Anyone else regret becoming a trucker?

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OKC420@reddit

Trucker who became an electrician, best decision of my life.

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cummyyogurt@reddit

How old were you when you made the switch?

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I feel like this really summarizes how I'm feeling. I'm still new and I'm getting a paycheck tomorrow for a week of work that is about as much as I made in an entire month working in childcare.

equalvision84@reddit

I think the majority of us fell that way, bud. I'm at prime inc and will be testing for my CDL Saturday.

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CatfishCharlie1984@reddit

This is how it was for a lot of us. The first year or two it feels like you're working for free. Bullshit. If you can actually survive it, better opportunities open up after you have some experience. Decent paying local gigs as well. I've never really "liked" it...but I've been able to work my way up the ladder and made a decent living. Just is what it is. 90% of Americans don't LOVE their job but we gotta pay the bills. Aside from that though, why can't you pursue a career in teaching/counseling? It night not be ideal and could definitely be more challenging depending on your circumstances but there are still online courses and the like, right? I mean, alternative paths of some sort, yeah? I don't know much about what that kind of career requires. 🤷‍♂️

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Ok_Kangaroo_6530@reddit

I only regret not getting into trucking much earlier. It's a great paying career and easy and more fun than most jobs. I wish I started at UPS at 21, I would be living large right now

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DaniDisco@reddit

First year OTR, leased a truck and made $106k. Second year, started training, and made $164k.

Can be for sure, really comes down to who you run for. Heaven or Hell, prison or paradise, feast or famine.

But I do agree that this industry has fallen off a cliff.

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KeyTheZebra@reddit

How was the industry before?

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Vegetable_Living_415@reddit

I barely even recognize it. Truckers were actually truckers not just drivers (steering wheel holders). You were actually taught by the old school how to drive a truck. You were also taught how to NOT drive a truck. Nowadays driving schools just teach them how to pass a test.

Automatic trucks that shift for you, brake for you, tell you if your drifting out of your lane, etc. All so the mega companies can throw any monkey behind the wheel to compensate for 300% turnover rates.

Courtesy and respect and professionalism actually a thing. If you broke down, the other drivers would call you on the cb asking if your alright and if have help on the way or pull over to see if they can help.

You'd call on the cb to let the other side know "What you left behind you". Road conditions, traffic, accidents, bears (cops), broke down on the shoulder, construction and what lane is closed and which lane you're gonna need, etc.

You'd park your truck responsibly and with respect to others drivers, not wherever you happen to land taking up multiple spaces or blocking the driveway or others drivers so they can't get out.

Trash actually went into a trash can, not all over the ground. Now there's piss jugs and shitbags littering parking lots causing us to be banned from most Walmarts, city streets, etc.

Now it's every man for himself. They drive with their foot on the dash watching a movie or face timing, not paying attention to the road and acting like their driving a car. Cut you off at the last second making you damn near dynamite your brakes instead of waiting a few seconds to merge after you've passed since there's no one behind you only to take 5 miles to pass one truck.

We had at least some respect from the public. Nowadays everyone treats us like shit. From the companies we work for to the shippers, receivers, brokers, and everyone in between.

Lol, didn't mean for this to be such a long rant. But you asked and I decided to keep it short 😇😅

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KeyTheZebra@reddit

I wonder if their is some nostalgia creeping in?

My biggest complaint is that this industry seems to not get compensated well enough for the amount of work out in. Days/weeks away from home and 14 hour days and you only start at like $55,000 a year?

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Vegetable_Living_415@reddit

Not so much nostalgia but watching the slow death of a once proud industry.

ImaginaryCatDreams@reddit

I have a friend who works for landstar. This is exactly what he did after his second year and he's 20 years into working for them now. He has one of the nicest trucks you've ever seen, he bought a used truck and then upgraded it.

The first few years he ran almost Non-Stop. Now he generally takes off January and February or finds freight that basically runs along the I-10 corridor.

A nice part about landstar is you choose your own loads. You can't be forced to go into an area you don't want to go into. Plus you're a total independent if you don't want to go out for a month you just don't go out.

There are several companies now that allow you to use the load board and pick your own freight landstar isn't the only option it's just the one I'm familiar with.

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Snookfilet@reddit

Big thing is stocking your truck shelves and fridge and not paying for truck stop food or eating out.

