Question:
Greetings,
Ive been following the board for sometime now, and registered last night so I may be able to post.
I have been unemployed for about 4 months now and still unable to find a position within my 'career-field' and am seriously reconsidering my 'career', I have been looking at driving truck professionally for some time now and understand that it is not only going to be a career change but a lifestyle change as well.. being away from home, etc, etc, etc.
I do know and realize that driving professionally is no small task by anymeans and the responsibilites that go with the job are huge compared to other positions in life.
The 2 highest concerns I have will be for professionalism and saftey of my rig, not only for myself but for the 'civilians' on the road as well. As Dennis Leary puts it in the series "Rescue Me" ... and I quote "Its about me doing my job so I can go home safe and sound to my kids."
My plans are to attend a local community college for CDL trainging, and not some 'lumping-school' as I have been researching. From what I have been researching it sounds like that a private training rather than a 'lumpers' school is going to be the way to go, more windshield time, one-on-one instruction, etc. and not this 6 people in the cab kinda nonsense Ive seen.
Any adivce for a new-newbie would greatly be appericated.
Thank you,
Lnk3d

Answer:

Do you really understand what is involved? It isn't like being away from home on a vacation or business trip where you get to stay in a cushy hotel room every night and eat in the finest restaurants.
You will have many more days of waking up at 04;00, putting in your 10-11 hours of windshield time, and still not be able to go off duty and rest until after midnight due to waiting around, lumping frieght, etc.
You will be sleeping in a box, a glorified coffin. It isn't even like an RV, it is more like the baggage compartment on a Greyhound Bus.
There will be many days where you cannot eat a nice hot meal, because you are stuck at a loading dock for 15 hours (unpaid).
There will be many days where dispatch claims there aren't many loads coming out of your area, so you sit and wait all day - unpaid.
Do you really know what it is like to only be home 1-2 days a week or every other weekend, or less? Do you know what sort of strain that puts on a marriage? On your relationship with your kids? You won't be going to their ball games, you won't be seeing them in school performances, scout meetings, etc. Because you will be a thousand miles away.
Do you really want to bust your butt for 15 hours a day every day, weekends and holidays included, and make a paycheck of $400 at the end of the week?
Do you really want to have to wait in line just to take a shower? A shower that you might have had to pay up to $10 for? Do you like using public restrooms for showering, shaving, taking a dump, etc? Have you seen the conditions of most truckstop restrooms?

The sacrifices are 10 times bigger.

