Thinking about changing careers...

After 18 years in education, I am sick and tired of many things tied to this profession, and I am thinking about becoming a driver.

I would like any information both the negative and the positive and I know there are both. I am pretty sure that I will take my CDL classes through an independent school and not a school owned by a trucking company.

Thanks everybody!

You have to have a love for driving. After 23 years of trucking, I want out. The industry is flooded with people that have no business in a truck. There is more to driving a truck than holding the wheel and shifting gears. It is a lifestyle. Getting started in this industry can be trying. Weeks away from home and family. Most of the good jobs require experience. Inexperienced drivers are abused and taken advantage of. It can be a financially rewarding career, but you have to make your bones first. I've been driving for 23 years. I make about 70K a year and work 45 hours a week. That is the holy grail of jobs. They are hard to find, but they are out there. I've made more, but I choose this job for the home time and 4 day work week.

Get your CDL and be very careful what jobs you look for. Fuel hauling, less than truckload (FedEx, Old Dominion, etc), food service shuttle (not delivery) and other local delivery jobs are the best place to start. Over the road jobs are full of long hours and low pay. That's where most new people are stuck working in until they get the experience required to get a good, local job.

.....or you could start a pot farm and make 10x the money, and watch little Johnny grow up.
people get tired of dealing with 3 bosses and think the open road is the answer.

The thrill won't last long...the first year I drove (27 years ago) I was going to quit every week...as mentioned it's a lifestyle not a job...

im guessing you will make less money then you are now and the benies in trucking are nothing to brag about either.

These days it's a hit and miss if you're going to be successful. It mostly boils down to who you decide to drive for. There are literally hundreds of starter companies out there, so pick a set of standards and stick to your guns. The company needs you just as bad as you need them. Don't ever forget that.

I come from a family of educators so I understand your frustration. If you have a family it will be difficult to find a job in the trucking industry that allows you to spend quality time with them especially starting out. Most of the trucking industry jobs are not M-F, 9-5. I compare trucking to the dairy business.cows have to be milked every day & freight moves everyday. I worked the late shift & weekends for several years when I started. Trucks require maintenance & repair. My employer didn't want trucks to sit idle for hours in the shop waiting for the day shift.
Starting out with no seniority means you often get the less desirable jobs. I am not trying to discourage you but you need to know going in what to respect.

Really, it's all about being realistic. Most things aren't as easy as they look or as simple. Things never go quite as planned or shape up to be exactly what you pictured. If it's what you want then try it out. You could find out that you take to it like a duck to water or you hate the living guts out of it and find something different to do.
Once you take that first step though these guys here are a wealth of knowledge and expertise, some worth listening to and some not as much. Keep us aprized of your progress :)