Truck Driving is it right for you as a Career Move
Is truck driving the right career move? When I earned my class A CDL and signed on with Swift Transportation Co. I was sure that I was doing the right thing. They started me off at 26 cents per mile, which isn't bad if you do a few thousand miles a week. The school was three weeks. Next came the mentor-ship. I had to share a truck with someone that I did not know for an entire six weeks. Finally I got my own truck. I was excited, but I had no idea what I was in for.
Here are a few ways to know whether trucking is for you.
Are you lazy? If so, then you are one step in the right direction. Truck drivers will defend themselves by claiming to work a difficult job.
Do you care about your health? If not, then you are one more step in the right direction. You see, when you prepare to work for a trucking company for the first time, you tend to think that you will have plenty of spare time. You think that you would simply exorcise after a long days work, which is usually about 14 hours a day. Well, after work you realize that you only have ten hours left until you have to start driving again. It is the only way you can get the load delivered on time. So, you have to wait until tomorrow to exorcise. The process just repeats itself.
Then comes the financial burden. Most people think that they will make a lot of money and not have any bills to pay. If you think so, then you are dead wrong.
First, if you took any kind of trucking school to get your CDL, that pay is usually deducted from your paycheck every week. There are truck stops all across the country that service thousands of truckers every day. The only problem is that it's a monopoly. You see, you can't eat where you can't park. This means that the truck stops know you will eat there, so they raise the prices to outrageous levels.
You ever eat at an airport or movie theater? It's like eating at one every day. You will see how fast your 26-32 cents per mile is just sucked up by fast food alone.
Do you like to talk to your family? If so, then you might find that your cell phone bill is just a little higher than what you are prepared to spend. For your own good, I do not recommend trucking to anyone who cannot be without their significant other for more than two weeks. Two to three weeks is the average out time most trucking companies have before they finally send you home. When you do go home, you feel like a guest. You will be reminded of how the world is going on without you. It is a horrible feeling.
Want to be a trucker? That's just barely scraped the surface. Then comes the part where you actually do the work. For the most part, just sitting in a chair is actually quite easy right? Well, what if you want to stand and stretch and you are stuck in traffic? Then you are in trouble. In order to be a good trucker, you have to have patience.
Another huge problem with trucking is the fact that it is one of the most federally regulated fields you will ever see. First of all, you have to inspect every inch of your truck every single day. If you get pulled into a weigh station, or even worse, an inspection station, you could be looking at some serious fines for any defects. You could be put out of service, which could cause your load to be late. If you are hauling hazardous materials, then you almost need a law degree to understand the dos and don'ts to hauling hazmat.
Trucking is not for everybody. I know this because I made this mistake. The only thing I gained was a collections agency for the loan for the school. Consult with professional truck drivers before considering a career in the trucking industry.
