Thanks everyone and just to let you all know i do have BSBC at my job now. So all i get is 100% paid BCBS and 1 week paid vac. at my year mark. I been at my job now for about 7 months and i love it. Boss man put my name on the door for me and we just get along great. I dunno well when i get my hazmat i will let you guys know what i do. But i want to call and talk to some people at Sunoco before i do anything.

Look at it this way Mack...you can party anytime. When you are 30, your going to want to know that you have a decent job, with a half decent chance of having something when you are 60.

If you stay with dump trucks...where will you be? Yeah..you will have a chance to make some decent $$$..but if you take the step and go to work for SUN, you will have a steady income...no rain-outs in the gas market. LOL...and unless the economy completely tanks and we spin into a depression...people are gonna keep buying gas...even if it is $5.00 a gallon +.

Get the hazmat and take the job if your friend can get you in the door.

Besides anyone can drive a dump truck, right Fredog? :lol: :lol: :lol:

(ha ha Good thing he dont know where I live :lol: )

I think you're from Rochester, right? The guy who was driving that tanker did one thing horribly wrong, but did everything else right - he was able to get out of his truck, and as soon as he did he started running around and banging on doors, getting people out of their houses and to safety. The one woman who died came out and then went back into her house to get her glasses, so there's not much you can do about that. That was a helluva fire, there used to be video floating around online of when the airport Crash truck rolled up with their foam cannon.



ANYHOW, Mackman, I'm with pretty much everyone else. I'm 29, and looking now at the possibility of making a change from where I am to somewhere with a little more of a future and better prospects.

Well, I think you know what I would do in your shoes. However, maybe you should take some time, and decide which job will make you happier.

Right now, you are going good with your current boss. Which is ok, but where can you job lead you too? Any chance of promoting? Moving up in the company? Sunoco has other opportunity to move up, good bennies. However, let say you decide to move.

Rock haulers here in TX get paid around $11-15 per hr sometimes more.. Fuel haulers start out around $15-20 per hr. And sometimes more. Plus working for Sunoco looks good on a resume, no matter what the next job is.

Hard to choose. Good luck.

Well i told him i wanted to get seat time on the dozers and backhoes. He is putting me on that stuff more and more. I am kinda getting good at it and i like it alot. It is a hard to choose. I will think of something.

Some good points have been made and the one I would look at the hardest is job security. People will always need gas. And it has been proven over and over again the last few years how much they will pay to get it.

Construction is iffy. I've noticed that a lot of construction projects here are grinding to a halt. TXDOT has said there will be no more new roads built at least for a couple of years. The few commercial projects that were already moving forward when the economy went south continued, but new projects are put being put aside indefinately. I would say that before Nov-Dec there were signs all over my area about such and such company building a store or office. Now, the signs advertising those coming attractions on those same lots are down and some are back on the market for sale.

New home contstruction is waaaaay down. My glorious city leaders agreed to build a new wastewater plant under the assumption that growth would still be as good as the last few years. Well, guess what? The same city leaders are now saying that our water rates are going to go up because they see a shortfall in their projected growth rates.

Another indicator for me is the Sunday help wanted ads. Without fail there were always at least 3-4 cement truck ads and another 2-3 rock truck ads with offers of training. Now, there's usually 1 of each and now they require experience. The one good thing about being a CDL holder is there will always be good paying jobs for good drivers. It's those drivers who have crappy driving records and those who jump to new jobs every six months that will find it harder in a tough economy.

But either way, good luck to you.

I'm kinda in the same position you are. I drive transfer and move equipment for a paving outfit in California. I like the job and the owners are very good to us, but at the same time I am thinking about getting out of driving all together within the next year or so and if at all possible I am trying to make this the last company I drive for.

The Sunoco gig looks pretty good, especially with all the benes and vacation time and such. Once you get some seniority, it can be a gravy job, as long as you are very careful and don't get complacent.

And as others have said, the market is not doing well right now. The owners of the company I work for have always told us there is plenty of work, but this season seems like it might not be. We have already had time off due to the fact that he wasn't able to schedule a job on a certain day, and i hope that's all it was. Because if work doesn't pick up here fairly soon i might have to find something else, not because I want to, but because I have to.

If I was you I would try Sunoco for awhile, and if it don't work out then you will most likely still be able to get back into dumps.

Take the fuel job!!!

Put all the extra money away and retire a millionaire. This is a great opportunity for a motivated young guy to set himself up for the future.

There is a price to pay unfortunitly, night shift can be a bummer, luckily my truck breaks at 2 PM and 2AM so it is not truly a graveyard shift. We work 6 on, 3 off, which means my days off change every week. That can be a real challenge if you don't have a good stable relationship with your wife/girlfriend.

Positive things are, deal with very few people per shift, people you do see are glad to see you cause they need the gas, no one looking over your sholder, trucks that are well mantained, safety first not production, and best of all, paid by the hour.

It can be hard on young people, I talked to a new driver a couple of weeks ago and he was'nt very happy, money was great but his social life was in the crapper.

Hard choice to make!!! Best of luck

PEACE OUT 8) 8)
FUELMAN