Boy these are some very good replies!

Anthony,
There may be more guys in the same boat as you than you realize. I know I am! I have a BBA/CIS degree and am a Manufacturing Coordinator for a Cummins distributor. It's got it's rewards but they seem very far between these days. The main drawback, for me at least, seems to be the money. I don't live week to week like I used to but I sure don't want to dwindle the ol' bank account getting started in the biz. I know more than a few drivers that make some pretty darn good money but they've been at it for a while. I'm not whining. I will be more than willing to pay my dues but I still dread the thought of being back to the week to week thing for the next year or so. So my plan is to get a bit more ahead in the checking account so the savings will be there when I'm 67.5 and can retire
Good luck to ya!

 

Another "edumacated" rube!

I earned a sheepskin & mortar board 20 years ago, too, and after selling off a small business a few years back, I'm now driving (local).

The others posting here are correct about how some of the public treats you. You must simply be internally content with your life.

 

Amen, brother! Irregular-route over-the-road trucking is the absolute pits.

 

Another bad thing, alot of the other truck drivers treat you like a second class person also, there is not a whole lot of respect anywhere out here..... Which is sad, I have only been at this 10 months. And the way some of these people treat each other...... :shock:

 

Living in Phoenix, is it possible to go with tmc or maverick and get home every weekend?

 

Anthony, some of the happiest people I have met out here over the years have come from white collar jobs. Perhaps the reason is that it is more of a choice you make, not because you have to do it, but because you want to do it. I have met lawyers, doctors, college professors, teachers, business people, engineers, and just about any other background you can imagine. They all gave up successful careers to pursue trucking. For many it was a step down financially, but the personal rewards have been worth it for them. I spoke with a friend of mine earlier today. He was once a college professor. He now owns several trucks. He plans to sell most of them and just do what he can by himself. He enjoys the lifestyle. Not everyone can adjust to the lifestyle change. There is not another profession quite like trucking. I think being away from family is the most difficult thing for some to adjust. I see more couples driving together. Some spouses don't drive, but accompany their better half to keep them company. When you bring other experiences and a good education with you, there is always the option to go back to what you did before or something totally different. It is up to you.

 

My dad spent his entire career as an accountant and really hated it. His parents came out of the depression era and really pushed him to get a college degree. It paid well and he made the sacrifice for the family. I know 10 to 15 years ago he and I talked for awhile and he said he wished he had been brave enough to quit his job and go drive a truck.


I'm a UPS driver and I get a lot of white collar types who come up to me and say they wished they could do what I do. I've watched my brother who is an airline pilot go from make $100,000 a year just before 9-11 to $45,000 a year. He got laid off, brought back, took a 15% pay cut, then another 25% cut on top of that, told he was going to get laid off again, and left and found another job with Frontier airlines. He's happy to have it, but had to start all over again with a new airline.

The nice thing about truck driving is that you will always be able to find work. It has its own stresses like all jobs, but you don't need to worry about finding work if you get laid off. Up here in Northern Colorado we had 3 Hewlett Packer plants. In the last few years they have shut down 2 of them and downsized the last one. Jobs were cut and some work was sent overseas. Lots of guys with fancy degrees out of work with not a lot of prospects for new employment. Freight has to move around the country and they can't ship the jobs overseas. Maybe import cheap labor here, but that's another post for another time.

 

Most of us will spend at least 1/3 of our lives working. It doesn't make sense to me to spend 1/3 of my life doing a job I hate. Even if there is a big difference in the money, it still doesn't seem to be worth it. You can make a good living driving a truck. Once in the industry and after a few years experience, there are additional opportunities in specialized areas where you can make more money. There are areas of specialization where a driver can earn $100,000/year and not have the headaches of truck ownership. There are LTL carriers where a company driver can make $70-85M/yr with stop pay. These are not beginning wages and are not necessarily open to all drivers. You will need a good background which shows stability, honesty and have a clean MVR. Most any driver can earn $40-60M/yr after about 2 or 3 years experience. Even in the non-trucking sector most jobs don't pay that well whether you have a degree or not, until you gain additional experience.

 

I went from 100k/yr to 45k doing regional OTR and it was tough. But my bills were in line, my IRA is well funded, my kids are out of HS, and my wife is an RN. It's hard getting started. I'm now home daily with an LTL co at the bottom at around 50k and should be over 60 in a year. This is my 3rd LTL job after being laid off twice. I can say I like it but its tough to quit a good job and do this. It has cost me alot of money over the last three years. I could never do OTR unless my wife went with me. After 23 years we still like each other and I dont think anyone else would have me LOL. I dont have all the toys anymore which didn't matter because when I made the big money I didnt have the time anyway and the expensive vacations are out but I've taken up camping. Alot to consider Anthony, good luck in your decision.

 

Amen to that brother! Most people live up to or beyond their means no matter what their income is. If you have to take a pay cut in order to enjoy what you are doing, you'll have to adjust your means.