Anybody Left A Higher Paying Job In Corporate America For Trucking? How Did It Work Out For You?

With a family at home I would really consider getting a local or regional job as a new driver with a family. I am retired with grown kids and my wife rides with me. I thought about doing this while my kids were younger and I am glad I waited. I enjoy truck driving but being away from your family is going to be very hard.

There are companies out there that will start you out as an otr driver and them move you into regional after a few months..look into Crete, Swift, or Roehl for this. Get your year in and many opportunities will open up for you..good luck!

With a family at home I would really consider getting a local or regional job as a new driver with a family. I am retired with grown kids and my wife rides with me. I thought about doing this while my kids were younger and I am glad I waited. I enjoy truck driving but being away from your family is going to be very hard.

There are companies out there that will start you out as an otr driver and them move you into regional after a few months..look into Crete, Swift, or Roehl for this. Get your year in and many opportunities will open up for you..good luck!

There are other companies that will let you work local right away. The one year right of passage of OTR does not hold for many companies. Check FedEx Frieight, Old Dominion, Conway, Wilson, etc. Even then benefits vary dramatically. I think it was OD gave overtime after 60 hours in a week while FedEx Freight gave OT after 8 hours each day.

Point is, local can be harder initially but I would think most companies ease you into it before they go full-throttle into making you do pickup and delivery into Joe's Dairy Farm :)

Point is, local can be harder initially but I would think most companies ease you into it before they go full-throttle into making you do pickup and delivery into Joe's Dairy Farm :)

At the risk of sounding like I am disagreeable I want to point something out. I understand completely, the desire to start off with a local driving job. I do not think it is a good way to start this career. I don't begrudge any one who manages to get started this way, but the fact is that precious few are successful when dong it this way. I know very well that we have a few drivers in our forum who've done this, and if I'm not mistaken, "Auggie69" is one of them. We also have a few who were OTR for year, switched to a really great local job, then realized the reality of the difficulties that we stress so often in here, and very quickly switched back. I remember "Heavy C" as an example of this. There are others, I'm just naming a few to make my point. I just don't see the point being made here about how most companies will ease you into making more difficult deliveries, that sounds good and logical, but it is completely impractical for the shipping companies.

I am sure that "Mountain Girl" could tell us why this isn't so. She really needed to start with a local driving job. She's a single parent with kids still at home who need their Momma around. She found one, and it wasn't long before they were canning her over some little petty stuff. Then it got really tough, she couldn't find work. She's finally got it back together now, and we are all thankful, but man she had some trials due to the way she got started. She basically is running something like a line-haul gig now that isn't really local, but it does allow her to be home enough that she and her family can manage it.

Here's the biggest problem with starting out local. They are going to be quick to let you go for some minor stuff. That is what happened to "Heavy C." He had some really good experience, and was a great driver, but because of the difficulties of that local position he still managed to have a few little minor incidents and they said "Okay that's it, we can't take this risk with you - in essence "goodbye pal." He himself stated later that he just wasn't ready for that level of driving yet. It was more demanding than he had ever dreamed.

Continued...

Here is why we stress taking an Over The Road job first. Learning to drive and safely maneuver one of these gentle giants in all kinds of situations just takes time. No one goes to truck driving school and gets a certificate for proficiency. The only certificate you will receive is that you have had a measly 160 hours of training. Even after a year of doing this on a daily basis, you are still just barely scratching the surface of being proficient at this trade. By getting on with a major carrier who hires rookies as OTR drivers you are allowing yourself to ease into what can be a really demanding career. It's not all wonderful sunsets and adventure - in fact that first three months can be more like terror and stress on a daily basis. This also reminds me of why I like the Paid CDL Training Programs. By taking that route the company actually has a considerable investment in you and are more likely to cut you a little slack if needed to get you to the point of being a professional. At the same time, the major carriers will allow you some mistakes just because of their sheer need of drivers to move freight, and their understanding of just how difficult it is to get this down so that you can manage all the many facets of becoming proficient at this. The local jobs can be much more picky about their recruits simply because there are plenty of experienced drivers who would like to move to a local job. They have a pool of less risky candidates to choose from, and can save considerably on their insurance rates this way. There is a reason why it is less expensive to insure a driver with a good safety record and that reinforces the argument why it is difficult to start as a local driver.

You can also take a look at the numbers of successful attempts at starting this career and get an idea of how difficult it is to make a start in this career. The first company I was working for was generally hiring around 150 new inexperienced drivers each week that I was there. When I inquired what was happening to all these new drivers I found out that only about ten percent of those new drivers ever made it to the 90 days mark. That is an incredible testament to the problems associated with making a decent start at this, and that is pretty much an industry wide statistic among the OTR companies who give rookies a chance at proving themselves.

I do not recommend starting out as a local driver. There are those who have had success by taking this route, but they usually don't realize just how fortunate they were. Another thing to consider is that when you take a job with a major carrier as an OTR driver you can often times move over into a division of that some company that will give you better opportunities at being home more often. Paul W, G-Town, and Errol are great examples of this unique opportunity within these large companies. If you can prove yourself, even for about three or four months, they will usually be willing to move you into something that is regional or dedicated that will often allow you to be home for weekends or maybe three or four days each two weeks, which should make it more agreeable to putting in a good solid year with that first employer. There is ample opportunity out here if you make a good start, but the difficulties of accomplishing that good start are multiplied exponentially by starting out as a local driver.

It is much smarter to establish yourself in a way that will allow you a few mistakes, than to cripple your future career by trying to circumvent the well established path to success.

I managed an IMAX movie theatre & left for Trucking. It was a fun job...but I always wanted to be a Trucker.

I don't regret it one bit.

HEY....... Charlie Mac is BACK!! Give us an update in a new post C Mac.

Sue D., Old School and so many other, thanks again everyone who has contributed a response! We'll see how things shape up in my current career. I will jump in the pool at some point. Though it may be the sooner of when my daughter is grown or something changes at work. Appreciate everyone's dialogue. I will keep lurking the forum in the mean time....thanks again!!

Ok, I just gotta know, is rainy d related to sunny d? Just sayin......errr...askin.

I was an accountant and HR Director for over 30 years before coming to truck driving. I worked insane hours and put up with so much from bosses that had no clue. I do not regret the change at all. Knew what I was getting in to. Am team driving with my husband now. Love it. Only been out for about 3 months but have covered the majority of this country. Home time isn't such an issue since we are together so only come in about 6 weeks or so. If you will be happier and healthier, go for it. There are many good companies that offer regional with good hoe time. Write out a list of wants in a company highlight what is a MUST have vs just a want and you will be able to narrow down what company is a good fit for you. Good luck to you.

There are many good companies that offer regional with good hoe time.

Hey.......can we leave Lot Lizards out of the discussion?