Question:
Hmmmmm, boy I'm beginning to think SOME of you are actually having an affect over me. In the family room I sound like I'm saying trucking sucks, today in chat a wannabe (someone not yet in trucking) asks a question and I again sound like trucking sucks.
Let me be real clear.... these are MY OPINIONS
If you have two small children BOTH under the age of two, maybe trucking isn't for you. If you have a hard time being away from home or doing with out or sacrificing while out on the road, maybe trucking isn't for you. Trucking is a LIFESTYLE, NOT just a JOB! Yes, it is a job, yes there are local gigs (mostly they go to experienced drivers who know the routine already NOT someone straight out of school), but for the most part you are Under paid, Over worked, AND NOT home as much as YOU want to be! Yes it is what you make of it, sometimes though it takes a while to make something out of NOTHING!
Recruiters / Fleet Managers / Dispatchers / or anything else they call themselves are in it for ONE thing! MONEY.... the more bodies the more MONEY!!!!
Going to a school the company pays for is INDENTURED SERVITUDE. We outlawed slavery in the 1800's why would you want to go back to it? Grant it the time period might be specified, but trust me, if you are in a BAD situation / a bad fit / an unsafe environment that little bit of time is going to feel like a LIFETIME.
So the person who was in chat, listen to Mark, he had some wonderful suggestions for you. Read, ask questions, and never ever give up!
<stepping down off soapbox now......> Sorry guys, had to get it off my chest! Oh yeah, and I personally LOVED trucking, miss it horribly, would go back in a split second (if the Warden wasn't around)! Right now I have a goal, finish school, get my degree, go where destiny takes me.
For those that don't know, the Warden is my 14 y/o daughter, I am a single parent, she rode on the truck for most of my time on it. I drove team and solo and did it for FIVE years.- Pete
The only source of knowledge is experience.
- Albert Einstein
Cj aka Fairedust

Answer:
Why step down. You are right for the most part. Many people that want to get into trucking are doing it for reasons that will not get them through it in the long haul. They will quit for many reasons. Unfortunatly you can tell most of them all about it over and over and they wont listen. If you dont speak positivly about the job and how great it is to be a paid tourist you'll be labeled as one of the trucking sucks crowd.
I dont go much for the lifestyle idea. It is a job first and foremost. Unfortunatly most drivers want the glorious lifestyle. When they find out it is work including long hours and stress with little pay they leave.
Why anyone with a family at home would want to be a driver I'm not sure. Doesn't matter if the kids are young or old. What they end up being is children from single parent homes. Moms end up being both mother and father 80 percent of the time. While dad gets to go out and live that lifestyle he has dreamed of since he was little. In many cases thats mom out living that life style. Seems a little more than crazy to me.
Then the sad reality of the job hits home and the majority quit the business. Now their worse off than when they went into it. It's a sad truth for the families that go through it. Hopefully telling the truth will sink into some of their heads and their dreams of Big trucks and site seeing while unloading will give way to truth.

Answer:

You KNOW how I hate to be horrible, and today I compared myself to GASP..... Ziggy!

That's EXACTLY what I'm talking about Stuffs. I'm not glorifying it, I just am trying to explain that it is NOT like being at home. Being able to go out just because you feel like it or having the privacy of one's own bathroom or bedroom.

YEP, I already was a single parent when I made the decision about being on the road. I was already working 70 - 80 hours a week, I was given an Hour's notice that I was no longer at a company I had worked in for ELEVEN years (it was sold). The Warden and I had a setup very unique, she had some place that when she wanted off the truck she could come. My parents have always been there for us and continued, she flew home more times than I can count. She was flying alone BEFORE this decision so it was NOT new for her. But we are / were an exception, she did well with it, I was amazed.

Thank you Stuffs! Sometimes my mouth and my fingers work faster than my brain and I say or post things I shouldn't nice to hear that this time I am in the MAJORITY. - Pete
The only source of knowledge is experience.
- Albert Einstein
Cj aka Fairedust

Answer:
I thought your statements were realistic Fairedust you did good.
It would be great if more folks were as realistic as you.
I wish all of the Wannabies would visit and archive the Family Forum
for a view of how the vocation affect the Family.
Answer:
Back when I milked cows, OTR was a step up in pay and a decrease in hours worked. My wife said that she did not marry a driver and if that was my choice, we did not have to stay married. So, I didn't go driving. I don't think that I could now. I would miss the kids way too much.
I do figure on signing a feeder bid at UPS someday down the road, that should get the bug out of my system once and for all.
Tom B

Answer:

Wow, RABELAM and I actually agree on something !
It takes the right person in the right situation to do well in OTR. It's not for everyone, and it usually helps to have both parents to bring up the kids.
I'm single, and as far as I know, I don't have any kids yet , so the OTR lifestyle is OK by me. I'm still young, but would definitely quit running OTR when it came time to start a family.Not liable for any information posted.

Answer:

Well, I came in to say thank you to Rabelam, but discovered, I need to thank BOTH of you!
CC, you are so right, OTR is NOT for everyone!!!!! And it MIGHT take two parents to raise a child, but some of us are doing okay in a single family home. Is it optimal? NO, but I would never have stayed where I was in order to give her two parents. She does quite well and I have several friends, family members that fill in when the need arises!
Thanks guys, I just had an opinion I needed to get off my chest! Dang thing was weighing me down. - Pete
The only source of knowledge is experience.
- Albert Einstein
Cj aka Fairedust

Answer:

If the marriage was intact, then yes, it's best to have both parents there to raise the kids.
I know of quite a few single parents that do a great job with their childrens' upbringing.
Sorry for any misunderstanding, CJ. Now quit trying to make ME feel bad! Not liable for any information posted.

Answer:

Agreed!

LOL, thanks! Me make YOU feel bad????????????? ROFLMAO..... sugar I don't have THAT kind of POWER!!!!!! I was just pointing out some flaws I saw, and sharing MY opinion.
By the way, the Warden is mad at me, did you talk to her? Something about you not getting brownies.... sheesh the kid is a stickler!- Pete
The only source of knowledge is experience.
- Albert Einstein
Cj aka Fairedust

Answer:
I didn't get the brownies the heck with the Capt.
Please warden Please

Answer:

LOL, too funny! You want HIS brownies and YOU can't cross the Mississippi. OMG..... thank you Batty!!!!! You just provided fuel to the FIRE!!!!!! But at least with YOU I have an excuse!!! I just told her you won't come this side of the Mississippi, won't repeat what she said, cause she got her mouth washed out. But alas it was / is TRUE!!!!!! LOL, just don't want it coming out of HER mouth! LOL!
She did inform me of this, if we ever get back to Missoula, you WILL get brownies. LOL, glad she doesn't care for Montana right about now! So those are the rules boys and girls..... come to Florida! - Pete
The only source of knowledge is experience.
- Albert Einstein
Cj aka Fairedust

Answer:

Proving "miracles" do happen.