Also, try to walk every day and bring some hand weights for your down time. Also good to bring books instead of (or at least have in addition to) tv and movies.

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Jocelyn_The_Red@reddit

Well it's gonna be a long time with a trainer. I doubt I'll have much space in the fridge. But I only eat once a day so I won't be taking up much space anyway.

That pretty much it.

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stabsscreiber@reddit

While a lot of this is true, showering every night and sleeping next to my spouse is worth a lot to me. Even if I don't get to spend much time with them, I also get to see my kids and that's worth even more.

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strgwhlhldr@reddit

TL;DR: Jobs other than OTR/regional/local freight hauling require a CDL and will give you paid training for the skills you need beyond the CDL.

If you feel that way after 8 months, I’ll echo what others have said, use your CDL as a bullet on a resume to land a gig locally. Wastewater treatment plants, construction, and refuse hauling come to mind.

Other lines of work involving straight trucks come to mind as well - oilfield driving a wireline or well treater truck is the only one I can think of at the moment but there are others.

Basically, you can use your CDL to get into a job that’s more to your liking, that will involve more than driving a truck, checking in with a shipper/receiver, banging your head on a wall while you watch 15 trucks that arrived after you did cycle through the distribution center while you’re waiting for a phone call to get unloaded or loaded. You don’t have to condemn yourself to living in a truck year-round.

A good place to start would be your local city/county/state job boards ( http://www.governmentjobs.com has those for quite a few cities, counties, and states).

Here’s a ‘for instance’ - you can go to work at a wastewater treatment plant (sounds icky but it’s cleaner than one might suspect) using your CDL which qualifies you to haul solids from the plant to the landfill/dump. When you’re not doing the solids hauling to/from the dump (which would be a once- or twice-a-day thing), you’ll be doing basic maintenance work around the plant (cleaning, painting, etc). Local driving rules in effect, and working for a municipality law enforcement will generally leave you be. During this time you’ll also be studying for a wastewater operator license, and you’ll be shadowing senior operators, learning how to do more advanced tasks such as checking pump performance, monitoring SCADA (big screen showing status of various plant systems), checking levels of bacteria in the aeration basin, chlorine levels in the chlorination basin or operation of the UV bulbs in the UV disinfection basin, etc etc etc. Basically, as a wastewater operator/plant operator you’ll be able to learn skills far outside of trucking that can transition you to better paying jobs down the line. In this example, what you do at a wastewater plant translates to work in chemical plants and refineries.

This is just one example of many, many others that quite a few truckers could tell, I’m sure.

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AndromedanPrince@reddit

i regret who i work for notnthe work itself

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sprinit@reddit

This month it'll be a year for me driving and you're correct making 26 right now but I'm gonna ask for a raise again at the end of the month. Essentially blue collar work in all trades is about 20-30$ a hour with the occasional (when lots of time is out into it) 35$ a hour. I don't regret trucking at all it's a good gig. I look at it like this. "well he is another skill set I can fall back on if I need to" for me I believe this got my fire alarm license and was a tech for 4yrs then wanted change so I got my CDL. But for me I forgot how much I like to talk with people and be social, problem solve, that made me feel important and like I very much had a purpose. Sitting in a truck all day really doesn't fulfil that need so at the moment I set new goals of pursuing sales. I'm working on my interpersonal skills, reading and writing more, trying to have more meaningful conversations with people.

Lots of job searching. I find Google jobs to be the best place to look. I search for local driving gigs on indeed/ziprecruiter/etc and it shows 90% regional and otr

I just google "local truck driver jobs near my city" and there's tons of stuff. Going for an interview soon for a mail delivery job that pays $35/hour with overtime after 40

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Lordcobbweb@reddit

4 days on 2 off for me. Overnight food delivery and the same 2 routes every other day. Set the cruise, listen to YouTube premium, podcasts, chat with GPT4o, and ponder the universe. 13 hour routes, and 3 stores to unload each night. It's like 3 rounds of 1 hour exercise, so it keeps me tight and healthy.

It's gonna be hard to leave this job; but at 45, I feel I can only do it for another 10 years or so. Then, maybe drive a cattle truck around for awhile.

OP, I'd suggest changing it up every few years. I would go on 2-3 year hitches hauling frac-sand in the oilfields and made a small fortune. Worked 7-8 weeks straight OTR living outta a cast iron skillet and black coffee, but hey it paid the mortgage and then some. I'd usually take a couple weeks off after a long hitch and spoil my children.

