[FlyByWire]

I personally think that OTR trucking is the most irresponsible profession a father with kids under 16 at home can get into.

Id take a job fliping burgers, rather than see my kids 4 days a month.

[brucog]

I respect what has been said by the orignal posters, but its my opinion that there is positve and negative aspects to every career. I have been behind a desk for 15 years and at home. I can tell you that the stress level and daily dread of having your a@@ chewed by a "hitler" in dress pants is not an ideal situation either. I have also determined that you can be at home and not be at home if you know what I mean. You can be so filled with dread about having to go into the office the next day that you don't want to see or talk to anyone. even your family. So, I like others face this new career with some trepidation, but also with alot of exicitement. Further more, divorce is not exclusive to drivers. I know serveral desk jockies that have had several wives and or girlfriends and all have suffered thru their indiscretions. To make a long story short (too late) life is just that, life. Do the best you can, provide for your family the best you can and dont expect more out of it than it can deliver.

Just my thoughts.

[Bigmon]

There are a lot of jobs that take you away from home if you want to move up the ladder.

Hotels, new reporters, military, photographers, athletes, celebrities.

For example: Imagine how long a CNN reporter would last turning down assignments or a ESPN camera man refusing to go to the Olympics because it's not in his home town.

[got mud?]

Originally Posted by FlyByWire

I personally think that OTR trucking is the most irresponsible profession a father with kids under 16 at home can get into.

Id take a job fliping burgers, rather than see my kids 4 days a month.

I guess seeing dad is better than starving?

burger flipper 6-6.50$/HR 40 hours a week (ya good luck most only hire part time) 260 a week

second job 6.50/25hr
162 a week

total 422 before taxes a week without benifits and such ... oh you'll be home everynight but you can hang up going to ball games etc. with two jobs.

just being home everyday does not make you a good father! being gone a lot does not automaticaly make you a bad father!

[Skywalker]

AFF, and y'all.....while there is a "grain of truth" in the post....and that "grain of truth" or two, or even three....may apply to some people....but as all else is wont to be...the world is not a "one size fits all world".

I've been out here since 94', have well over 1,000,000 miles, and have not suffered the problems outlined in that post. Granted, I don't have children at home....anymore, but if one was to place all that much "emphasis" on being home then 40% of the jobs in this country would "suck" by that standard.

I guess everyone who was a:

Soldier,
Sailor,
Airman,
Marine,
Coast Guard,
Border Patrol,
Salesman,
Traveling Technician,
Business Executive,
Accounts Manager,
Traveling Nurses,
and hundreds of other jobs,

Would be "fools", broke, bankrupt, divorced, and all the rest.

Sorry....one mans sob-story or set of problems is not mine or anyone elses. My marriage has survived quite successfully for over 25 years, thank you, and even before I got into this I was traveling all of North America by air, and gone for as much as 28 days at a shot. I made good money....lived good, and still do. And my wife and I are just as close as we ever were.

Lets face it. This is not the easiest job in the world. Its not the classiest.
Its not the prettiest. Its not the highest paying. Nor is it the best job in the world. It will more than likely not be any of those. But then again, I can say the same things in many ways about the "high paying job I had flying around on jets all the time".... All it boils down to is: The game stays pretty much the same...all that changes is the names.

But no matter how you paint it.....it does in fact pay a damn sight better than a crappy "burger flipping job" at "Mickey D's or the BK Lounge". And anyone who thinks thats a better job situation....well, lets just say...a tad more than "intellectually challenged". Unless of course you are the "Franchise Owner"....

The truth and reality is that way too many people try to post this abject sob story crap....and try to force others into that mold. Face it....no matter how hard you try...you cannot put a square peg into a round hole and make it fit well. So what one person finds in life to be a sour lemon, may be someone else's happiness.

Seems to me that the "biggest perpetuators" of this drivel routine is the "Three Stooges" on that other site....one of them a "retired teamster" who cashes his $3500+ a month pension check, and then verbally dumps on the industry that put him in that position. The other stooge, well, is just a stooge...so's the other one. And you having been on that site now "precisely what I think and feel about hypocrites, naysayers, and hatemongers". They have about as much "social value and merit" as a pile of "dog feces".

AFF, generally....generally speaking....most of what you post here to start a thread has value, or is thought provoking, or entertaining. This one "sucked" and has all the merit of a "blivit".

Before anyone goes off on a rant....think about this: If this job "sucked so bad"....why are so many people doing it? Why are so many so successful, and why would so many find the post a "laugh"? And why are so many wanting to get into it???

Here's a secret in life: Many industries don't have the same turnover, but its not because so many get in and fail....its because so many can't even qualify for the job they want...so they never even get a chance to succeed, much less fail. This is one of the few industries where one can get a chance..... Then its up to them.

[Redeemed]

I have seen this post pop up more than once and as a new driver trying to make my way into this profession I can already tell you that it is spot on correct.

That said would somebody please tell me where is this glorious job out there that will allow me to make something close to a wage, allow me all this off time to see my kid's ballgames, scout meetings, dance recitals, and also get me home at night? Oh yeah, along with little to no travel?

This poster says pretend you are an illegal immigrant and get into construction.....anything except trucking? Well that's a suggestion but let me ask you if you get to take the time off to hit most (not all but most) of your kid's activities? I just don't think in construction you can tell the foreman at 3 that the boy has a game at 3:30 and hit the clock. And what about the fact that construction in many areas of the country has continued to be as a depressed industry as steel & cars in the '70's or textiles in the '80's and '90's. My dad was in construction spent months away in places like Wichita Falls Tx, Omaha NB, and Willmington NC working till he was sent home or till he could set up a home for us to move out and stay with him.

