Considering Career Change......(yes Another One)

Another state to consider moving to is Texas. No state taxes and the food there is much cheaper than what I have seen elsewhere. This could be only my opinion but I have seen the cost of food in other states and it is insane compared to what I pay in Texas. Another thing to consider is that Texas has a lot of local driving. There are signs up everywhere for CDL drivers in my home state.

I don't know if this information helps you but if it does, yay. I hope that you can find what you need to be happy and live a comfortable living.

Soul searching. That, I think, is what I need to do for a while. I have been told by a coworker to just go for it (driving), and figure out for myself if it is the career for me. I have also been told to stay away as the career will tear apart my family, etc. Grr! Life is a tricky beast.

Yeah, that's the thing...you don't want to stay at a job you hate but you also don't want to trade one miserable situation (hating your job) for another (leaving your son).

You could indeed get a job like the one at Sysco but you would need some OTR experience first, probably about a year, and as was mentioned it would be really hard labor and rush, rush, rush every second of the day because you don't go home until all of the deliveries are made.

Personally, my take on it is if you don't want to travel then trucking isn't a very good career choice. The money isn't even close to worth it for the hard work, risk, sacrifice, and long hours you put in. To me what makes it worth it is the travelling lifestyle. There are a ton of awesome perks to travelling OTR and there really isn't any other career that can offer the opportunities to see the country and meet a ton of new people (amongst other things) the way trucking does.

If I wanted to stay home and I was looking to find a new career I would look for something that would not only pay well but would also allow me better opportunities in the future. For example, the building and construction trades - electrician, plumber, welder or mechanical trades - auto mechanic, motorcycle mechanic, marine/ATV mechanic. If you get a solid career started like those not only can you make good money, have nice benefits, and get home every night but you could also make money working on the side and eventually have the opportunity to start your own business.

In trucking, there are no future opportunities. You aren't going to make money on the side and you'd rather jump off a cliff than try to start a trucking business. Not to mention local trucking jobs can entail really long hours. Remember you can drive 70 hours every 8 days and that doesn't include fueling, paperwork, waiting on the docks, and unloading. It wouldn't be hard to put in 80 hours a week at a local job. I've been there and it sucks. If you're going to put in those kind of hours you might as well go OTR because you're never home and you have no social life anyhow.

So to me it comes down to whether or not I'd want to travel. If you didn't have a son at home it would be a whole different story. But with a young son and a girlfriend, getting into trucking is going to mean a lot of sacrifices whether you get a local job or go OTR.

Lot of great advice.

Here is a thought to research. If you do move to TN. you could do Intermodal work. Thats hauling containers from the port inland. You would have Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas to work from. Georgia is booming right now with frieght. Most work is O/O but their are company jobs too. You have a good stable work history which is a major plus for you.

Used 2007 Road tractors are running between $22,000 to $36,000, That with 500,000 and less on the mileage.

You have options. I just want you to know that. I feel the desperation in your words. Its going to be o.k. We here at TT are going to help you get through it. Driver or not. But I have this sneeky feeling that its in your blood.

Lot of great advice.

But I have this sneeky feeling that its in your blood.

Tracey, I think you are right in that it is in my blood. Just this morning I drove out of my way to get a cup of coffee at the local truck stop (which I do quite frequently). I am trying to get by the local truck driving school here in Santa Maria, CA to get some info about the school, and career placement options they may have. My girlfriend has become concerned about me because of my anger toward my current job. I have been truly unhappy at this job for over 5 years now, and it is starting to show in my life away from the job. I think it is IMPERATIVE that I get out of this job, before it ruins me. So I will be doing more research before I take the plunge into driving, but will be keeping tyhe idea alive.......At least for now.

Hey Daniel, I was just in your neck of the woods the other day picking up some black berries going to Utah...

Man, I feel your pain. I was in the same situation, I used to have great gig until the crash in 2008 wiped out my job. Ended up taking a job at the local grocery store where I was overworked, under appreciated and severely underpaid. I began hating everything. Became depressed.