Eventually, I'd get financially waaaay ahead and would decide to drop a gear and grab a 100k local route and enjoy some consistent family time. That's where I'm at now...the midnight rider...

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PaleReputation1421@reddit

How much a week in real terms. 4K take home? Out for 3-5 weeks at a time?

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Lordcobbweb@reddit

OTR in oilfield I was bringing home about $2,500 a week after taxes and benefits. Local route is about $1,600 bring home after taxes and such

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Onemanwolfpack42@reddit

Is 4 days a week common and attainable after a year OTR? About to get into school and I LOVE the idea of that

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Timecook@reddit

6 months to a year is what most companies require minimum, you just may find more competition with drivers who have more experience.

The 4 day work week jobs are picking up but still rare… they are usually shuttle drivers or ones who stay “hyper-local” or LTL, assuming the terminal has drivers working weekend premiums.

It will also depend heavily on your area just like everything else in this industry. My 4 day gig is only possible because my company is mostly OTR and Fridays things die down so I’m not needed to start and stop loads. They pile up over those three days and I have a bunch to do the next week. But some other companies around me are mostly local and they run on a 4 on 4 off schedule or 2-2-3, both of which have their ups and downs but essentially you have half the year off… just something else to consider.

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Brave-Violinist@reddit

No it’s not common.

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New_Assignment_2341@reddit

Yeah, definitely as of now.

I left company I was at training bringing home 2.5-3k/wk to start my own business with my own authority. Lasted a year. My personal bills at the house are $2900/month. Filing bankruptcy now. Been outta work for a whole month. Just now finished my first week at USA Trucks teaming with my bud who was driving under my authority as well. Was told we'd make 2.3k/wk teaming. Just got settlement, 1.5k Gross. So I've leased one of my trucks out to someone so they can make the payment on it. And I'm letting the bank take other one.

Gonna start doing classes for cyber security and pentesting while on the road now.

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SuperTruckerTom@reddit

jtaran@reddit

I worked 50 hours last week. Grossed $2200. Monday thru Friday. LTL Linehaul. You just gotta go LTL or haul fuel. OTR sucks

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SuperTruckerTom@reddit

Yep.

Team LTL here.

After 20 years of trucking, the only thing I regret is that I took a trucking job temporarily again when I needed to support my family. Despite having several degrees and a decade of experience in the computer field, all the prospective employers can see is that I'm a trucker and they are less willing to hire me outside of the trucking industry.

I guess the real regret is that I came back into the industry that I love when I was already out of it, and now can't seem to leave it again. I love trucking, but I'm tired of shit pay, shitty people on the roads, increasingly shittier equipment, and driving in the snow in the winter. I just want out, while still being able to support my family with a decent job that I paid for an education in.

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AaronTuplin@reddit

I had computer certs coming out the ass 20 years ago but I couldn't find a job that paid more than eight bucks an hour so I got my CDLses

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DisillusionedIndigo@reddit

Recently graduated with a masters in IT field. The job market sucks and I can't find anything. I used to work in administration and no one wants to hire me in that role with the masters because I'm overqualified and everyone assumes I'll jump ship after a year.

The whole reason I was interested in IT was the possibility of a remote work where I wouldn't need to participate in as many office politics or be micromanaged. I have no kids, pets or significant other. Honestly trucking sounds pretty good right now, even if it's temporary until the IT job market improves.

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Thisssss. I recently got into trucking simply to get out of college debt.

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BoringJuiceBox@reddit

I’m non-CDL blue collar in a “rich” town and only make $18/hr working my ass off.

I’m gonna be entirely open and honest. No I don’t regret making trucking my primary career. Before this I worked and lived on a farm which sucked. When I turned 18 I joined the Marines. I had a love hate relationship with the Marine Corps. There were entire years where I was on top of the world. Picked up Corporal, picked up Sergeant, company guidon bearer, got a combat decoration with valor, got offers from both MARSOC and EOD turned them both down cause “me big bad infantry Marine” blah blah blah. But there were also entire years that I fuckin hated. Serving at the embassy in China sucked. Serving at the embassy In Russia sucked even more. Can’t go home. I was without question an alcoholic. I ordered two pitchers of beer once in Beijing and one of the female Marines went “Oh thanks Sergeant” and I’m like “get your filthy paws off my beer those are both mine!”. Finally I called it quits on the gun club I didn’t like the attitude that I’d developed and I didn’t like waking up at 4 or 5 in the morning and taking a swig of whiskey to start my day. After I got out I tried being a private investigator. Job was fun but, pay was shit. Next I tried telecom. Pay was good but, job was shit. Then I went completely off the rails and worked in marketing for AT&T for 4 months. Worst job I ever had. Seriously fuck white collar work. Distraught and in need of a second chance I applied to a starter trucking company with little to no knowledge of the trucking industry. Pay was good and they trained me. After doing three years of the OTR shit got a local gig, even more pay, get to be home every day, nice new truck, boss that appreciates my hard work and even invites me out to parties. Last month he invited me to a destruction derby with him had a blast.

