[kips41]

Anthony, I was in the same position about 15 years ago that you are looking at today. I have a business managment degree and was mid level manager for a large oil company. Then I went trucking. The first year I drove I was gone 6 weeks at a time..paying my dues so to speak..then went to work for a company where I was home each weekend, but you still miss out on alot. I've also worked for an LTL company, dispatched and worked in safety, but driving is still my love and today I am a driver.

Your income will be limited about 35k first year and 45-60k as you gain experience. The best paying gigs are in LTL and private fleets like Walmart and Kraft. 60-80k with the top tier companies is realistic but takes time.....3 years experience with perfect driving record to apply with Wal-mart for example.

But when you look at it as a business decision you make alot of personal saracifices with your time and you don't get alot for it.

I enjoy what I do and make a decent living doing it but, I am not going to sit here and tell you what you should do, you have to do that for yourself.

[kips41]

Originally Posted by Shebear

Anthony, I'm just a rookie. But I also intended to switch careers, and I am also educated at the post graduate level.

The industry has changed, and I tend to think that the veteran drivers you have spoken with either are no longer driving themselves, or they were able to establish themselves as drivers "in the good old days".

It won't take you long to find out that entering truck driving today is a form of indentured servitude.

Those individuals who defend the lifestyle on this board have really burned all their other bridges, or they are the lucky ones who didn't start out since deregulation of the industry.

It's a nice dream, but leave it on your pillow.

Have a good life.

From reading are you driver or a wanna be???

The trucking industry today is better than it has ever been. Rules and Regs than get rid of the dopers and careless drivers and it shows in the fact that the fatlility rate per miles driven is the lowest ever. Companies are doing things to attract and retain employees that they never would have done years ago.


Drivers today have in cab wireless internet, cell phones , APU's, qualcomms, and a host of other things that make life on the road better.

But on fact still remains: Only one person can drive a truck at a time and it is a lonely business sometimes. Now I don't know what "good ole days" you are talking about but I sure would not want to go back to them today, not even 15 years ago when I first starting grinding gears.

You need to look forward, not backwards or GET OUT of the business.

[mi_rookie]

You need to look forward, not backwards or GET OUT of the business.

This is true in life. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow isn't here all we have is today. I use the past to learn from and use tomorrow to plan, but today I live.

I am only considering trucking because my kids are all out of the house. My youngest is 23 and this whold decision is still causing a lot of problems within my family. My daughter is very angry, both of my boys don't want me to go driving and my wife is beside herself. This is not an easy decision to make if you have a family or people that you care about.

Personally I would not consider driving if I had kids at home.

Your other options will also take a lot of time. Starting any business is not easy and can take up a lot of time. Even though you are physically at present at home does not mean that you will be there mentally. I know a lot of small business owners and their families have suffered just as much as if they were not even there at all.

Again this is your choice, but there are different driving opporutnities within the trucking industry.

Hans the mi_rookie

[mf2004champ]

My advise is if you don't want to deal with the family thing, i.e. wife and daughter, then get into trucking. You can be a cowboy on the highway w/ the wife at home w/ the kids.

I have no family and this is why I'm otr cowboy trucker. All I have is my bank account and my truck! Freedom!!!

You wont have 'honey do' lists, and chores. Never! Think of that. But then again, you might want to see your daughter grow up and spend time with your future wife. If that is the case, stay far away from the trucking industry!

Oh yeah, you make $70k now. Case closed.

[ssoutlaw]

Originally Posted by kips41

From reading are you driver or a wanna be???

The trucking industry today is better than it has ever been. Rules and Regs than get rid of the dopers and careless drivers and it shows in the fact that the fatlility rate per miles driven is the lowest ever. Companies are doing things to attract and retain employees that they never would have done years ago.


Drivers today have in cab wireless internet, cell phones , APU's, qualcomms, and a host of other things that make life on the road better.

But on fact still remains: Only one person can drive a truck at a time and it is a lonely business sometimes. Now I don't know what "good ole days" you are talking about but I sure would not want to go back to them today, not even 15 years ago when I first starting grinding gears.

