I have been seriously considering trucking as a career for about the past 2 years. Back then national companies were taking anyone who could reach the peddles so long as you were 21. Now that I am 21 and with the economy in the crapper it seems like I missed the band wagon.

That's why I'm posting here today as I am still set on finding a way to get behind the wheel. First I would like to share a little info about me as perhaps to persuade you into not assuming I'm some fly-by-night kid that will throw in the towel after 6 months.

Since I was 15 I have been driving farm tractors part time for a neighbor that farms close to 2000 acres in our area. I consider myself to be mechanically inclined and enjoy working with my hands. After graduating high school I flipped flopped about maybe a diesel mechanic or machinist and then really started thinking hard about trucking driving.

What always brought me back to truck driving was that even working 7 days a week with long hours on the tractors (mostly a caseih 7140) I still had fun doing my job. So I started researching about getting into trucking and figured the best way was through a national company that trained and then hired you. The kicker? you had to be 21 (I was 19 at the time). So I said I can wait until then. So in the meantime I starting trying to find local jobs to keep me busy along with the tractor work (it was spotty part time). Well turns out tractor operating experience don't count for anything as I couldn't nail down a job. most needed some kind of previous experience. even signed up with a temp agency, and then by that time the economy went toes up.

So to this day I'm still driving tractors. and now that I'm 21, am very anxious to get a full time job.

So whats the best thing to do now? Maybe try and find a small company or O/O that will train me and drive team working for peanuts? And when I say peanuts, I don't mean that negatively. I will seriously work for less than average if someone is willing to give me the time of day... Would a small company or O/O be willing to do this?

Oh an for the legal requirements, I have never been arrested or have any tickets of any kind.

Just an honest hard working kid looking to get his foot in the door.

Thanks and I hope to hear your comments.

 

Honestly...right now? In this economy? Go to school...get a degree in engineering...in mechanics...in something.

 

Speaking as a father of a 21 year old I am impressed with how you think things thru. You sound mature beyond your years. You could find a training company that will teach you for free (you just have to look harder these days) or you could go to a school and pay your own way. Something else that might interest you is heavy equipment operator. There are schools for that also. It sounds like you know what you like. Thats something that takes most of us years to figure out. I would pursue it regardless of the economy. You'll find your way, we always do.

 

Did you consider US ARMY between 18-21 or even the Reserves. With a high enough score on ASVAB test you could practically demand 'heave truck driving' MOS. At this point, with the economy like it is-- a 3 month basic training/AIT then 1 weekend a month- 1 week a year commitment in exchange for the free training- you could better your chances. Just a thought- Working for peanuts isn't a great idea- but Prime had a program like that. Yes most of the companies that "school" you- then garentee employment are few and far between.

Check into JTPA programs in your area- with all the new loans and grants coming out of Washington soon- It might be just the right time to invest in the training... I think I heard something about up to 8,000 tax credit for educational expenses???

 

You sound like you have a good head on your shoulders. You are starting like may of us many years ago. Many truckers used to come from the farms with experience driving tractors and equipment on a farm. We didn't have driving schools back then. We learned by doing. Things are a bit different these days. Frankly, I think it was better when people learned on the job.

As you are aware things are challenging with the economy. It is difficult for smaller carriers to hire you due to being able to cover you under their insurance. If that is your dream then by all means pursue it. However, I am with Orangetxguy about getting your education. The slow economy is a good reason to spend that time getting a degree or go to learn a vocation. If you still want to drive after you get your degree then you can do it afterwards. I have met a number of people who have gotten degrees and had other careers before embarking on a new career in truck driving. A degree will give you options should you change your mind at a later time. It will also help should you become disabled or unable to drive. By the time you graduate you will be older, the economy will be in better shape and companies will be hiring. When you are 25 you will be much more employable.

 

Trucking is not glamorous like “Smokey and the Bandit”. It is a hard life to say the least. You will work long hours in all kinds of weather. You will miss your friends and families birthdays, weddings, and graduations. On Friday nights when most of your peers are going out on a date, you will be sitting in a dirty, smelly truck stop in the middle of nowhere by yourself. On Saturday night when your friends are going to a party or bowling, you will be another dirty, smelly truck stop by yourself.