I’m not gonna lie in the beginning there were days where I wanted to call it quits. Wanted to say fuck this, tell the dispatcher to eat shit, fly home and start again. Maybe use that GI bill and become edumacated like those kids on TV. But, I’m glad I stuck with it. Every day is an adventure. Every mile a blessing or a curse I’ll deal with it. I told my boss last week I hope I’m still here in 30 years and he said “me too”.

I've tried having normal jobs and it sucks ass after you've been driving for so long. Dispatchers / brokers can be pushy, but even as a company driver you can do kind of whatever you want.

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JOliverScott@reddit

The first year usually does suck because you are basically paying your dues before you get a better gig. OTR and regional are a hard lifestyle to get used to and also if you have a family at home. If you want to start putting out feelers now for an LTL or local job at least you'll be at the top of their call list when you hit the one year mark or some of them may have some discretion to bend the rules if you have a clean record and they have a particular need.

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onisyndicate@reddit

This is right here. Was OTR for a year and then regional for 1.5 years. Been local for the past 8 years. I sleep in my bed everyday and make 6 figs.

Get that year under your belt. Go local and never look back.

At 8 months in, what you're feeling is perfectly normal. Take a look around your local area and see what's available. Most local work that will get you home every night or at least home every weekend typically requires one to two years experience. Worst case scenario you've got about 16 months before you can apply to those jobs.

If you don't mind physical labor and there is a beer distributor near you, you might want to go ahead and talk with them. Even if they're not interested in hiring you right now you might get a call out of the blue.

If you are married and have kids you really want to find local work. However if you're single and don't have kids why not consider something over the road that gives you more control.

There are several companies out there where you choose your own loads from their load boards. I have a friend that's worked for landstar for almost 20 years. If he wants to take a month off the road he just doesn't go out, he doesn't even have to ask, he's basically his own dispatcher. There are at least half a dozen companies out there like this.

Unless there's something else that you really want to look at don't give up now, best of luck however you decide

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mynameismeggann@reddit

Does your friend have his own truck to be able to do that with Landstar?

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ImaginaryCatDreams@reddit

Yes you have to own a truck to work for landstar. There may be some owner-operators that you could drive their truck but if you're looking to be independent I wouldn't do that. They do have assistance to help you get into a truck.

The important thing here is to be able to buy a reliable used truck and remember to put enough money away with every paycheck to cover any repairs or upgrades you will need over the years.

If you are not someone who's good with mechanics I believe you can find people that will inspect the truck at a low charge. Don't go into a dealership and ask them for one of their people to look at it for you.

My friend, is very fond of show freight. It typically is under 25,000 lb, often times under 10,000. It usually goes into the truck on rollers. A lot of times you have to help with the unload but that's just a matter of tailgating load by pushing whatever the freight is to the back of the truck.

I'm really good with logistics. He'll often call me up and run a trip he's got set up with me. It's possible to stack loads and have anywhere from 4 to 10 loads scheduled in advance. It's just a matter of making sure you have the time in the hours to get them done.

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Dangerous_Ad1115@reddit

You have to pay your dues. For you to be able to get a local gig it could take you a year or 100k miles in your log book. Be patient brother!! Start checking into local jobs and what's required as you get closer to a year otr.

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driverman42@reddit

I just retired after 52 years. People go into it thinking it's going to be something different than what it's always been--time away from home. Sure, there's cushy driving jobs out there: Local tanker, hauling mail, running line haul, local delivery, to name a few. But generally, experience is needed to get those jobs. And the best way to get experience is to truck. One year with no tickets, no accidents, is all a person needs.

I love driving truck, and I knew when I was a kid this is what I'd be doing.