Except you won't be going home to your kids but for maybe a day or two a month.
Bottom line is, the pay and benefits are decreasing, and the BS is increasing.The "knights of the Road" are dead and buried a long time ago. Today, most truck drivers are driving because they lack the education, personality, and civility to obtain and maintain a real job. The dregs of society in other words. Don't take my word for it though, go to the nearest truckstop and just look around. You will see many many fat and lazy f**kers who are parked no more than 100 feet from the front door of the place so they take a leak out in the parking lot. You will see many drivers with stringy, greasy long hair, wearing grease and sweat stained clothes that most homeless people would turn their noses at. If you are within earshot, you will notice that most of these drivers have a 3rd grade vocabulary and can't say more than 3 or 4 words without using the "f" word.
To say nothing of the guys who haven't showered in a month, the guys who can't pass a woman in a burka without their tongue hanging out and without making some lewd sexual comment.
Look on the highway, and notice the "professionals" who tailgate, speed excessively, and brag about running multiple logbooks and going days without sleep. Most of those drivers will have OOIDA stickers on their Petercars too.
And this is just the crap from other truckdrivers. I haven't even mentioned how badly you wil look in the eyes of the general truck-hating public. You will quickly find out that the general public sees those same fat,lazy unwashed truck drivers and assumes you are one of them. You will be spit on, flipped off, cussed out, disrespected, ignored, and generally not be taken seriously by many if not most people. Shippers and receivers wil assume you are a scumbag, and your dispatcher won't give a damn that you haven't been home in weeks. You are just a number to him. At the end of the day, he goes home to his family, and sticks you out in Bumblefak Nowhere with a trailer full of freight.
Criminals will look upon you as easy prey. Les scrupulous truck drivers know how easy it is to break into most trucks, and they will do so and take your stuff while you are inside showering.
Then there's all the money you spend on the road. You pay for showers at times, scales, parking, food, laundry, lumpers. Some drivers have saving money down to a science, and spend $50 or less on the road, but they also eat only cold cuts and crackers for each meal.
If trucking is what you really want to do, good luck to you. Just be certain you know what you are getting into. Personally, in your shoes I'd try to find a way to take the down time and get my butt back into school and do what I have to in order to make myself marketable again in my chosen career or another career. Get a job where you are paid well for what you know, not paid inconsistently for what you do.
Cheers!
Answer:
Pretty much the same advice I have always given.
1. Research the school carefully. Just becuase it is or is not a certain type of school means nothing. We have community college programs around here I would not send a 20 year driver too for a refresher course, and I know of several private schools that way too. Then again I know of some in both categories that do provide the student with more than "just enough" to pass the state skills tests.
A few of the items you need to find out about is:
How much hands on time you will get. Not watch time but time with you actually physically interacting with the truck. Also find out where you driving time is going to be. A range is fine to get the basics down but going in circles for 1000 miles and only being on the road in real traffic for 5 or 10 miles will not do you much good.
What happens if you do not pass the skills test? Is there a charge for re-testing, more training, etc?
What companies hire students from that school? No point in going if you can not get a job or if you are forced to go to work for 1 or 2 companies because they are the only ones who will hire. If there are certain companies you are looking at driving for as a newbie find out if they will hire from that school.
2. Do not go out and buy at lot of stuff right now or when you enter school. A 6 inch ruler, a dual power calculator, note pad, some black ink pens, and a folder to keep important papers together in as well as an inexpensive truckers atlas (paperbound) and some glovesare about all you need to start with. Hold off on the CB, coolers, tools, etc until you are going to need them which for the most part wont be until you complete training and get your own truck. When you talk to the recruiter to set up orientation they can and will give you a list of what you need during training.
3. Be sure to talk to your family about what you are going to be doing and get their input on things. You will need help on the homefront in order to be able to concentrate on the job.
4. Learn all the rules very well. Do not rely on other to tell you what they are. Read them for yourself and know them front and back, and follow them. The only person who will protect your liscense, your life, and your financial well being is you.
5. Minimize your debts or if possible eliminate them as much as possible. Income is very limited during the 6 plus weeks of OTJ training, and may not get a whole lot better during the first 6 months as a solo driver.
6. Set up a budget and stick to it. Keep careful track of your money and where it goes. If you dont before you know it what money you do earn will be gone in a blink of an eye and next thing you know you wont have anything to pay the water bill. I reccomend setting your budget up on an estimate of 1800 miles per week income once you get into solo status. Industry standard is 2500 miles per week, but since that does not always happen it is better to be prepared from the start to live on less, and then bank the extra.
Answer:
What is your "carreer field"now?
If it's NOT a minimum wage field "Driving" will not be
an advancement. Today OTR is not a vocation for a
"Family" man.
Answer:
Ink3d gotta concur with Uturn here.....................Not sure where highwayman ran afoul of this industry,granted some of the the things he mentioned DO exist,But not every truck driver nor every truckstop nor every truck outfit is as horrible as he made them out to be
YES It can get bad out here and you can indeed wallow in the crap that gets served out here on a daily basis,or you can choose to do your research and find an outfit that treats you with respect and lets you run where you like to and gets you home regularly..............do these jobs like mine just walk up and offer themselves to you??!! ummmmm NO...........you gotta go find em and as a rookie,you might have to put up with a little or even alot of BS to get to the right gig,but they do exist and while some days can indeed be daunting and a real beeyotch out here,I have found that mostly the sun shines more than it rains
Good Luck to ya

Answer:

Hey, i feel the same way. I will be completeing my CDL at Western Pacific Truck School here in Sacramento. I did a lot of research also. I sat down and wrote some goals down and discuss them with my family. Since I do need income plus a change in careers, I'm willing to take the "risk".
The below postings are very negitive, but honest. Personally, in "any" field with a degree (computer, accounting, human resouces, etc) there will "risks". Informing newbies about the negaitives can cause ones to rethink their career moves which is cool. But all explain the positives also (if any) ..
I was laid off last September, I was an Network Adminstrator for a lab in California. With education and still cannot get a computer job. Yes I did a LOT of research of the trucking industry. Yeah, I have interview a lot of drivers here in Cali, they advise me that its ok and its a living. All of those that I inteview the lack the education and the drive to do something else. Also note it takes a lot of time to get an education.
I'm planning on doing local work in Sacramento. The driver opportunites here in Nor Cal is good. If I get the needed experience, I can move to a higher paying job. Good luck on your new career move.
So, what is your career at this time?Ivey EnviroTech Services
Start Up date: 3/1/06