You need to look forward, not backwards or GET OUT of the business.

This industry is not better these days:
You say:

"Drivers today have in cab wireless internet, cell phones , APU's, qualcomms, and a host of other things that make life on the road better."

If you think this has made the industry any better, your crazy!
I wonder how we all survived so long without all the comforts you love so much. I for one don't have time for the Internet and the phone, talk about a road hazard, get that cell phone out of your ear driver....lol


You say:

"The trucking industry today is better than it has ever been. Rules and Regs than get rid of the dopers and careless drivers and it shows in the fact that the fatlility rate per miles driven is the lowest ever. Companies are doing things to attract and retain employees that they never would have done years ago."


There are the same amount of dopers and wreckless drivers, when they get rid of 1, there is always another 2 to take their place, don't live in a dream world! If you think a company cares about you, you are sadly mistaken!
Company's say 1 thing to look good to all the peering eyes, then want you to do what ever it takes to get their precious load there on time. the only good thing I see these days, is the trucks are more comfortable than they were 30 yrs ago. You can say things are better now than they used to be, but you were not around in the old days, so you cant make that statement.
They put people in trucks these days, that have no business being in them at all. I will tell you something, go back to the 70's and get in a truck, and you will have a different opinion, believe me!

You say:

"You need to look forward, not backwards or GET OUT of the business."

How can you even look forward without even looking backwards?
This makes no sense!

[kips41]

Originally Posted by ssoutlaw

They put people in trucks these days, that have no business being in them at all. I will tell you something, go back to the 70's and get in a truck, and you will have a different opinion, believe me!

Okay, so I have my radio playing an old Bread tape. So you really just think that today's drivers are not as good as you were. Has nothing to do that the trucking industry is better today than in the 70's. So I guess you were a super trucker right out of the box?

Equipment, yeah , I want to go back driving a spring ride cabover.....by the way that's what I drove when I started driving. Today we have air ride conventionals with power everything. Trailers....air ride and slide

Pay....for a company driver with a little experience 40 plus cents is very realistic......50 plus cents in the LTL segment and a select few otr .
Plus all the bennies , health ins, life ins, disability ins, dental, vision, 401K, profit sharing, stock purchase and I am sure I am leaving a few out here.

Hometime: many companies run regional operations so being gone weeks on end is not as common.

Truckstops: Todays modern t/s was just in the begining. There are more of them today and offer more services than anything in the 70's as a whole.

Todays Drivers: Have to go to a driving school, pass tests to get a CDL and must go thru a company training program........that's a lot better than every driver in the 70's having a license from 10 different states. Plus subject to random drug test, post accident drug tests, pre employment drug test, resonable suspicion drug tests.
Tickets / violations even in personal vehicle go against CDL.

Todays drivers are held more accountable than ever before.

Freight: most companies have no touch or pay for lumpers. Alot of drop and hook.

HOS: at least now there is a limit on the work day 14 hrs and companies are being held accountable to operate within them. See many articles where drivers and companies are being jailed for violating HOS. In the 70's multiple logbooks or no logbooks at all was commonplace.

Originally Posted by ssoutlaw

You say:

"You need to look forward, not backwards or GET OUT of the business."

How can you even look forward without even looking backwards?
This makes no sense!

If you wake up every morning thinking that yesterday was the best there can be you are already dead.


So, since the "good ole days" of trucking was so good, let's here from everyone who wants to go back to the days of old.

ANY TAKERS????

[BanditsCousin]

Air ride suspension (over spring) and cell phones 9over stopping, finding parking, and using a payphone) are a few comforts drivers have gotten since the old days. Its still the same ball game 8)

BTW- I started wayyyy after deregulation and am doing better than a lot of drivers out there.

I, myself, have an industrial engineering degree and chose bedbugging as my profession- (caps on)- YOU HAVE TO LOVE WHAT YOU DO FOR WORK!!!! :lol:

[ssoutlaw]

Originally Posted by kips41

Okay, so I have my radio playing an old Bread tape. So you really just think that today's drivers are not as good as you were. Has nothing to do that the trucking industry is better today than in the 70's. So I guess you were a super trucker right out of the box?