And I myself as a former burger flipper/manager can tell you if you think fast food is the holy grail then you are out of your friggin mind! If you are a cook or cashier you will work for minimum wage or darn near it unless you happen to live in an area that mandates a higher minimum wage than the Feds do. So you then say "ok well I will just work alot of overtime and make up for it." WRONG! If the owner/manager of a fast food restaurant expects to stay in business for any amount of time he will not pay ANY overtime. In fact you will be lucky to get 30-35 hours a week for fear you might accidentally hit overtime. And just in case you think becoming a manager of "Bobby's Burger Spot" is the answer let me enlighten you. If you think you give free time in trucking working for free then you ain't seen nothin till you get a managers job working on a straight salary. As a manager of a fast food restaurant I worked more hours in a day at a restaurant then I have driven. The only difference is that you might get to go home after pulling your 14-18 hour day! Yes, you heard me right. I have had instances where I had to pull a 24 hour shift in a fast food restaurant and not go home. So does flipping burgers sound like the answer to trucking?

Truth is that now a days most jobs suck! Sound like a pessimist? Well tough. Every job that I have worked since I was 15 has required me to "ask not what my job can do for me, but what can I do for my job." My last job was in an office behind a desk. For 6 years I busted my butt to perform above and beyond the call of duty. Special projects, I was there. Inclement weather, I was there. I missed many a ball game, class play, and school event due to my job requiring my time. AND THAT IS A JOB THAT GOT ME HOME EVERY DAY! I did not have the option to tell my boss, "hey I want to see my boy's school play today." If it needed to be done then I was expected to get it done. When my boss wanted me at a business conference in Montreal less than 30 days after 9/11 guess where I was at. You got it, on a plane to Canada!

So now before some of you claim I am sticking up for trucking let me stop you. I am not. Like I said earlier the op was spot on correct. But what I am asking is where is this job that gets me to the kid's activities, home every night, no travel and the ability to make a living?

It is my opinion that there is no job that will do this to any extent in today's work force short of winning the Powerball. Nowdays the American worker is expected to produce more with less. Work more for less pay and benefits. Give up family and future for the sake of the company. And for what? Used to be you at least looked forward to a gold watch and retirement. Now you are most likely given a meager severance package (if any) when your job is downsized or shipped off overseas while the corporate big wigs set themselves up with golden parachutte packages worth millions so they can live the high life.

Don't believe me....look it up yourself. A recent story in my paper said it all with the headline...."Workers give up more vacation days than ever!" The average American worker does not even get to use up his vacation time. And we are not talking about European workers who get 4+weeks a year with jobs so protected it takes a presidential order to get fired. We are talking about Americans who on average have 2-3 weeks of vacation time a year. In my last employer it was well known and rampant that you ate your lunch while working many times. You also put in a heck of a lot more than 8 hour days and 40 hour weeks. And before some of you step up and say, "well why didn't you tell your boss no" let me ask you, do you tell your dispatcher what loads and where you will go? Unless you are an owner/operator probably not. In the little bit of time I have been in trucking I already know that you won't tell your dipacther "no" too many times before you find yourself sitting for days at a time at the TA waiting and begging for a load.

So to all you experienced folks out there who want to know why so many of us newbies come into trucking? IT'S BECAUSE MOST OF THE WORKING WORLD OUTSIDE OF TRUCKING SUCKS TOO!!!!!

Ok, my rant is over, stepping off the soap box and walking away.

[Them Other Truckrz]

WOW!!!! EEEE ZOWEEEEE!!!!!
That post was originally sent to my wife and I about 9 months ago...good content, it doesn't apply to us but it is the real poop...a couple of our friends we met in school experienced the very thing and they did make the move to go home to the family...and yes they still owe big bucks to the school and company for the school loan...
This did not come close to applying to my wife and I at the time it was sent or anytime for that matter....we have been full time road Gypsy's spending 250+ days on the road since the age of 18, we would not have it any other way....Though I do support these facts, this is good common sense true wisdom and solid advice to most young drivers making this career change with a wife and young children...facts are friendly so believe this drivers from the heart information...good job!

[Karnajj]

I'll make the same reply I made when this EXACT SAME POST came up the last time. Its so shot full of holes (especially the part about the two fast food jobs) it isn't even worth reading.

[overweight]

Here's more 'research' on the problems todays otr drivers face :sad:





http://www.todaystrucking.com/news.cfm?intDocID=16423

[bikerboy]

Originally Posted by crzy4trkn

good post aff,now that we all have identified the problem how do we fix it :?: whats the soulition :?: . the problem as i see it is we need CARRER TRUCK DRIVERS . how many 18 year olds are dieing for our county but can not get a cdl to drive interstate.at 18 years old you can train to become a capenter,iron worker,BUT NOT A INTERSTATE TRUCK DRIVER :!: with the proper training program im sure we can have some very good CARRER TRUCK DRIVERS :!:

I totally agree with that!
The law that requires driver to be at least 21 to drive intersate is stupid!
Now convincing all these damn insurance companys to let carriers hire 18 year old drivers would be another problem.

I think that their are alot of young 18 year old's that would make a safer driver than some of these immature 30 year old drivers out there.


Here in canada, we can drive trucks anywhere in canada once we turn 18. but most long haul companies truck into the usa, so they won't take anyone under 21, and alot of companies won't even take anyone under 25 because of the insurance companies.

So legally anyone can truck OTR in canada, once their 18, but in reality you have to be 25 or at least 21 if you are lucky to get a OTR job anywhere. Since there are almost ZERO canadian long haul companies that run ONLY in canada.

How stupid is that?? the law allows anyone to drive once they are 18, but it's almost imposible to get hired anywhere until you are 25! Doesn't that sound like age dicrimination?????