Guys. Seriously, Is Trucking Worth It?

Most peeps would probably love a local job that pays well and gets you home. It's just not a reality for new guys,you need to expect to go places that nobody else wants to go. 1 year to work off schooling sounds a lot better than a $10k student loan. After a year,you can probably find something locally that fits your life style. I'm getting older and want to see some Places I've never been,only need to stop home to check the mail and cut the grass...LOL.

As usual Old School nailed it. And I would have to agree. Its worth it for me. I love this job. I dont want to go regional nor local. I hate when I have to do LTL loads. There is nothing to me like the open road under your tires rolling down the highway miles from where you started and miles from where your going, at least for me. I have 3 kids and im also a woman. This life isnt for everybody. Not even close. You have to decide that for yourself but guess what you never know until you try because I never would have imagined id be doing this. And yes at first It scared the crap out of me. Now ive been to 46 states, driven across all of the most talked about mt passes Donner, Cabbage, Veil (in the snow with chains on) Raton in dense fog, Mt Eagle, Snoqualmie, 4th of July, lookout. Well you get the hint right? Plus im a trainer now too on my 6th student. 2 1/2 yrs in and I couldnt see leaving.

As Old School said,

It brings a degree of alienation upon you from your family that is unnerving for the uninitiated - that is why I have tried hard to include my family in my new career as much as I possibly can.

. . . here is an aspect , I think many (if not most) people don't think about until it happens to them . . . in my pre-trucking life I was the Head Usher at my church . . . our church meets in a high school cafeteria (looks much more like a church than you might think) and we have to set up and tear down the who shebang each week . . . being Head Usher just meant I had to drive the truck, be there before anyone else and stay longer than anyone else and I scheduled the days the rest of the ushers were to be "on duty" . . . nothing glamorous but definitely some responsibilities . . . this meant I was INVOLVED and knew a lot of the others who were involved as well . . . when I informed the assistant pastor I would need to be replaced due to my new career, he got some others to volunteer for my responsibilities in short order . . . I had a few weeks to go before I left for training and I was sent off with some measure of fanfare . . . as the first months went by, I had quite a few "text" messages sending me greetings and wishing me well . . . I went home between the 1st and 2nd training phases to a warm welcome . . . I have only been home twice since then on a day I could attend church and then only a midweek (Wednesday) Bible study . . . the welcome was warm and I told a few stories (more than once) . . . I have been on the road for 8 months now . . . the phone calls and text messages have all stopped . . . I am sure were I to show up at church I would be warmly greeted BUT life moves on - with or without you . . . I feel more and more remote from my previous life as time passes . . . the grand kids go to school, the son & daughter are busy with daily life . . . friends have things to do that don't include you anymore so you become less and less a part of their consciousness . . . it's just a fact of this life . . . absence may make the heart grow fonder but it causes the memories to weaken and fade . . . no one's "fault" really, just life in these here times . . .

Jopa

As usual Old School nailed it. And I would have to agree. Its worth it for me. I love this job. I dont want to go regional nor local. I hate when I have to do LTL loads. There is nothing to me like the open road under your tires rolling down the highway miles from where you started and miles from where your going, at least for me. I have 3 kids and im also a woman. This life isnt for everybody. Not even close. You have to decide that for yourself but guess what you never know until you try because I never would have imagined id be doing this. And yes at first It scared the crap out of me. Now ive been to 46 states, driven across all of the most talked about mt passes Donner, Cabbage, Veil (in the snow with chains on) Raton in dense fog, Mt Eagle, Snoqualmie, 4th of July, lookout. Well you get the hint right? Plus im a trainer now too on my 6th student. 2 1/2 yrs in and I couldnt see leaving.

Hi RedGator,

Who are you driving for? I like that you've been going on this 2.5 yrs and are training others. That's great. An inspiration for us wannabes.. Don

As Old School said,

It brings a degree of alienation upon you from your family that is unnerving for the uninitiated - that is why I have tried hard to include my family in my new career as much as I possibly can.