Answer:

Hmmmm....ran afoul or expeienced reality? The opinion you posted is
from one of the very few that found a tolerable job.
Uturn gives very good advice all the time. Unfortunately all the experts here
fail to reveal how many jobs they've had while searching for a "good" carrier
if they ever actually find one. Anybody that invests "money" or time
to train for what in all reality is a minimum wage job needs their head examined. The turnover rate at all these training carriers is factual proof that
Driving is less than ideal vocation for "normal" people.
Answer:
Hey Ink3d,
If you want to get into otr trucking that is good. It must be something that will make you happy. You could work a job that pays you $100,000 a year but if you are not happy doing it then it is just a job. I have been in otr transportation for over tweny-five years and I love it. My experience has been otr motorcoaches. I am now switching gears and pursuing an otr trucking career. I can't help it I have diesel fuel in my blood. To find out which trucking companies are the best and which truck schools are the best you will have to do your homework. Not all trucking companies are the same and not all truck schools are the same. There are several ways of pursuing your career options. You could go to a truck school and hopefully if they have a good job placement department you will be able to sign with a decent company and continue your training and move your career forward. There are also companies that have their own training academies. You can sign on with them under the company-paid program. However most of them committ you to at least one year sevice or you have to pay for your tuition. I look at it this way, your first year is going to be the toughest. You will not be making the big money but you will get the experience. After the one year you will have something to put on your resume and you can move on.
You will hear a lot of talk about this company is bad and that company is bad. Some of it will be true in some cases. Every transportation company has its problems, whether its truck, bus, train, plane, etc. They all also have their salespersons. They are called recruiters. They are their to recruit and sell the companie's product to you. They are going to tell you what you want to hear to get you in the door and signing on the dotted line. Remember the key here is homework. Check these people out because they are going to be doing the same thing to you. Look into your needs, your goals. What is it you want to gain from otr trucking?
I am looking at the company-paid training program with US Express. I did a lot of research and US Express seems like the company for me. However whats good for me may not be good for you or other people. You have to decide for yourself. The worse thing you can do is spend a bunch of money for school and not have a job waiting for you when you graduate. Otr driving is a fun and challenging career. On the upside, when you go to work your scenery is always different. On the downside there will be days when you'll be sitting, either at terminal waiting to be loaded/unloaded or at a truckstop waiting for a load. As they say, sometimes you're the windshield and sometimes you're the bug.
Don't let anyone discourage you from doing what you want to do. After all, you have to live with you. Look at posts not just from this forum but other message boards as well. There is a lot of information out there, , you just have to go get it. If you stay focused and don't get cocky, you'll do alright in this business. See you on the big road.
Answer:

I got lucky. My 2nd driving job I loved and was very well treated by everyone from the guys in the shop to the CEO of the company. Unfortunately due to some idiots in the office they lost a major backer and ended up shutting down.
IMHO 80 % of companies out there are pretty much alike. You got 50 lbs a crap in a 10 lb bag to deal with at any of them, but the crap each dishes out is a little different and you have to find the company whose crap you can deal with, and who can put up with yours too.
As far as the rest: 10% are the really great companies to work for and the final 10% are the ones no one should be working for under any circumstances.
The really "sad" part is that many of these companies would be pretty decent if they would just reign in their fleet managers (dispatchers) a bit and ensure they treat the drivers with a little respect.
Answer:
I got nuthin to hide...............my "tolerable" job is my 4th outfit in my extremely brief 6 yr's OTR. My 3rd company treated me extremely well (by comparison), BUT they could not offer me the consistent miles AND hometime that #4 offered(I even took a slight paycut)
BUT money is not everything.........its about the total package offered and my current package treats me quite well ................which also confirms that if you are willing to look for a good outfit and do the research,they exist.......they pretty much never advertise in truck mags or trade papers however.........they dont need to.

