I've got an application in at Swift and am waiting to see if I get approved for their school.

What are the chances that I won't finish the training?
Or after I complete training I won't be hired?
Will accidents or tickets ruin a driving career after I'm hired? Rolling a rig or a minor fender bender? My old cable job had a driver license points system.

I've been doing a lot of reading, lot of nice folks on here. I know everything has its advantages/disadvantages. I was wondering the general consensus if most drivers are pretty satisified with their work.

Just wondering if I would be happier staying in town or going OTR. Thanks.

you seem to be focusing on the negative aspects. Focus your mind on passing even though you are worried. Stay focused on your final goal... if you think negatively the outcome will be negative... and where there is a will there is a way. WHen I was working towards my degree i felt like it would take forever.. yeah it took me 6 years part and full time to accomplish it but my goal clearly was to graduate. I am trying to maintain the same goals.. graduating and learning as much as possible about the field, the equipment, the people, the life... that I can so I am as informed as I can be. I would suggest doing the same thing.

Life in general is unpredictable, there is a chance for anything to happen to you so yes to all three questions. There is a chance things won't work out for you. Your 3rd one though, YES, accidents and/or tickets can and will ruin a driving career.

As far as OTR vs Local, it's a personal preference. Some people like to be home every night with local work while others don't mind being home 2-3 nights a weeks in OTR or staying out longer.

Myself, I drive local but I could careless whether I'm home every night or not. Just the type of person I am.

Well I can tell you my story.

When I first started out right after training I was scared $hitless.
I could not believe I was in the middle of the city with this damn oversized boat!

After the initial shock wore off, after a few hundred miles ran by I started to get a $hit eating grin on my face thinking ?Damn I am getting paid for this??

After A few days went by I really started liking the Idea that I did not have a ?real? boss to have to deal with asking when my T.P.S reports would be finished or having customers bang on a service bell.
It was my Girlfriend and I teaming, making money & seeing new things.

After a few months it eventually got old as does everything else but the money is still pretty good but I do miss going home seeing friends and family.

I have mixed emotions about it now, which is why I voted ?Work is Work?

OTR is not a job, it's a lifestyle! You either love it, or you don't. You'll never know until you try! I loved it, then I didn't, now I do again! Things in our lives change as we mature! That is why there are local and line jobs, there is something for everyone out there!

Thanks everybody. All good points. And the poll kind of shows what would be expected, most people tolerate their work or tend to like it. Otherwise they wouldn't be doing it.

To me it seems kind of exciting, kind of like going camping, going on a roadtrip, going to see new places etc.

It definitely has good points, including some freedom and decent pay.

If my application gets approved I think I will go for it. My goal is to drive for 10 years and save 100 grand, and have some fun along the way.

Sounds like fun to me

Well it sounds like fun, until like Fierce said, they send me to some warehouse in LA for the first time. There must be hours in traffic jams at times. That can probably get pretty stressful.

I was just looking at pictures of a Safeway truck with its cab submerged in the bay. There was a boulder on the road, nothing the guy could do. He got out OK but I wonder how many big rigs a guy can roll before he has to find another company to drive for Probably not very many.

Long haul trucking has its days. Some are days I think this is the best job in the world. Then their are days when I ask myself what the hell I'm doing this for. It all depends if you don't mind being away from home for 10+days at a time. Different strokes for different folks

in the past year i,v only been away from home twice where the trip ran into weeks on end. mostly i now do five or six days away. bit of a mix n match and that suits me just fine :lol:

Even with it's bad days drivers seem pretty happy with their work.

I guess there must be some sort of poll error percentage, but driving gets high marks for happy workers.

At least today )