With that said, if you are single with no kids and hell bent on driving a truck, then go for it. As you already know these are tough times in trucking, but if you are single you should be able to survive on a lousy $300-$500 per week. If your trucking dream turns into a nightmare, you can always go back home and go to college.

 

oh just GREAT........NOW you tell me.

 

37 years I been in this business. 37 years.

The trucks are alot nicer than when I started. The rates ain't much higer. I can remember pulling steel out of Cleveland in 1975 at $1.50/mile. When I retired in 2004, I dispatched trucks for a buddy of mine who runs a 10-horse operation. Guess what the rates were at? Yep. Around $1.50/mile. 5 years later its gotten worse with all the cut-rate vampires (brokers) out there now. How do these folks expect a man to make a living with the rates they offer?

They don't care. It's all about the almighty buck. Saw an add in the paper this past week US Xpress offering a lease purchase deal: .90 cpm plus FSC. Are they serious? Where do they find people to enter into such a contract?

There's not alot of industries where you'd be making the same money you did 30 years ago. But trucking is one. I don't tell you this to discourage you because I know people who paint pictures and don't make much money. They just like painting. It's what they do. It's what makes em tick. If driving a truck is what you want to do than by all means just do it like that old Nike ad said!!!

But if I were a young man in your shoes I would not get into trucking. Eventually you will want to settle down and raise a family. Do you want to be gone from them 2-3 weeks at a time? How will you find a future bride living like that? A woman wants her man at home to protect her and raise her childen, she don't want some guy blowing in and out of her life like a Texas tumbleweed.

Oh well, here I go writing a fricking novel. But that's just the facts the way I see em'. I'm sure someones gonna come along and disagree, hey its a free country.

 

Getting into trucking right now would be a little hard, if next to impossible.But hey, at least this is AMERICA and everything can be possible!Do you have any close friends in trucking?Ask them what's going on, go with them on the road and see what's like.Maybe you can get working with them ,get your cdl and see it that way, instead working for a big company that will pay for your training and have you work for peanuts or nothing.

I'M 25 too,and started 2 years ago as an independent.Pretty much picked up my fathers business,along with it's debts and roll it from there.Also i had a lot of friends that directed me into the right direction on anything from fudging my log book(not very proud of this one) to how to negotiate with brokers,etc.Really, at the begining i thought it was just driving a truck, but in reality it's more than that.Some things i had to learn the hard way too.Like insurance claims,especially when you show up with half a load of frozen lettuce and you think your world stops there.But hey, you can never stop learning right?

Best of luck though and weigh your options carefully ,since there isn't any room for error in this one.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

Just as GMAN, and Smowman said, it sounds like you got a good head on your shoulders.
I went to Texas State Technical College in Waco. My major was diesel machanics. I dropped out. I knew I had better do something. I never went to another college. My grandparents used to farm, and with the help of knowing folks, I was able to still do farm work. Only thing, like you, it was part-time. I still do part-time farm work for the same outfit, since I was in high school. I went on wheat harvest with a family that has known my family for years. I was 21 myself, the first year I went on harvest. I went 6 years. Only thing, wheat harvest is seasonal, and the older I got, it was harder to make it through the winter. I learned that I needed something more steady. I drove for SMX for a short time. I have been driving for SYSCO for the last 6 years. I still see the family that I went on wheat harvest with, and I try to see them when they are cutting wheat here, before they head up north. I always try to take a week's vacation, when the wheat's ripe here. I still feel like a 6 year old kid when I see those combines, and grain trucks. (now days, everyone has semis.)
I never dreamed that I would be pulling doubles, or being a truck driver for that matter. I reckon it just worked out that way.
That has nothing to do with the thread,.. but you might consider school, and getting a degree in agriculture, or machanics. (if affordable)
For the time being, you might see if you can get on with any local grain haulers, or a local job, if you live in a fair size city. (if that makes since)
It would be easy to say, "well, if it was me, I would do this or that", but I know that I had to find something when I was your age. Of course, the economy was in better shape then, too. With the economy being in the pot, it's hard to land a good trucking job. As Snowman said, I would keep putting my name in the hat. Something will come up. It's just a matter of time.