Stressed Out!!

OK guys basically I'm in a jam. Ive always wanted to drive a truck but I have the opportunity to go to college and I'm thinking about pharmacy, teaching or engineering. If you guys were me what would you do?

Go to school get your degree because trucking will always be here. It's not going anywhere.

I agree!

OK guys basically I'm in a jam. Ive always wanted to drive a truck but I have the opportunity to go to college and I'm thinking about pharmacy, teaching or engineering. If you guys were me what would you do?

I'd agree with the others, but did you "always wanted to" be either a pharmacist, a teacher or an engineer?

No I've always wanted to drive but I have the opportunity to do either so I think in all college might be the better option but trucking is more interesting to me

Personally I have the greatest respect for teachers but teaching is like trucking. You don't do it for the money. I have a friend that has abeen a teacher for 15 years and loves it but its not because of the money. Teachers don't make enough in my opinion. $35,000 dollars is not enough for what they do and that's AFTER 15 years.

More and more college educated truck drivers are getting into trucking.Why? Because they rather drive a truck than work at McDonalds cause there are no jobs.

I am not saying don't go to college but reseach the job market in your area and compare the moutains of debt you will have to the yearly salary you will get after college.

No I've always wanted to drive but I have the opportunity to do either so I think in all college might be the better option but trucking is more interesting to me

That was my point, you stand before a fork in the road... Which is more important? Opportunity? or what you really want to do? Trucking is a "lifestyle", the other stuff you mentioned are just jobs that pay better except the teaching one. Which will bring you happiness? I know a lot of educated career types who really hate their jobs...

Hey Phillip, I understand your dilemma. I was overseas teaching for more than ten years. I loved every bit of it. It didn't make me rich but it did make me happy. Why am I now getting into trucking? Well, like you trucking is very interesting to me and I just feel it fits my personality. I also wanted to live back home and try something new. I suppose the bottom line is that you should only do something that you will be happy doing. On a practical note, getting a degree in a profession is easier when you're younger. As for trucking, if you're older the door is still open. It's your choice.

Well, let me spin you a story. When I was in college, I had a friend of mine that had just finished his degree. He wanted to drive. So, he made a plan. He finished degree with a lot of student loans. He started team driving with a friend. And when I say team driving, I mean team driving extreme! They bought a truck and did east coast to west coast and back. That truck did not stop for three years. He used his parents house as his home so he had no bills. Every penny he made was used to pay off his student loans and the rest was invested. He had majored in economics and accounting so he was really good with money and investments. Long story short, after three to four years, he walked away from trucking with quite a bit of money in the bank / investments. He started in his career of banking at 28 years old. Last time I talked to him, he had two houses that were paid off by the time he was 30.

The point, devise a well laid plan. Will everything go as planned? No! Adjust and move on. Trucking will always be around. When you get older and have responsibilities such as a house payment and a wife / children, it becomes very hard to "go back" and get that degree. Get the degree while it is easy! Then you can go trucking or you can have a career and retire into trucking.

I take another approach. I've always taken the path that I felt suited me best.

I was lucky. I was born with a rocket scientist brain. Taking college level calculus at 16 - that sort of thing. After high school I went to one semester of college and quit. Boring! I wanted to live! I wanted to travel and challenge myself and join a band and become a rock star (It was the late 80's - that was what you did back then).

So at 21 I became a truck driver. Absolutely loved it. Made my ma want to jump straight into her grave to know her rocket scientist brain son was a truck driver. But it was awesome!

A couple of times I took breaks from trucking to pursue training for other careers or to simply try other things. It was awesome to have that kind of freedom. Trucking jobs never really go away. You can leave and come back anytime if you have a decent driving and safety record.

Eventually I had enough trucking for one lifetime and now I sit in front of a computer 7 days a week writing computer code just like my rocket scientist brain should be doing. But I would never be able to sit here all day, every day and do this if I hadn't already experienced so much over the years with trucking.

You can go through truck driving school in just a few short weeks or a couple months for a few thousand bucks, drive truck for a few months, pay off the schooling, and walk away anytime. No real risk. The schooling is short and inexpensive, the job you can come back to anytime you like. After a short time if you decide you love trucking then stick with it. If you decide a degree is the better choice then go get your degree. At that point you have trucking to fall back on if you need it.

I'm not saying that trucking is the path you should take. But I think it's the shorter, less risky path to get started on. It's easier to walk away from and come back to anytime.