Equipment, yeah , I want to go back driving a spring ride cabover.....by the way that's what I drove when I started driving. Today we have air ride conventionals with power everything. Trailers....air ride and slide

Pay....for a company driver with a little experience 40 plus cents is very realistic......50 plus cents in the LTL segment and a select few otr .
Plus all the bennies , health ins, life ins, disability ins, dental, vision, 401K, profit sharing, stock purchase and I am sure I am leaving a few out here.

Hometime: many companies run regional operations so being gone weeks on end is not as common.

Truckstops: Todays modern t/s was just in the begining. There are more of them today and offer more services than anything in the 70's as a whole.

Todays Drivers: Have to go to a driving school, pass tests to get a CDL and must go thru a company training program........that's a lot better than every driver in the 70's having a license from 10 different states. Plus subject to random drug test, post accident drug tests, pre employment drug test, resonable suspicion drug tests.
Tickets / violations even in personal vehicle go against CDL.

Todays drivers are held more accountable than ever before.

Freight: most companies have no touch or pay for lumpers. Alot of drop and hook.

HOS: at least now there is a limit on the work day 14 hrs and companies are being held accountable to operate within them. See many articles where drivers and companies are being jailed for violating HOS. In the 70's multiple logbooks or no logbooks at all was commonplace.

If you wake up every morning thinking that yesterday was the best there can be you are already dead.


So, since the "good ole days" of trucking was so good, let's here from everyone who wants to go back to the days of old.

ANY TAKERS????

Seeing as how you and many on this forum were not around in the "old days" the experience will keep you and many on this forum out of your own poll. I do like to listen to the band Bread, but I have them on CD now. I used to have them on cassette, and on 8 track also...lol
As far as HOS, they took away 1 hr a day from the way it used to be, big deal! If you think drivers are trained any better today, your kidding yourself. I never had more than 1 drivers license, didn't need one I just didn't get caught...lol
Gee with all this testing, I guess it doesn't mean much because there are still idiots getting caught with dope and booze, so the problem has still not been eliminated...lol
Now for the T/S's, a shower, restaurant, and enough parking is all you really need, they don't impress me a bit!
Now the benefits, they used to give them to you, now you pay for them, yea that's something we are all happy about!
Lets talk about freight, people today are to lazy to really work for a living. They are afraid of a little hard work! This in my opinion is 1 of the downfalls of this country!
Home time still sucks for a lot of drivers, just read the boards!
Pay has not changed much, when you factor the cost of living the way it is today, not to mention you pay through the nose for every benefit they give you now!
I agree with you with the old trucks, but get in one back then and it would put hair on your chest for sure...lol
Yea, I think that this industry is not producing the caliber of drivers as it used to, not saying that every driver these days is bad, but look at the turnover rate, and a high % of drivers now will not even be in the business more than a year then tuck tail and run! Look at the work ethic a lot of people have today, not just in trucking but everywhere.
No I wasn't a "super Trucker" out of the box, I don't even like the term, but I come from a generation that was raised with a strong work ethic, morals, listened and learned and didn't come across as as a know it all. The seasoned driver as I like to call them, knew that the world didn't owe us a living, we had to work to make the life we wanted. You know with the world going to hell in a hand basket, you actually think anything is getting any better? It sure is not in the trucking business! You need to pass that JOINT so I can see things your way....lol
You have no Idea of how this industry used to be, and trying to explain to you would be a waste of time, but when it comes crashing down on your head someday, remember this conversation!

[BanditsCousin]

Both views are right. SSoutlaw is correct about the pay, and its inability to keep up with living expenses.

The trucks are better today, and we do have drug testing since 1990.

"Can't we all just get along?" :lol: :lol:

[ssoutlaw]

Originally Posted by BanditsCousin

Both views are right. SSoutlaw is correct about the pay, and its inability to keep up with living expenses.

The trucks are better today, and we do have drug testing since 1990.

"Can't we all just get along?" :lol: :lol:

I am getting along...lol I have never put him down just stating facts as I see them over the years he dose not have...lol