Question:
Greetings to all truckers...........
I am a 30 year old that recently graduated from college (finally) into a world where my degree seems basically useless. Having been laid off from what I considered to be a pretty good office job at about the same time as my college graduation, I have spent the last four months applying for hundreds of jobs, interviewing for a few, and finding the vast majority of them to be extremely low paying while taking orders from fat, unhappy people that dont really seem to appreciate being able to go home everynight, having friends, social lives, etc.
As many of you would guess, trucking companies have made their way out of the blind spots and into the fields of vision of most contemporary job seekers with claims of $40K to start, free training, seeing the country, etc. Wanting to explore these claims further, I filed applications with Schnieder and Swift and spoke to recruiters from each. Both made things seem relatively all-encompassing with offers to teach me EVERYTHING I would need to know and get me started in a career of making more than $500 a week every week for a really really long time. Being used to a life of having about $1000 a month in bills and considering 40 hours a week at $15 an hour to be good, this offer sounds pretty swell!
And then one must consider the bad side of these things and how they could or would effect me. When it comes to home life, my ex and I are already done for as of about 5 years ago and I usually see my son about once every 5-7-9-14 days or so. His mother and I get along well and I dont see any issues there that werent cried over 5 years ago. My girlfriend goes to college out of state and she is a once or twice monthly thing as it is. Within these four walls where I currently type, there are no other humans that depend on me daily. My social life isnt all that big, Ive always been more of a nerd than anything else, and I dont think I will suffer greatly from being able to see certain people once a month rather than the once every 2-3 weeks as I already do. I like hard work and have always felt an extreme lack of challenge in previous office jobs and I think trucking may be worth exploring.
Dont get me wrong, I have read alot of the horror stories here and I am no different than most. I dont want to work for free and I dont want my life to depend on my ability to work for 36 hours straight and I dont want to have to wait for the tranny hooker to finish off Bubba's BJ in the stall at 4AM so I can go poop in the truck stop. I think any human worth anything would have a natural fear of these things. Most of all, if this is a career decision Im to make, I want to give it 110% and get the most possible education, experience, money, satisfaction and benefit for my effort. After all, this career seems to be all-encompassing and there is no going home at the end of the day. Could anyone offer advice (if anyone is still reading) about what school I should pick? I am not in the field of people that have no means whatsoever and must accept whatever school will wipe their behinds for free. Thank god for having the brains to save.......
Schnieder seems to have good pay and benefits while Swift seems to be more willing to detail everything that students must do while US Xpress seems to have the nicest trucks (mmmm....automatics) and Werner doesnt seem to have anything at all. Furthermore, CR England just seems like indentured servitude and I sure dont want that. On top of all this, contracts to work for a certain amount of time to pay for school seem like danger.....but getting training from a "school" and then not having a job is....where I am now!!! I live in metro Detroit and it does not seem that there are any company-schools around here yet all of the major carriers have terminals nearby.
Can anyone help me to make this decision a bit more informed than I already am? If I do this, I dont want to be a "steering wheel holder"...I want to be a professional! Sorry to ramble and thanks so much for the help...........................

Answer:
Why anyone would waste any college degree on dead end
low wage career is beyond me.
Answer:
When said college degree seems more and more to equal a $29,000 piece of paper, more choices....even those that arent as "cool" seem more plausible.

Answer:
When every kid in the country now uses college as a way to further their slacking off for another 4 years most degrees becomes useless upon graduation. What is your degree in son? Perhaps I could offer help. Before choosing trucking, maybe check into becoming an oridinary seaman for NOAA or something that would offer the opporitunity to travel and advancement within the government.

Answer:
At the engineering/consulting company I worked for, I was an administrative grunt that specialized in being told what to do. As that often involved taking the boss' Bentley for service, that whole gig was not too bad. As time went on, I DID manage enough life-motivation to want to do something in the company other than that, and quickly noticed that the marketing/advertising department in the company had the most turnover and most growth. So....to make a really long story short, by the time I got my bachelor's in marketing/business administration, the "economy was bad" and I got canned in the most pleasant way possible. They even threw me a party and gave me severance, but canned nonetheless...
A job with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration? Wow...I watch the weather channel for fun, but meterology wasnt covered in business school. Dad told me to his dying day to avoid military work, and the national guard recruiters Ive spoken to sounded WAY more venomous than the trucking recruiters Ive spoken to, plus I have a history of asthma, so I dont know about all that, but like Ive said.....I will gladly take any help I can get by this point. Im used to having that (edited) I worked for send me to Chicago at 5AM for the dry cleaning he accidentally left behind (Im not kidding either), and this sitting at home stuff is for the birds.