. . . here is an aspect , I think many (if not most) people don't think about until it happens to them . . . in my pre-trucking life I was the Head Usher at my church . . . our church meets in a high school cafeteria (looks much more like a church than you might think) and we have to set up and tear down the who shebang each week . . . being Head Usher just meant I had to drive the truck, be there before anyone else and stay longer than anyone else and I scheduled the days the rest of the ushers were to be "on duty" . . . nothing glamorous but definitely some responsibilities . . . this meant I was INVOLVED and knew a lot of the others who were involved as well . . . when I informed the assistant pastor I would need to be replaced due to my new career, he got some others to volunteer for my responsibilities in short order . . . I had a few weeks to go before I left for training and I was sent off with some measure of fanfare . . . as the first months went by, I had quite a few "text" messages sending me greetings and wishing me well . . . I went home between the 1st and 2nd training phases to a warm welcome . . . I have only been home twice since then on a day I could attend church and then only a midweek (Wednesday) Bible study . . . the welcome was warm and I told a few stories (more than once) . . . I have been on the road for 8 months now . . . the phone calls and text messages have all stopped . . . I am sure were I to show up at church I would be warmly greeted BUT life moves on - with or without you . . . I feel more and more remote from my previous life as time passes . . . the grand kids go to school, the son & daughter are busy with daily life . . . friends have things to do that don't include you anymore so you become less and less a part of their consciousness . . . it's just a fact of this life . . . absence may make the heart grow fonder but it causes the memories to weaken and fade . . . no one's "fault" really, just life in these here times . . .

Jopa

Thank you all for your replies! I really appreciate it! I'm not sure about the rest of the country, but, I have it seems just about EVERY trucking place within 20 min. of me. Conway, Saia, UPS, FedEx, MTS, Bolt and MANY others! The lady at the desk for the local school-Trainco- said they have a new job recruiter for the past couple of months getting drivers good jobs making 40-50k to start, and many local because of the major demand. 2 quick questions: Should I believe this? 2: I don't really want a local job (like I said b4), because I figure if I'm gonna be gone for 12 to 14 hours per day, I might as well be gone for a few days straight. Is it really heard of in the industry to get something where you're gone for 3 or 4 days then come home for a couple or similar? And maybe take a week run somewhere once a month...like most truckers, I HATE factory jobs, I really don't care for 9-5 either...and years of self employment has conditioned me to enjoy solitude much more than a typical social work environment. There was areal nice guy I talked to at Schneider (who btw ive heard is a solid company), he said I could work 2 weeks on and have 1 or 2 weeks off, but, if I'm makin' $800 a week then that only gives me $400-$600 b4 taxes, per week avg for the month (that's not $ to me). Compare that to the hours you're driving, and that doesn't come to much per hour. Help?

Don I drive for WEL Companies out of DePere, WI. Been with this company my whole career.

Shilo you honestly cant break this down to an hourly job wage. Its a lifestyle not just a job. Taking home $1000+ after taxes a week is worth the sacrifice to some. You should check into regional companies or home every weekend companies. You work usually Mon thru Friday then home weekends. EPES, STAR, Schneider, WEL just to name a few. The regional NE drivers at my company were saying they took home 750-800 a week. I know now they make like .49cpm used to be .46 at the time I last spoke to them.

Shilo you honestly cant break this down to an hourly job wage. Its a lifestyle not just a job. Taking home $1000+ after taxes a week is worth the sacrifice to some. You should check into regional companies or home every weekend companies. You work usually Mon thru Friday then home weekends. EPES, STAR, Schneider, WEL just to name a few. The regional NE drivers at my company were saying they took home 750-800 a week. I know now they make like .49cpm used to be .46 at the time I last spoke to them.

Thanks Red Gator...Is that common pay for a newb?

When I was researching companies. WEL had the top pay for a newbie out of the 30 companies I actively considered. A regional job will typically have a higher cpm because you run short hauls and avg. 1800 to 1900 miles a week. Our companies regional is an LTL operation with $30 stop pay. I think Star is .42cpm after 30 days. Im not up to date on the info anymore as its been yrs but every company has been doing pay increases this past yr. The money you make depends on how hard your willing to work and how effeciently you manage your time.

When I was researching companies. WEL had the top pay for a newbie out of the 30 companies I actively considered. A regional job will typically have a higher cpm because you run short hauls and avg. 1800 to 1900 miles a week. Our companies regional is an LTL operation with $30 stop pay. I think Star is .42cpm after 30 days. Im not up to date on the info anymore as its been yrs but every company has been doing pay increases this past yr. The money you make depends on how hard your willing to work and how effeciently you manage your time.

Thanks again...I'm glad there's a resource out there like this one. I might find out it's not for me, but it's better than spending the time and money, then finding out! Despite successfully being self employed for a lot of years, I have developed a defeatist attitude. After losing my business, I get discouraged easily because things don't click together like they used to :). It seems really hard just to get a CDL , let alone all the training and so forth afterward. It all seems overwhelming and difficult. Just gonna have to come to a point to either S>!T or get off the pot. Hey, quick question, if I got my CDL, and held out for, say, 2 or 3 months to get a good job, would that mess me up to where I'd be required to take refresher course?