However, it certainly isn't for everyone. I've seen a lot of people go into it and hate it.

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It gets better as you gain seniority. I think 2 years with a clean driving record is the goal.

Get some specialized qualifications:

TWIC

Hazmat cert

Tanker Endorsement

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PartySausage69@reddit

I don't regret it one bit. Went from warehouse rat, to jockey,then to driver where I make almost three times as much. I got lucky though and landed a sweet local gig

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Beekatiebee@reddit

Yup.

Will be 5 years in December. OTR, local, regional, linehaul, foodservice, etc.

No I dont regret it, it gave me the income and the time away from my crazy conservative relgious family/home town to really be myself. Lol

The job market sucks and is becoming more unstable. Trucking has historically always been a stable (always in demand) job. While you may not make a huge ammount of money, it will be more than most anything else (that does not require education or a lot of experiance to make decent money), especially if you are starting from the bottom of the experiance ladder.

The problem in western Europe is there are many eastern European drivers who, I believe, get paid maybe €500 for a month in the truck. This is of course illegal but very Little checks are done so it happens a lot.

In Europe we don't get your insane waits for loads and unloading and our despatchers are generally more friendly and could in many cases be or become a friend. You would have to be a really bad driver to get sacked.

I am shocked with how much you guys earn compared to us Euros.

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cCueBasE@reddit

Nope. You don’t need to go OTR and work your life away to make good money either.

Best advice is to get the hell away from dry van/refer and learn flatbed, tanker, equipment hauling, or some type of specialized transport. Otherwise you’ll quickly find yourself grouped in with an over saturated pool of average drivers who are all fighting over the same bs jobs.

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kalouloupk@reddit

Otr Canada-Us I love it then I don’t.

The pay sucks for us Canadian and it gets lonely.

The pay is better than doing local but I’m never home.I moved in July and still haven’t painted my house or bought a couch.

And no love life 😅

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Fearless-Stonk@reddit

Idk man, I'm Canadian and I'm local and I do way better money wise then when I was OTR...

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BsrKLions@reddit

It gets better once you go local. Not by much, but still a bit better. I’m making $28/hr right now. My advice is to get all your endorsements now. If you can get hired on with a local company doing linehaul or similar. your quality of life should improve greatly, mentally and financially.

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Ok_Bug_6470@reddit

Don’t really regret anything but wish I wouldn’t have took a job(cdl) just to work when I ran out of money for college. You know bc hard work always pays off😂😂😂 Geez I was a sucker and naive. Everyone I know that didn’t work and was basically lazy ended up getting help with money and jobs and had families(they couldn’t afford) while I was too worried about buying a truck and getting my authority bc I had no safety net. Glad I have my cdl but feel used and am pretty much worse off years later than I would have been if I woulda begged family for money like the rest of the ones that did.

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Xiunte@reddit

I don't regret it overall (it was literally this or starve), but I do regret the situation that lead to it. It's hard to see as a new driver, but it definitely gets better if you keep your records clean. I'd still suggest doing something else if you have the means though. Because if you hate it now, you'll always hate it a little. Even with a nice, cushy, stress-free local job.

I started driving out of pure desperation. It was never something I wanted to do, but it was the only option to support myself and eat at the time. CDLs are easy and quick to get, and you can put it work immediately. I knew the kind of job I wanted needed experience so I stuck with OTR for as long as I had to, no more. I'm making decent money pulling a tanker (hazmat) locally and working normal, 8-hour days like everyone else but I still regret the situation that put me in the position of needing to choose this over what I actually wanted to do.

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Jasonunlimited@reddit

Why does this bot suck so bad?

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deezkeys098@reddit

Bad bot

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Kkalemauser@reddit

Go LTL. Estes, Saia, ABF, R&L

I work for a not so loved LTL company and still pull 120k a year. So I can’t imagine what the drivers who work for these companies pull in, and what benefits they have.

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Visual_Poetry_4624@reddit

I’m just getting into the trade. I’m hoping I can find something that is local in my area for this exact reason. My kids are still young and this is important to me.

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Juan_Rempel@reddit

Yea, being away from home can suck, I have a really decent boss, gets me home for 2 full days on almost every weekend. What days on the weekend can change a bunch, but to days if it's Fri/Sat or Sun/Mon is still goo in my books.

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12InchPickle@reddit

Switch to local.

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