Answer:
On the West Coast out here NOAA is pretty laid back. You'd go out in the Spring and come back in the early Fall with winter off if desired and a little over 40k in your pocket. Otherwise you can stick around and fix the boat up for next season. If you're looking to be gone for months and have plenty of time off as a reward, this could be a good option. Where else would you have someone cook for you daily free of charge? The people on the ships out here are everyday folks who dont wear uniforms. Trust me man, even those nights at home being a nerd are going to be missed when you're stuck in the truck 24/7. Take it from a guy who's within your age range. OTR is a occupation for someone who wants nothing to do with society or presenting themself in a professional manor anymore. Look into local jobs if you really want to drive a truck.

Answer:
What do these NOAA people do during their Spring-Fall working season? This, I take it....is not on par with joining the Navy? I appreciate your advice and am glad to get it before I make a choice rather than after.

Answer:
After reviewing your post, you actually have many options, besides getting into trucking business. Many on this forum are veteran truck driver or retired. THEY KNOW the business and they know what they are talking about. Read some their posts and reflect on their knowledge.
Me, I wanted to drive a truck since I was 11. BJ and the Bear, Convoy, you might not remember those TV shows. They painted a picture that a truck driver was cool, but my father showed me back in the early 80's that trucking was not the way to go. My dad had a degree in Mech Engineer at EMD (Electrio Motive Division, builder of diesel locomotives) outside of Chicago. He me told an education, a degree or a trade was more valuable. So I went to automotive technician school out of high school. Did that for a about 5 years. Got tired of getting dirty, cuts and dealing with management issues. After that, got in telcommuncations, cool. The internet was just getting up and running. Learned a lot. LAN, WAN's PC's software, it was great. Got college courses in Network Tech and Administration. Then the dot com bust. You have all these certs and degress and they were worth nothing. Plus, companies was outsourcing tech jobs to new developing countries (India, China, Russia). 60K jobs here were going for 10-15K in those countries. So the techies here could not find compatable jobs.
I did the trucking for about 1 year. And was not impressed. The training was free, very little out of pocket expense. But trying to find a trucking jobs out of school was tough. Once you do find one, they will work you to death with low pay and NO life. I understand the phrase, "You must crawl, before you can walk." That is with life in general and looking for jobs. Again, read over some postings in the Newbies section and give it some serious thought. Before signing on the dotted line.Ivey EnviroTech Services
Start Up date: 3/1/06

Answer:
Thanks for your input, Q in Sac!
I wish my dad had just once had the sense to get after me about actually learning to DO something in life. A childhood full of "do good in school and itll fall in your lap" BS basically taught me how to follow instructions pretty well and thats about it. I know, boo-effin'-hoo on me.
One of my favorites was that Jan-Michael Vincent movie "White Line Fever". Various cable channels STILL show it and everytime I see it I can't help but want to go out and run down some evil, oppressive corporate types in an 18-wheeler.
Lately I feel really burned out on the whole "go to work everyday and live for the weekend" life. Even at its best, that life, like many others, only goes further with alot of skills that going to college part time while working for big corporations full time just didnt give me. Plus, sometimes I think I just might be the anti-social type that alot of respondents on here fear becoming.
Sometimes I think that if trucking really sucks, I might just have to go find that out for myself. I just hope I dont have to fall off a mountain in a 60K pound truck to get to that point.
Whatever I do, I wont go out and become the NEXT crocodile hunter. RIP Steve Irwin.

Answer:

How about former truckers?

Didn't pick the right degree, eh? No matter, I don't have a degree, and I dobetter than I did when I was in trucking.

Heh heh...the vast majority of trucking jobs (especially OTR) are low paying (considering the hours you must put in), and you take your orders from fat unhappy dispatchers who revel in the fact that they get to heap crap on you and then go home and enjoy their lives while you slave away all night on an impossible load.

How do you know when a truck company recruiter is lying? His mouth is moving.

Yeah, they pretty much tell you anything you want to hear just to get you to sign your life away on the dotted line.

Does 80 hours a week at less than $15 an hour sound swell? Because you'll get alot of that in trucking.

However little you get to see your son now, it willbe less when you go OTR.

That may decrease too.

No wonder the recruiters liked you.

After the first few years, not that much challenge in trucking either. It is, for all practical purposes, a dead end job.

Which you will be doing quite a bit of in trucking.

Some would say that is the only way to make BIG money in trucking.

Why not? You'll be standing in line to do most everything else in life when you are on the road.

You got that right.

Schneider is probably the best of these outfits you just named.

At least you noticed that! There was one person here who thought all the bad things he heard about CRE were just lies told by grouchy truckdrivers. He soon found out differently, much to everyone else's amusement.

