Question:
There is so many posts about how bad trucking is and the conditions ecte.
So to be fair , who has worked in other jobs and left to better themselves or at least believe they bettered themselves by getting into trucking.

Answer:
Just recently I pulled out my paychecks from 1989
delivered auto parts for a new car dealship M/F 8am to around 5pm or sometimes maybe 6pm
2004 union trailer trucking job,all sorts of wild hours,never knew when I would start or get done from day to day
45 hours at either job,the take home pay adjusted for inflation was the same
one big differance,if i wanted to I could get ahead in auto parts and move up to an inside job that would pay twice as much
I could attend school at night if i wanted to and advance in any direction I wanted,because i had normal sane working hours
Trucking is a deadend rat trap,you are trapped with almost zero chance of advancement.what the hell they can find anyone to work inside and sure ain't going to pull a driver out of a truck and let them work inside.
1992 my wages as a newbie for werner would be 43k in todays dollars,one big differance is today the long haul easy loads get shipped by rail.drivers don't leave Omaha with a load of kelloggs going to CA thats a drop trailer 24 hours a day,they leave Omaha with a load going to a grocery warehouse a few hundred miles away that delivers at 2am
http://www.ooida.com/documents/company_dvr_profile.html
The largest majority of drivers made between $30,000 and $40,000 last year with an average of $39,678.
The average number of years in trucking is 20.3
they are making less than a 2 week wonder made 10 years ago at werner
http://www.ooida.com/documents/owner_operator_profile.html
same vantastic numbers for o/o's from the same survey
and people want to say trucking is good
Answer:

It's easy to see the "proof is in the pudding". Just look at the trucking "players". It's a more than sad bunch. It would be a downright lie to describe this group as the "cream of the crap". They are far below that level. Therefore trucking will never be anything but a joke among jokes. Hell, I even laughed at myself for being such an idiot to accept trucking work/pay conditions. How did I allow myself to stoop this low ?
I never did match up with the trucking heros. To accept ignorance, work all the time, chrome loving, planning a year ahead for a truck show, not having a home, no retirement, no hygiene, no sex, no family unity, hoboing around, looking/acting stupid as normal was way more than I could handle and surely had no connection with pre-trucking years. Takes a special, special, special DA to enter trucking and then the ones that like/love it there is no telling what tragedy happened in their lives. Intelligence, normalcy, self esteem/respect wasn't a part of their lives for sure.Whoa is me. Yup, put the brakes on the trucking crapola and haven't looked back.


Answer:

Everyone has temporary lapses in judgement...assuming they had judgement to begin with...those capable of learning from their mistakes eventually recover...

You must not have been a REAL truckdriver, or you wouldn't be badmouthing it!
Answer:
Homebuilder/Construction Manager for Centex Homes.Before that I built apartments all over Texas.
Left that career behind because the stress was affecting my health.
Not near as much money in trucking but I'm alot happier and relatively stress free.
What Zigzag said is not always true--I was offered a management position where I work(Universal Forest Products)three months ago.I repectfully declined.
Answer:
My transition started back in the late 80's when my employer overdiversified and started a couple of other businesses using our company as a "cash cow". The other businesses ultimately drained our operating funds and vendors began refusing to ship us the goods we needed to sell to generate revenues. They eventually filed Ch7...closed the doors with 6 million $$ in orders/backorders. This was one of those jobs you'd kill for. I was the principal District Manager for Florida...Co car, credit cards, salary w/bonus, worked from home..etc. Then one day....no job. Went to work for competitor....what a mess. Opened my own business and did well for 8 years. Wife had massive heart attack, health insurance costs "skyrocketed" from $100.00 a month to $2000.00 a month. Decided to sell out, and did so.
Why did I chose "trucking"? Because by the time all of this happened...none of my competitors wanted to hire me....kind of a revenge thing...and I was "too old" for most companies....oh, they won't tell you that, but sales is a young man's game.... and I was in my mid-forties. Plus most people that interviewed me for positions were younger than me...and were somewhat "threatened" by me and my resume....I guess they thought I would try to take their jobs. But that wasn't so...I just wanted to "sell". I was told that I was "overqualified" for all the jobs.
At the time FL wasn't exactly an economic paradise....and many businesses didn't have health insurance benefits. I got to investigating trucking. I found that there wasn't an "age discrimination" issue to deal with, and just about all the companies offered relatively inexpensive health insurance. Particularly when compared with the premiums I had been paying as a business owner.
No, I don't make as much in some ways as I used to, but on the other hand, I don't have the "debt load" I used to deal with as a business owner, and since I'm not paying out $36-40K a year for health insurance....I can reconcile the difference in pay. Actually in many ways I'm better off financially. Maybe because I know how to not waste money, and I'm pretty much debt free.
While my particular "circumstances" are somewhat unique....I think that trucking does offer people avenues to improve their lot.
Not everyone comes from areas with high paying jobs with benefits. Not everyone is able to get a college degree or higher. So for some people its either go in the service and make it a career, or move to another area of the country....but that can pose another problem. Not everyone has the money to "move" and find a new home and look for a job...much less travel at their own expense to go to interviews, etc. And some people have strong family ties and may own a house and land.....or simply don't want to leave that area.
So, for some people...trucking, with all its "downsides and pitfalls" is a way for some people to climb out of an economic hole, better their lives and those of their families. The question as to what is better can be highly subjectively answered....but life is that way. What works for one may not work for another.
And you have to look at it this way: There are only so many CEO jobs, so the rest have to be filled by people who will do those jobs. In this current climate of "big business" using "outsourcing" to pad the bottom line..many people have found themselves out of work...but their debt and mortgages don't go away, they are still there. No other jobs in town....but if they can get a job driving a truck, maybe they can maintain what they have or possibly even make more.
For every failure in trucking, there are success stories Every industry has its pitfalls, downsides, and fools. Look around you....there are plenty in evidence.
Trucking is not unique....though some of the people work damn hard at it. There is just a modicum of freedom in being "out of sight and out of mind" where the boss can't see you....if you know what I mean.
No, trucking is not for everyone. Its not a one size fits all situation. And yes there are things that need to be changed...for the benefit of all. But still, you have to remember.....for some its a good place to be, even a damn fine place to be.......even far better than where they came from.
Sorry for the long post....but you did ask. Maybe somebody will get the not so hidden message.......... So I like what I do, you don't, too bad, get over it. Get on with your life, I am.