Answer:
Ink3d,
3d artist?
IMHO trucking is 95% uneventful; 2-3% MY GAWD WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO???; 2-3% Gawd this is great.
The more vocal negative vocalists focus on the lousy 2-3%. Yes I have had crappy days out there. They do not happen every day. I resumed driving the 12th. My driver manager gave me a light load: 79,600. He and I need to get our definition of “light” straightened out. Truck overheated on long hills. Solution was drop two gears and go up the hill at 15 MPH, put it in the shop. Should I turn in my keys? No! I ran into a problem, came up with a solution and everything worked out fine. No Big Deal.
Beyond that it was uneventful. Got to see an awesome sunset.
Safety of your rig is going to be up to you. I do a VI every morning. Every time I attach to a trailer, I check the tires; the lights; and the brakes. Both the parking brake and the service brakes. I thump my tires every time I am stopped and I do a complete walk around my truck and trailer every time I stop. I do not tailgate. If another slow truck starts to pass me, I drop my speed down 1 or 2 MPH so they can complete their pass quickly. I keep my eyes as far down the road as I can see.
One time I saw a bunch of smoke about 2 miles down the road. I slowed down. It was a car fire, and as usual everyone around me slowed down to look. Because I was already slowed down, I did not need to come to a screeching stop when traffic stopped. I had one truck go blasting by me with smoke coming out of all but his steer tires, an another decided he wanted to drive down the emergency parking ramp, also smoking his tires. Traffic was already stopping when I got there, there was no excuse for these two idiots to go blasting through stopped traffic the way they did.
As far a ‘civilians’ go, well, they are what they are. You will never be able to solve that problem. The authorities have put it on the truck driver to solve it. Don’t let ‘em get to you. Defensive driving. Expect that the fool in the left lane is going to dart 4 lanes over, brakes locked, in front of you, so he can make his exit.
Every truck is different. How they pull, how they stop, what’s inside of them. They all have quirks. I have had 5 trucks, I would not consider any of them a glorified coffin. They all had their strengths and their weaknesses.
The key to dispatching, is be willing to run where there is freight. And that is something you have to learn as you drive. If you have a hard time getting out of Seattle, don’t go there. I used to get out of Seattle by taking a short run to Lewiston, ID or Portland OR, and then I could get a decent load that way.
I’ve seen a lot of drivers tell the planers (or dispatchers) what they will not do. I’ve seen a driver grip about low mileage, then turn down load after load. I watched one driver sit around for two days waiting for a load. Pizzed me off ‘cause I got stuck with the loads he kept turning down. At the end I rolled 600 miles in 2 days; got paid $40 for spotting a trailer that took me 15 minutes and then I got a 2200 mile load. Granted 600 miles for two days ain’t that great, but $40 for 15 minutes of work and a 2200 mile trip? I think I did pretty good. I did a lot better then Mr. I don’t touch nothing under 500 miles.
I watched one guy beg for a load east out of Seattle. The planner got the driver a load going south, so that he could head east from there. The driver sat around for several hours waiting for a fuel truck. Once he got fueled, he was out of hours and could not make the trip. So another planner had to pull another truck to run the load south. Now do you think the planner will help this driver out again?
As far as waiting in line for this and that. Timing. If everybody showed up at truck stops around 5 to 6 and leaves around 6 to 7, Drive till 7 and then shower, or get up earlier and arrive at 4 to get a shower.
Some companies will reimburse for showers. Or you can get a free shower with more than 50 or 75 gallons of fuel. Easy, fuel where you can get a free shower with fuel.
Sacrifices, that is what you consider. I don’t have a family, so there weren’t that many sacrifices.
There are some losers in the trucking business. So what? You are what you think you are. There is also some decent people in the business as well.
Criminals are all over the world. Yes they are in truck stops. If you go anywhere flashing a lot of cash, you are going to get robbed. It doesn’t matter if you are in a truck stop or in a mall. Key here is don’t brag about what you have in your truck. I have a laptop computer. Is does not come out until the curtains are closed. Very few people know I have a laptop.
Expenses are usually reimbursed, especially if you are a company driver. Laundry and food you have to pay for anyway. You don’t have to sit down to a steak dinner every night. Subway is not all that bad. Food is food.
Trucking is like life, it is what you make of it. If you are miserable, you will be miserable whether as a truck driver or a famous Hollywood actor. If you are happy from within, you will be happy at anything you do.
Good luck.
-J
PS I was a Systems Engineer when I got laid off.Happy Dwellers Society
Company Driver Division

