amen to that brother, you hit the nail on the head.

 

well iguess you are rite in one way, but the bodyshop bussiness isnt that great at all this time of year, my boss had a staff meeting like 2wks ago and was saying the bussiness has not been averaging what it used to in the past 2 yrs. he is making some money but juat to get by and pay his overhead. we are like the most busy shop in northern nj, but the numbers arent that great, no overtime in like a year and some months. the average pay for a painter now days is between $43000 and $48000 and thats bcuz there are way to many wanna be painters that think they can paint for a cheaper labor, this is something that i read about on here, the more experienced drivers want the big money loads but you got the rookie thatll take anything for a lower rate. i dont wasnt to do over the road or be out days a week. thats why i wantd the opinion from you experienced drivers. i hear is bad, then its good, or people say get my own truck. this is all new to me

 

I can understand a slump in the bodyshop business as well. But, with the number of companies that have gone out of business in the last two years, there are quite a number of people that have spent the money to go to driving school, only to find out that they can't get a job, but have thousands of dollars to pay back for the school.

Your business may be slow now, but wait till the first snowfall hits. I've seen hundreds of cars (and SUVs) that were going to need work in one trip from Trenton to the NY line along I-287. The way folks DON'T KNOW HOW TO DRIVE up there, it should pick up in a couple of months.

 

same thing in the body shop world, so many shops either closed down or just went out of bussiness. i was even thinkg of buyin a small shop, but here is the thing, guy gets into an accident, puts the claim in, gets the chk, and finds the cheapest way to get the car fixed so he can have some money to pay some bills, this past winter we had both buildings packed with work but more than half were totaled. thats why there is a big big slump in that world now. im gettin all my practice from my aunts 2nd husband who is a trucker. so im not going thru a school and spending thoudands of dollars (LUCKY ME)

 

You'll also find that a lot of companies will not hire unless you are a graduate of an accredited school. Good luck.

 

im not really worried about findng a job, i more concerned in the long run. are companies steady, are there lots of lay offs even in the big companies. like i asked when i started the thread,("" Some people tell me there is great money out there in the industry,some tell me its a horrible time to be a trucker, and some say to buy my own truck(nothin new) and do loads for a company that pays by bthe load not the mile. Whats really going on and what should i do")

 

stay where your at.:thumbsup:

 

man you gona learn the hard way. its no joke when you cant feed your family. stay were u at

 

im gonna stay where im at for now, but if its sooooo bad being a truck driver why become one, if your a truck driver already and it sucks why not do something else?

 

I feed my family, drive a nice KW, bought my wife a new suv for Christmas, bought my son a pickup, and bought new atv's for my son and me.. you can make good money in trucking, you just have to find the right niche and adjust your attitude
ALL jobs have good and bad sides, it's all what you make of it