You can go to a CDL mill and still end up as a good driver. Just like you can go to a top notch CDL school and end up as a f*****g steering wheel holder. It sounds like you are smart enough to become a good driver if you choose to proceed in this endeavor. But I dare say it also sounds like you are smart enough to make better use of your time than wasting a life locked in the cab of the truck going down the road all day.
There are some people for which trucking perfectly suits them. But for most, they do it because it is the most money they can make for their limited skills, education, and talents. To many, their choices are trucking or factory work - no wonder they choose trucking. But if you have more options than those two, I'd suggest you consider them.
Good fortune in whatever you decide.
Answer:
Wow, Id think any former trucker wouldnt be into a site such as this but what do I know! Anywho, thanks for your help and I can definitely say that Ive been taking your advice (considering my other options) for...well....years now and it looks more and more like the general ability to string a sentance together isn't as prized as it used to be. I picked a worthless major and am fully qualified to look professional and write stunningly well-worded emails. One thing I DID keep through all the keg-parties, study groups and soroity house orgies was a perfect driving record. Maybe I should put it to use?
There has to be more to life withOUT singing on with Uncle Sam.
All that in mind, whats the rep. for this "Millis Transfer" company Im reading about? They seem to NOT have the big, shiny website that the goliath companies have, yet they hire Michigan drivers and have an attractive list of assorted bonuses and incentives. I really hope that a company school such as this would possibly NOT own me in exchange for paying their tuition up front. Another CDL mill or quality people?

Answer:
This site is rift with old dogs howling to have their heads scratched and mutts that can't hunt barkin' at every "trail" they come across.
Excuse the metaphors. Yet the naysayers are soured beyond palatable nourishment. At least so in my mind.
Sign on with what you find as a good fit. Either through a carrier or via a CDL cash and carry plan. You can always grow a beard, buy one of those corny felt cowboy hats, a pair of conspicuous boots and learn the strategy of truck stop buffets.
Ok, enough of my diatribe. Good luck and good smarts will convince you NOT to post again. Give your life back to yourself and go get 'em.
Answer:
What up JGreen?
I'm from Detroit Mi and I'm the same age as U and I've driven OTR for 3 years.
I've been off the road since January2004 due to some tickets I recieved in
2003. I had to leave Michigan for a few years due to no work in Detroit after
I couldn't drive. I enjoyed the freedom I got from it and like every proffession
there is gonna be good days and real bad days. It's not for everyone. I'm tryin
harder than ever to get back on road. Take your time and think everything over
and accept whatever choice U make. GOOD LUCKDONNY SCHNEIDER TOLD ME THAT.

Answer:
Yaaintdeadyet.....That was the funniest freakin' reply I couldve ever hoped for. A felt hat! I think I see what youre saying though in that there are certain people here that live for the negativity and they are so vigilant about it that it almost invalidates any good information that could come from this page.
I am still yet to find ANY occupation on earth where a large percentage if its labor pool does NOT constantly complain about poor conditions, poor treatment and everything basically sucking. Even pro football players, rock stars, crash test dummies all talk about how much their line of work sucks. I cant hear all that and just give up and go be a Wal-Mart greeter.

Answer:
Lots of good advice and opinion above. There's been some media "buzz" recently (I think it originated with something from Forbes) about how truck driving is one of the higher paying careers that doesn't require a college degree. Certainly, compared to the new generation of low-wage jobs available these days, trucking looks good in comparison.
But the better paying jobs are hard to come by the first few years, and anything that's going to pay very good involes a real "trucker" lifestyle -- living on the road and working the hours equivalent of two full-time "normal" jobs.

Be careful reading too much into these carrier's publicity pitch. For all practical purposes, they're virtually identical. The significent difference is England's or Swift's "free truck school" -- and it is endentured servitute. But otherwise, the difference between these training companys is the difference between GM's, Ford's and Chrysler's best selling sedans, although their advertising tries to convince you otherwise. Add-up all the individual pros and cons of each company, and they produce a remarkably similar sum. You'll be pulling the same type of freight on the same schedule with similar equipment for virtually the same net pay....
Yes -- there are some scummy folks out here of course. You don't have to become one of them. You can choose to keep yourself clean, well groomed and civilized, as many (if not most) do. But OTR takes you in the direction of becoming a social hermit, and it's difficult sometimes to maintain and present yourself in a professional manner that few you deal with care one way or the other about. This parrallel universe (as I like to call it) pulls you away from what most folks want -- a permanent home you return to at the end of the day, a local neighborhood...and friends and family.
I'd strongly suggest re-tooling your job search and explore some non-trucking options you haven't considered yet. If you've truly applied for "hundreds" of jobs and not found a match, something's wrong. An entry level job with a growing company, for example, can put you in-line for advancement when they need new managers from the ranks. That's when your degree could pay off.
Asking if you should consider OTR trucking, is kind'a like asking if you should move to Brazil. You really have to want to live there, instead of an after-thought alternative to your original plan. The OTR lifestyle is so radically different, and poses so many unforseen problems ( not the least of which is social isolation and it's affect on mental health) that it's really best left to those who want to disappear from "normal" life. The best match for OTR truckers are probably those who couldn't stand the kind of life most Americans strive for. Those who don't accept this fact get very frustrated trying to squeeze trucking's square peg into their round hold expectations. OTR isn't a job. It's a lifestyle. And no matter how much you may like the work, the life you have to lead to perform it will damn near kill you if you resent its unique characteristics.