Answer:

don't sound like a for hire trucking company,it's sounds like a distributor with a private fleet,don't really matter though,it's rare and does happen Hairbear is out of the truck and in the office,so it does happen,just not likely to happen
Answer:
I did bs contruction work. You know, shovel, flag man general all around idiot that gets treated like a POS. ALso did landscaping bs. Pumped gas,. Even tried my hand in carpentry for a while. Horse $hit.
Trucking is not all that bad compared to the bs I did. Pay is much better so are the benefits. Much less BS. No POS boss looking over my shoulder. I do my thing take the qualcom bs and just do it to it. No matter what anyone says. Trucking is a far cry from being treated like some pos on a construction job. It was the drivers that got treated the best there. SO thats why i went for it.

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I make over 150K a year and own a fleet of trucks and wish I only had one and I drove it. Trucking is stress free and if you are a o/o and dont make a good living then you dont know how to make money .

Answer:

That is the God's honest truth. I am going through that right now. I am trying any way, shape, and form to get into the office. (or at least a plant position)
I want to get off the truck before the snows start. In addition to driving, I have to climb up on the tank approx 20 times per day to take a measurement after each pick up. I am not looking forward to being up there in the snow. I have been told that I'll never get into the office, because I am too "valuable" as a driver.
It IS true. As a driver, being promoted to a non driving position is rare.

Answer:

In other words, most guys with 20-odd years in trucking are making around $40K/year. Now that's really something to look forward to and be proud of.
I'll make $60K+ next year where I'm at with a measly 1.25 years on the job.
Live better- work union.
Answer:
i will make $60k+ non union driver. father in law worked for teamsters as a driver nearly his hole working. (edited) him over when there was a problem. work not steady, off to much. brother drove for ups pulling doubles on a line haul from chicago. said union sucked. left and started his own small fleet. best friend just left painters union in chicago, bs jobs, work not steady, to much politics. left union for non-union job. makes same, no union bs dues. work year round, no politics
same money or better, no union BS, no brainer. unions work some places, not all.

Answer:
I've had a couple of different jobs and to be honest I've never really hated any of them. The first private sector job I had was as an armed security guard a salvage auction place. I worked the graveyard shift for a while, then the place was bought out by a bigger competitor. They installed an electric fence and eliminated on-site security. After that I went to school for autobody and started working in a dealership bodyshop. The pay was okay, the work was easy, but you don't see many old bodymen around. Exposure to that crap kills you off early. I got divorced and relocated, back to my home town. I took over the family business from there, and the fun really began. It wasn't hard work since I grew up working those stores, but it sure was stressful. I don't know how my old man made it 40 years without having a heart attack. I was coming home angry every night, and started to hate my customers with a passion. I liked doing the work but hated the people I had to deal with every day.
Eventually, we lost a government contract. It was phased out, so I got a letter telling me that myself and my employees are eligible for job-retraining. There wasn't a whole lot on to choose from... They weren't paying to train any rocket scientists, but they did train truck drivers. It was something I always wanted to try so I eliminated my own job from the company and gave it a whirl.
This was the job that I was actually closest to hating. When I was out there OTR for a dweller carrier, I didn't like it even a bit. Just starting a new family, and I leave my small business to live on the road for 10-12 days at a time? Dumb move... I lucked out and got an opportunity to change jobs.

Answer:

Same money maybe in 12 months. You can make that in 8-9 months union and don't worry about the time off. Find some kind of life for God's sake. These damn trucking fools, now painters are some of the most ignorant folks about working I've ever seen. Live to work, live to work that's all they think about. Truly pitiful.Whoa is me. Yup, put the brakes on the trucking crapola and haven't looked back.


Answer:

Right.
You'll be lucky to break $30K next year, newbie. Now go take a shower.