wanting to get into trucking
 

just had a few questions for you guys on the road i am presently a high school math teacher in mississippi and i make ar ound 32000 yearly i have tossed around the idea of becoming a driver what do you guys think

Re: wanting to get into trucking
 

Re: wanting to get into trucking
 

32,000 is all a high school teacher makes :shock: I wouldnt get near a class room in todays environment for that amount of money.

We need good teachers. Why do you think you want to drive a truck?

Re: wanting to get into trucking
 

Do you think teachers make good money? :lol:

My wife has been teaching for 10 years. When she started in 1997 she made $28,000. Now she's at $44,000. Crap money considering she went to school full time for 5 years(4 years for bachelor and 1 year student teaching). Plus, factor in an average 50 hour week in addition to school supplies she has to buy on her own because the districts hardly supply anything. You definately have to love what you do or most people can't hack teaching. A lot like trucking now that I think of it.

Search your innermost soul.

Specifically identify the reasons you either want to get out of teaching and/or get into trucking. Write them down. Study them. If money is the sole reason, it's not a good enough one. You entered the teaching profession for a reason. Make sure your feelings haven't changed.

I trucked for eight years, went through a divorce, managed a bowling center for two years, then decided that I didn't want to babysit people...so I'm back behind the wheel again. And I love it.

I think that most of the experienced drivers on CAD will tell you that if your primary (or perhaps only) motivation is money, it's probably not a good decision.

Good luck and Godspeed in your deliberations!

Re: wanting to get into trucking
 

I think you would be crazy to get into trucking. The average new driver at one of the Mega companies only makes about 35K during year one trucking. Thats only about 3K or so more than you are making right now.
So you would be giving up being off and home with your family and friends on weekends, holidays and the summer for 3K a year more. Plus the average trucker works about 70 or more a week to earn their 35K or so. Even when you add in things like grading papers at home and making phone calls at home, your probally aren't working 70+ hours a week.

But, if you must scrath your itch to be a trucker, I would try finding a school that has night or weekend classes in your area. Time your completion date for the end of May or early June. So when school is out you can hit the road trucking. If you like trucking, you can just keep on doing it. If not you can always go back to teaching in September.

Personally, If I was you, I would go back to school and get my masters or PHD and move up to a principal or an administrator in your school system.

I'm in Mississippi. And I retired from my sales position and became a trucker.
Depending on where you live I can steer you to several worthwhile companies....Ashley, Action, and some others..

I made 57K my first year, was home once a week and every weekend...oh, yeah, and I worked my butt off.
It's easier now. I've settled in - it's been two years - and I just do the job and go home. But it sure as hell wasn't easy at first!

All in all, you know what? I'd grit my teeth and finish teaching to nail down the retirement. Then I'd go trucking.

Re: wanting to get into trucking
 

Here's some numbers for you to consider:

Log 70 hours per week
Work 80-100
Paid for 50
No overtime after 8/40 hours on the job
120% average annual turnover rates
7 times more likely to be killed on the job than workers in other professions
1 week of vacation AFTER one year of service
$40-60.00 holiday pay (if they even pay it)
Anywhere from 3-10% of all miles will be driven for free
$0.00 for inspections, dropping/hooking trailers, breakdowns, 2 hours of docktime, scaling loads, DOT, safety meetings, PM's, paperwork, stuck in traffic, waiting for loads, fueling the truck...to name but a few of the freebies you'll perform.

Keep the teaching gig and sleep in your own bed evernight with weekends and holidays off. If you need more money then get a part-time job somewhere. Forget OTR trucking - it's a low-paid burn job. 40-60k sounds good until you find yourself working round-the-clock, living out of a sardine can, and never seeing home.

more thoughts
 

okay here are some more specifics i am also a coach so i am gone most nigths of the week and on fridays i get in around 330 in the morning with my kids already asleep

also i have been told by a local place that i can make some runs on holidays and this summer to see how i like it

so do i even look into it or just leave it alone

I say not that it matters, if you are looking to make a career change and you have an opportunity to check it out before you buy, Go for it!!
Better to say you tried and not the right fit then to say you never tried, Right?

