is trucking still okay to start into

[gator1962]

can anyone tell me if it is okay to get into

[pro1driver]

Originally Posted by gator1962

can anyone tell me if it is okay to get into

if i could go back the twenty years when i first went to truck driving school, i would. then i'd go to plumbing school or HVAC school instead. believe me, you'll earn MORE money doing plumbing or HVAC than you'll ever do as a driver.

[bluegrasspicker]

Originally Posted by gator1962

can anyone tell me if it is okay to get into

High gator, welcome to the boards. I would say that I dont agree with prodriver on his post. This is a rough business especially the hours sometimes. The thing is that over the road dry box drivers are a dime a dozen. If you want to make more money you have to find a niche or area of specialty. You will not get rich banging tin on houses or whatever else he said. You will not get rich driving either. The money is about the same if you find the niche. You will have to pay your dues as a rookie for a couple years with some truckload company that will try to abuse you. But ask the guys who are doing the stuff that is out of the ordinary. I was an auto mechanic before I started driving. All the mechanics ***** continuously as well as many drivers. Just get some experience and try to move into an area of specialty. Face it the world is a ***** of a place to live now and you just have to be observant and smart and you will do fine. If you want to be home evryday you need to get into a line haul job with an LTL carrier. Good luck and dont listen to all the leg wetters.

[Cerberus_Kelpie]

The ONLY WAY to make a small fortune in Trucking is to start with a LARGE one.

[pro1driver]

Originally Posted by bluegrasspicker

High gator, welcome to the boards. I would say that I dont agree with prodriver on his post. This is a rough business especially the hours sometimes. The thing is that over the road dry box drivers are a dime a dozen. If you want to make more money you have to find a niche or area of specialty. You will not get rich banging tin on houses or whatever else he said. You will not get rich driving either. The money is about the same if you find the niche. You will have to pay your dues as a rookie for a couple years with some truckload company that will try to abuse you. But ask the guys who are doing the stuff that is out of the ordinary. I was an auto mechanic before I started driving. All the mechanics ***** continuously as well as many drivers. Just get some experience and try to move into an area of specialty. Face it the world is a ***** of a place to live now and you just have to be observant and smart and you will do fine. If you want to be home evryday you need to get into a line haul job with an LTL carrier. Good luck and dont listen to all the leg wetters.

i agree that you disagree with me.......

HOWEVER......the origianl poster NEEDS to know the good, the bad, and the ugly about trucking........

maybe you, "bluegrasspicker" find trucking to be the best job you ever had......i once thought that too...........but for me at least, it ain't the best job ever, and frankly, let's be honest here, people can make more money, get better benefits, and a better home life, by NOT becoming truck drivers.......

yes as you say a "niche" job WOULD be better than the average OTR job......but he (or she) will have to pay some serious dues first, and by the time the origianl poster has paid any "dues", it may be too late to really enjoy that "niche" job.............

i think that people ought to have a "fall-back" job or job skill "just in case" trucking isn't for them, otherwise, a person can be literally stuck in low gear, for the rest of his/her life...........

and although you did not personally brand me as a "leg wetter"..........i say it like it is.....

good, bad, or ugly..........

[Cerberus_Kelpie]

Originally Posted by bluegrasspicker

High gator, welcome to the boards. I would say that I dont agree with prodriver on his post.
--You would say or you do say and no one agrees with everyone, big deal--
This is a rough business especially the hours sometimes.
--Sometimes?? Why are Lag Books rated at 70 Hrs a week and if one uses the "new and improved" HOS, one can tally up over 88 hours in an eight day scenario.--
The thing is that over the road dry box drivers are a dime a dozen.
--I want to know WHO is supplying the Dimes??--To which Companies are you referring? Not ALL Dry Van Drivers are in the class of "a dime a dozen"!! Some Dry Van Drivers were not always pulling Dry Vans--
If you want to make more money you have to find a niche or area of specialty.
--Who finances this transition??--
You will not get rich banging tin on houses or whatever else he said. You will not get rich driving either. The money is about the same if you find the niche.
--So what's your point in stating "One needs to find a niche" if the niche "pays about the same"??--Contrary speak makes no sense and confuses the reader--
You will have to pay your dues as a rookie for a couple years with some truckload company(ies) that will try to abuse you. But ask the guys who are doing the stuff that is out of the ordinary. I was an auto mechanic before I started driving. All the mechanics ***** continuously as well as many drivers.
--There are NO mechanics anymore...only Parts Changers--
Just get some experience and try to move into an area of specialty, even though it doesn't pay much better than where you were. Face it the world is a ***** of a place to live now and you just have to be observant and smart and you will do fine. If you want to be home evryday you need to get into a line haul job with an LTL carrier, however without experience or knowing a few people in the right places, the LTL idea might take you a while to enter IF at all. Good luck and dont listen to all the leg wetters.
--WHY?? Some "leg wetters" have some good advice/suggestions.

One that claims not to be what one claims others to be, may very well be one as well.