscape material (straw and sod) hauling adventures haven't even paid for training, let alone fees for the tests and exams. It's a go broke quick adventure trying to get signed even, and that's before the real adventure begins! A great part of it needs to be in your blood, and constantly on your mind. You're embarking on a lifestyle. A passage, and mission that you don't have the privilage of failing at. I'm driving because it's all I've ever wanted to do, from the crib to the sandbox, and on from there. When I got old enough to talk, we talked about trucks, driving and trucking work. Fitting dinner conversation was following distances, how wonderful the smith system was (we had it commited to memory at 5 y/o) and union business. It's as unavoidable as growing up between a ranger camp and an army college and trying not to join the military...good luck chuck. Like I say, the reasons for this business have to be there, there are plent of wrong reasons to join trucking too... you have to be the best judge of your soul's commitment. The industry is definately in a rut as you mention, but I can't go back and begin 7 years ago, wish as I might I could, I have to make it in THIS economy, go for bust...which I very well may. Best of luck to all of us trying to climb those first rungs these days, those rungs look to me more like a overhanging clif that we have to claw up, with no picks...and no ropes!

 

Trucking is the first to fall in a poor economy we haul what people use everyday...It is also he first to come back...The GDP which is used to gage our nations economy fell to 1% in the 2nd quater which means we are starting the road back...We will never see what we saw in the late 80's early 90's... Nor will we see the huge monopolies we saw in this industry back than....But f the question is(can I make a living?) The answer is YES...Keep your expectations reasonable..