Answer:
I agree with Driver J trucking and any job for that matter is what you make of it I used to unload trucks all day long by hand for minimum wage that was a mind dulling job but I had fun with it and got through the days with no problem I set a goal for myself and said "I will be dropping off this trailer and sleeping right now than unloading it" I used to wash buses all night long and I had a lot of fun with that as well most people said these jobs would be boring and lame and stupid and nuts to work them but I did and I had fun doing it and now I am driving and enjoy everyday I love to see different things everyday even if I drive the same freeways I love to haul new things or the same things to different places I know I am new only been driving a year and I am young (only 21) but I love it I read about a Chinese man that manufactured a small mechanical component for machines 10-15 hours a day (repetitive work that was in factory, I can't imagine the conditions were ideal) for 70 years he said he enjoyed it but I don't know how much truth is behind that if he can do that for 70 years then I think I can drive a truck for the rest of my life so far since i have been driving I have moved out and bought a new car and all kinds of things I run as hard and as much as I can, and as with anything its what you make of it but don't let people discourage you have your cake and eat it too. F*** the Naysayers cuz they don't mean a thing.

Answer:
Alright, my run got cancelled so i'll be here for a few more minutes.
First off:
1) What career were you in? We should explore all possible avenues of this first. I mean, if you're interested in trucks, then go for it but let's examine your current capabilities first.
a) i second the private school/ comm college route.
2) As far as the lifestyle changes, why not just work local. You CAN get local work with little to no experience despite the general concensus in the trucking industry that you can't. I'm proof positive of this.
3) Now as far as the whole OTR trucking=minimum wage thing; I'd have to respectfully disagree because i've done both. I've done the whole McDonalds/McDonalds type jobs thing and the best i was able to do was a 79 Camaro that needed lots of body work and some electronic equipment--i.e., hi-fi equipment.
When i jumped into trucking, after a few months i was able to SIMULTANIOUSLY purchase a monte carlo SS (these ain't cheap) and Corvette (granted it was used, but still it was a Corvette!) and a racecar (these really aren't cheap) and fancy clothes (basically look at what Tyson, the model not the boxer, wears ) ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Now, i ask you, how the hell can you afford that on minimum wage? Granted i was still living with my mom at the time, but i was also living at home while doing MC donalds and warehouse type jobs.
The only advantage to working at McDonalds and the like is you get to meet a lot of wild (and weird) girls; Half the staff there is female. You generally can't, at least i haven't met, meet too many of these type of women in trucking (i'm not refering to lizards either).

Answer:
Thank you for everyones posts!
They have been most informative, even the negative ones about trucking and this particular career-field.
I will be attending my local comm-college starting first of October ( Ya! I getta learn to drive in the snow! woohoo! NOT ). Unfortunatly they have a class currently running and it wont be over until then.
Through all the positive and negative feedbacks to this post, I do realize theres going to be good and bad days, as like anywhere else. Although I really feel in my heart of hearts that this career-field could be the answer Ive been looking for. Financially, Physically, Family, etc
Absense makes the heart grow fonder as they say!
Im the type of person, just point me in the direction I need to be and leave me alone to do my job, I dont need 500 different executives ( and belive you me Ive seen my share of execs, presidents, etc ) forming commities to determine the best method of how a particluar job should be done. Granted there are Local/State/Federal and company laws, rules, and regulations that must be followed at all times, but Im sure you folks understand what Im saying.
The best way to get nothing done is to A.) Hire Management and B.) Form a commitie
I have spent alot of time working up a few calculations, and at specific rates of pay / per mile, and where the "Cant Live on", "Liveable" and "Comfortable" ranges would be. Ballpark calculations right now are based upon 0.30 cents per/mile ( I know Im a newbie so getting paid much more than that in the first couple of years is going to be difficult at best ) and how many miles need to be run per/year, what percentage of the time the truck must be on the road to accomplish those goals, and time home with the family ( and yes, I do realize that with some companies that its a best guess when thats going to happen ).
If a company cannot accomodate my requirements, then I guess that company isnt for me and there is no shortage of companies out there to drive for. Not to mention some of the nightmare stories Ive read ( england, swift, etc ).
The best one Ive heard yet is England ( Every new guy leaves after ninety days! ) ROFL!
Again thanks everyone for your posts, insight, and experiences
they have been most helpfull in making this decision.
Lnk3d

Answer:

Ballpark calculations on paper are nowhere near reality.
120,000X .30=36,000 Might as well apply for the Food Stamps soon
if you have a "Family". " Sacrifices"made for a $10.00ph job.