Profile For Shannon C.

If I really wanted to I could have spent some time in Seattle but I don't do cities.

I am currently researching changing careers to trucking so I don't know how any of this works. Are you saying that you can pick and choose whether you deliver in the big cities?

I would much rather avoid big cities myself. Traveling through them is terrifying enough for me.

Most of these are mostly common sense, except the GPS thing, but I over-analyze everything and plan ahead so frequently anyway, only because I absolutely HATE surprises and being stuck with a problem if it can be prevented by just taking a little extra time to plan ahead. But I am not stupid. I know most of these will happen to me anyway no matter how much I try to prepare and plan ahead of time.

Hi Gary, I am in the IT field as well, but as a single woman, and I am looking at getting into the trucker life and career too.

I knew a fellow ex-coworker who said he was going to do it too. I thought he was kinda wacky, but now I must be wacky too because I am thinking about it! I know trucking can be exhausting and often challenging but I am used to that working in IT. The pressure is sometimes so intense and there is no getting out on the road and driving away. You are just stuck in an office every day with people you mostly can't stand to be around. I like my time alone and do better alone. I am ready to let the younger generation beat each other up and brown nose their way to management positions. I am done.

Plus I LOVE driving, I am a VERY safe driver, and living on the road, stopping at the truck stops for coffee and the rest stations and seeing different states - it is such freedom! I drove from Florida all the way to Canada by myself last month and mostly slept in my suv. It was awesome, albeit a little exhausting. I had a schedule to keep even though I was on vacation, but I am excited and can't wait to do it again. Even better if I got paid to do it.

Maybe if the trucking industry starting putting some money into one of the pivotal components of what is making them money (the drivers), they will see less accidents, happy employees, and better management and flexibility of their employees' time (more timely deliveries), which can lead to better employee retention rates, better customer satisfaction, and more jobs and the cycle goes on.

As a federal employee, after taxes I took home $700 per week. I paid out over $1200 per month for my apartment, $400 for my car, $150 for car insurance, $250 for utilities. So how much does that leave for food, gas, entertainment, pet costs, doctors etc. i couldnt save, was in serious debt and had almost nothing in my 401k.

Now I clear about $1100 or more per week AFTER putting money in my 401k, and have no stress or bills. I sold my car, gave up my apartment, and paid $70k in debts! while making less per hour if you do the math.

Articles by Rainy

Hi Rainy, this is along the same income projections I came up with if I decide to change career fields to trucking. Even if your current paycheck were less than what you are making now, you should calculate the reduction in expenses to get a more accurate liquid portfolio of your salary. I spend about $1,800 a month just on my mortgage and electric. I have tons of other bills. One paycheck a month alone goes to just paying my mortgage.

But, where do you stay when you aren't on the road? With family, friends, hotels??

Continuing the discussion and more questions about being a lady trucker.....

I am considering becoming a trucker as well. I am 50 years old and currently a Network Engineer, but I am fed up with the IT field. I am a highly educated single mom but my youngest son will be graduating from high school in 2 years and I am seriously researching this career field and considering becoming a truck driver.

I haven't been promoted for the past 13 years in the past 2 companies I worked for even though I have busted my you-know-what and I am a competent and reliable employee. It really is a man's world and I am wondering how the trucking industry treats women. What is your perception about this subject....are women treated equally in the trucking industry?

Do you find it hard to find time to get your hair colored/cut while you are on the road? (yeah, that is a really girly question!)

Do you have to be a semi-skilled mechanic to be a truck driver?

What is the best and worse thing about being a female truck driver?

Do you know what the ratio of female to male truck drivers is?

Would $70k - $80k annual income after driving a truck for 2+ years be a realistic expectation?