[Dude06]

I Got my CDL In NOV first job Casual Feeder driver UPS that Was good.
Have a Wife and a Kid . I just can't do OTR There are no local jobs to be had I don't know if freight is slow or what . CDL school was a waste of Money $4695 Later. Back to the old career. Thank you for all your help.

[mapleleaf_1]

Sorry to hear this Dude. Unfortunately you got into the job at about the worse time of the year. Things usually go crazy till almost Christmas and then it really slacks off. January and February are very slow months. You've got to give it some time. Yeah I know you have a family to care for, I understand that. Maybe you might reconsider trying it again in the spring time. Best of luck to you with whatever you decide. Drive safe everyone.

[kips41]

Originally Posted by Dude06

I Got my CDL In NOV first job Casual Feeder driver UPS that Was good.
Have a Wife and a Kid . I just can't do OTR There are no local jobs to be had I don't know if freight is slow or what . CDL school was a waste of Money $4695 Later. Back to the old career. Thank you for all your help.

You need to stay on with UPS as a casual driver if at all possible in the long run you will have a very good career. Go deliver pizza's if you have to make ends meet.

Pay , benefits, retirement are one of the best in the industry.

Good luck.

[Cluggy619]

Good luck where ever you go. Not everybody can be a truck driver, even though most will learn to drive a truck.

The Smartest is to know if this is the career for you, and if not, leave, and do something else.

have funn, and see ya when we can. :wink:

[silvan]

I Got my CDL In NOV first job Casual Feeder driver UPS that Was good.
Have a Wife and a Kid . I just can't do OTR There are no local jobs to be had I don't know if freight is slow or what . CDL school was a waste of Money $4695 Later. Back to the old career. Thank you for all your help.

I got my CDL in October of '97. I drove regional OTR for almost nine years. It had its ups and downs, but I hated it about as much as I liked it. I even posted here on this form with some poignant look back on the ups and downs of my career, right before I was supposed to hang it up and move into the office.

That office job never happened. I drove another six months until the shoved me out on my ass with the rest of our fleet. Outsourced in my own damn country to some two-bit rate-cutters who convinced our money man he could move the world for next to nothing.

I've been out for five weeks now. I went to pour concrete for two, and good grief, there are some things I just won't do for money.

But I don't want to do OTR anymore either. I just can't go back out there. I can't.

I don't know what I'm going to do. I have a four-year degree that's not worth a damn, and a whole bunch of computer skills that aren't worth a damn either. Five weeks of looking for work, and it's all the same OTR entry level garbage that this forum is dedicated to hooking newbies up with. "Home every weekend" my ass. I avoided all those traps, but I've been around enough to know they're out there. They'll promise you the world and a million dollar sign on bonus to get a warm body in their seat for two months, before you finally get fed up.

That's why most driver resumes run to five pages of jobs, and mine only has two. The one I did for nine years and three months, and the one I did for two weeks.

But I can't go back out there, and there's nothing to do around here. The only trade I have to ply, I can't ply anymore, and I can't get anybody to hire me to do anything else, with 20+ years of experience using computers, speaking three human languages and at least that many computer languages.

The only thing I'm any damn good at is writing, and there are 14 billion writers competing for twelve jobs.

I can't say my trucking school tuition was a waste. I would have kept doing that job I had indefinitely, a few more years, another decade, who knows. I hated it, but I loved being off four days a week with my family.

It's the end of the world as I knew it, and I feel like crap.

[Orangetxguy]

Damn..I have been driving truck..Professionally since 1979..learned to drive back home on the ranch. Have never been out of work, have never been so broke I felt miserable, and...only did the "OTR from Hell" deal for 3 months.


Are expectations for those entering this field that high?? OR...were mine to low? I've had exactly 5 jobs since 1979. The shortest was 2 days, the longest 16 years.

[Sealord]

"Casual Feeder Driver" This is his problem, he wasn't a full-time worker, he can thank his union for that. BOL

[coalregion]

Originally Posted by Sealord

"Casual Feeder Driver" This is his problem, he wasn't a full-time worker, he can thank his union for that. BOL

Not to get in a wizzing match about unions, but if he were to get on full time at UPS, he could also thank said union for awesome medical benefits,liberal vacation time, a pension plan, sick days,etc. That door swings both ways.....

[feederfred]

He was "Christmas Help"..that's all. It was a temporary seasonal job. He was NEVER in the union. The union had nothing to do with his hiring/firing. It's explained QUITE CLEARLY by UPS that you are extremely temporary. The only thing it may do for you is give you an "in" when we hire off the street. Which is pretty rare in our barn..."Silvan" your post is right on the money. If you think it's bad now, just wait until the Mexican "fleet" hits our highways next month. Keep looking locally Silvan, there's something out there for you.

[Lewis friend]

I suggest you look into the Tool and Die field; They make mondo $$$.

I tried bricklaying but it was hard, plus it wasn't really my cup of tea. But you could try that too. I think once you get out there it's at least $27/hr.