Anyway if you are married what does your wife think? If you have your families support that is all the feed back you should need. BOL

thoughts
 

well she supports me either way i really like driving and have rode with other drivers i just dont want to get into something and totally regret it

what do local runs pay that get you home nightly just being curious

Thats tough to generalize due to it can depend on all kinds of things. Husband friends that drive localy from ag plants to storage plants said could be 1100 a week but not really sure if that is base pay or newbie pay. Newbie would be what you will start at. Other local jobs could require experience that you don't have and would need OTR to get. So for that you would not be home everynight.

My husband has been out for awhile and is looking to use that to get local gig for the county. Union pays well but like I said you need the experience to get. Go on your local unemployment web site and check out the going rate for drivers in your area. Do know that Knight is really good at gettting you home alot during the week but not every night. Another one of my husband's buddies works for them and is happy. I think he is in mechanicville VA.

Wow! Touch decision! My wife as been teaching for 15 years and I can understand how you feel. But life someone else said go to school at night and driver during the summer to see if this is really what you want!

You have to love trucking! But you also have to take into account, that when you asking some of the drivers for advice some of them are burnt out with the business. Just like if someone ask about the education field.
Some teachers love it some hate it! My wife is a literacy coach and she says she will never go back into the class room!

For the most part the first couple of years of trucking you are at the mercy of the trucking companys and it is not easy!

Good luck!!

okra77,

My wife works in the Palms Springs school district here in southern california area, she is not a teacher but a speech language patholigist, but is on the teachers pay scale. If you can get your masters plus 30 credits, which my wife has, you can top out at 83k plus all the free benefits.

Yes the scale sucks if you don't further your education and I think most of the school teachers that complain about the pay in school districts are not furthering thier educations.

My wife was in a office the other day and this teacher made the comment ( I think I'll just become a truck driver and dump all this B.S.) My wife laughs and says my husbands a truck driver and I think he's smarter than all of us, he makes good money and does'nt have a worry in the world.

There are good paying driving jobs out there but, experiance is a must.
If your school is on the traditional schedule, go for it in the summer!!!!

BTY, you do not have to go OTR to land a good paying local driving job.

what
 

I am just wondering i already have my b liscense and my air brakes when i called and have to go back to bus school this spring (which the school pays for by they way) I wonder if i could borrow a truck from someone and take the road test and get them that way

You are not required to attend driving school to obtain a CDL. You will need a truck and trailer for the road test. If you can obtain a truck and trailer you should be able to obtain your CDL.

aaa
 

no what i was saying is that i havea bus school paid for which gets me my liscense and mt road test paid for my question was do you think i could ask someone to borrow a truck and trailer to obtain my cdl or would it be a liability

Re: aaa
 

Okra, easiest thing to do, is check with a few of the CDL schools in your area. Many of them rent out their trucks and trailers for driving testing.

or check into local community college
 

many local community college teach at night so you could do cdl trng at night and get all the info on logs, etc you need b4 u go on the road, without the logs knowledge if you go otr you may have some big problems.

more info
 

okay just got off the phone with a local furniture company and to drive for them they promise 41000 the first year and home 4 times a week also a 1500 sign on bonus does this sound reasonable or are they just jerking me around

Re: more info
 

Anything is possible. I dont hear any mention of HOURS though. You may be home at 11 pm and have to leave at 6am.

A friend here signed on doing local work hauling from dairys. He is averaging 1400 a week, and working 65 to 70 hours to do it. And they are hiring every other month it seems.

Re: more info
 

You also need to ask the furniture company if you are just driving the truck or will you be responsible for loading and unloading the truck.

What did you find out on this offer? curious