Travel has always been in my blood, and trucking is a good fit for me. But that's not why I'm responding to your post. I have a wife and two children. Now, my 1 kid is a year from college, and the 2nd is a year from High school.

I opted for company sponsored training , and have just now gotten some home time...8 weeks after leaving home. I'm actually ok with it, but it has been terribly difficult for my wife and kids, and I used to have a traveling job once upon a time.

I couldn't have done this with young kids, like what you have. Heck, I thought I could do this with my kids as old as they are. Well turns out, I AM ok with it, but even after much thought, and discussions with my family, they are having trouble with it.

I'm not trying to steer you one way or the other, only to say take everything into account before making a decision. I have been gone 8 weeks, and on average, truckers are gone 4-6 weeks at a time, and then only home for3-4 days before heading out again.

My wife and kids supported me too. They knew I was miserable. They wanted me to be happy. They SAID they would be fine. But it is really tough on them. Really tough. My wife was calling me in tears by week 5. My kids thought they did something wrong to make me leave.

YOu were the son of a trucker, so you know what it's like from that stand point. All I'm saying is take everything into consideration before making the leap.

I LOVE trucking. I LOVE the travel. I wouldn't trade it in for ANYTHING. well, maybe for my family.

Good luck with your struggle, I feel for ya, and hope you find the right answer.

Peace

Honestly. You're not going to make 40k even if you team drive. You'll most likely hit 40K on your second year but definitely not the first year. You'll be between 31-34k.

You have a son and a wife. You'll want to see them every chance you get so I'm assuming you'll want to take your hometime every month. This will make it even more impossible.

It sounds like you got a good head on your shoulders but you won't make 40K that's a fact.

Also, where in CA are you?

I'm going to have to disagree with this. I work for a large carrier, and I routinely gross right around $1,000 a week. And I'm home every 2 to 3 weeks for 4 days or so. I've only been doing this for 5 months. The trick is to work hard, always be on time, and be VERY efficient with your time. Oh and by the way, that's on e-logs. There is money to be made out here and you can make a great living right away, you just have to learn the tricks how to get it done.

I'm with Scott. I've been with Schneider as my first driving job for the past 5 months and I gross $1000 per week and I am home every 10-12 days; I get home Thursday night and go back Monday morning. Efficiency is key. You will learn very quickly to eat when you are being loaded/unloaded at a shipper/consignee, have paperwork ready before you get places, and all that other good stuff. You have to have a strong work ethic going into the job and prove you are reliable. Like Brett said you are competing against other drivers in your own company for loads so you need to show that you can get it done safely, legally, and on time.

True, but last I checked you guys didnt start out at .28cpm like the average driver coming into trucking. The pay is much less if you don't go into a specialized division. The pay grade for tankers is much more than refrigerated.

Still, the average pay for the first year is 31-35K. Sure there's positions that you'll make more but with that post I was referring to the general population.

You are correct Daniel. But with that being sad if you WANT the higher pay you can easily get it. Start out in tankers, or specialized flatbed. I think Maverick's flatbed glass division starts new CDL graduates at like $0.37 cpm or something like that. Not sure what kind of miles they get you, but if it's decent miles then you'll be OK.

Unless someone has a very good reason to go with a specific company pulling Dry Van I don't see why they would. Specialized divisions still get to experience the trucking lifestyle, see the country, and all that, and they get paid more.

But again, it all comes down to personal preference.

True, but last I checked you guys didnt start out at .28cpm like the average driver coming into trucking. The pay is much less if you don't go into a specialized division. The pay grade for tankers is much more than refrigerated.

Still, the average pay for the first year is 31-35K. Sure there's positions that you'll make more but with that post I was referring to the general population.

I started out at 32 cpm , and I pull van on the National fleet. Nothing specialized. I'm at 34 cpm now, but just received that extra 2 cents a few weeks ago. I think 31-35K is a total rip off if people are really making that. Heck you can work locally in a lot of factories and make that and sometimes more.