genuinely curious.
Posted by Ricemunchr@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 44 comments
what made you get into the trucking industry? i haven’t started yet but i’m mostly in it for the money and the experience also i guess.
i’m positive that a good 80-90% will be for the money. but maybe some was a reason to get away and just be on your own, or see it as a get paid to travel gig, or love rigs and driving.
id like to see your responses and where you stem from this.
ParticularArrival111@reddit
Trucking for the money is the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
You know how to make a 1 million trucking? Start with 2.
Ricemunchr@reddit (OP)
assuming you drive but you won’t dare to say you don’t do it for the money. nobody works and say it isn’t for the money. sure you probably won’t be a millionaire but you will be better off than most.
ParticularArrival111@reddit
I would make much more money doing anything else. I do this job cause I like it. Other wise I wouldn't do it.
Obviously I wouldn't do it for free either
just_me1969@reddit
If you're doing for the money, you're gonna be seriously disappointed. I personally had no choice. My old man had 5 trucks. So it's pretty much all I know.
Ricemunchr@reddit (OP)
i don’t see why people say that trucking won’t make you the money but i’ve seen many drivers make enough to buy themselves a house within a few years compared to your 9-5 guy who might have to say 10+ years to barely buy one.
hell i bet trucking is better than any 9-5 job with a manager/supervisor breathing down your neck and micromanaging you.
just_me1969@reddit
You can make very good money. But are you willing to lose a lot of friends and family for it. It's not an 8 hours and go home kind of job. I'm pretty much home every day. But when you're working 14 hours a day. You're not really getting any quality home time. I work 60 to 65 hrs a week and make approximately 75k a year. That averages to a little over 22 dollars an hr. Personally, I don't think it's worth it.
Ricemunchr@reddit (OP)
i understand the long hours and being a trucker will distant you from relatives and friends and even miss out plenty of events and many of us have to make those sacrifices.
I’ve seen on here that some drivers work a 4 day a week local gig home every night and those 3 days off count for a lot. having a family of your own especially with little ones is definitely hard but i’m currently single and no kids so it seems right for me.
MostlyUseful@reddit
It all started when I was 6. I had an uncle who o adored and he owned a truck and drove coast to coast. I wanted to be just like him. Course, it didn’t just happen. I went to college, majored in music and thought I’d be set. First, performing isn’t a regular deal, so sometimes I’d be busy, then I would go a couple months with nothing. Teaching was decent, but when they want to expand the sports programs the music department takes the cut. Eventually I was teaching at 2 different schools 2 days a week, one college theory course 2 night a week, private lessons 3 days a week, playing in a restaurant weekend nights, and working part time coding mail 4 nights a week along with cleaning houses, painting porches, doing lawns…whatever I could to pay the bills. The postal facility closed and even though I was part time, I qualified as a dislocated worker which meant they would pay for trade school. Trucking was one of the choices. I jumped on it. Didn’t really think it would stick, but 25 years later and I’m still going. It suits me. I’ve never been one to follow the crowd or stay on the same path. I have a free spirited soul and like to be on my own.
Ricemunchr@reddit (OP)
trucking definitely is a career for people who is okay with being alone and away from people. i’m happy you found your path and you don’t have to juggle multiple jobs to pay the bills. i’ve honestly saw trucking as a way for most people who don’t really have much going for themselves at the moment.
I personally probably won’t drive forever but eventually want to make enough money to purchase a home and open a business to keep me up and even get myself into real estate.
MostlyUseful@reddit
Solid plan. I wish you the best. Enjoy the adventure
Ricemunchr@reddit (OP)
yessir thank you I appreciate that. stay safe out there driver.
scottiethegoonie@reddit
I'm losing my hair and wanted a job where I could always wear a hat. I was getting a little too old to play 1B on the Los Angeles Dodgers anyways.
Ricemunchr@reddit (OP)
not gonna lie i’m balding also and it’s pretty embarrassing because im still young in my late 20’s and i always wear a hat. I however wish i had the confidence to just say fuck it and just let it shine.
scottiethegoonie@reddit
On the contrary - if you lose your hair early in your 20's you learn to deal with it early on. Guys who lose it in their late 30's like me are forever in denial lol.
Ricemunchr@reddit (OP)
im starting to accept it i even joke about it with friends and family now especially in old photos that i had a full set!
but yeah everyone deals with it differently ive seen men who just rock the bald or don’t even shave it at all and just accept it with a idgaf attitude. it makes so much sense to me why most older men become more and more bitter because life isn’t always treating the nicely lol.
PontoonDood@reddit
Could always coach.
kingblaster3347@reddit
Same the money potential but being honest once you start driving a big truck it’s amazing to have some newfound freedom just sucks your freedom isolates you because it’s a job where you work to please a company that doesn’t care about your workers reasons for working in the first place. Like your family/ personal responsibilities that you care about like every damn job.
Embarrassed-Toe-904@reddit
Don't like your company just quit. You can find a new one within a few days. Best part about being a driver. You can quit on Friday and easily have a new job set up by Monday.
I've been told no to vacation time before and just said we'll ill be back on X date if you wanna fire me just do it I'll have a job when I get back from vacation either way.
kingblaster3347@reddit
Unfortunately I’m new to trucking so I’m forever stuck to OTR jobs because the rest of them require experience and since my wife now needs me home to help as pregnancy has made her immobile it’s tough as dog shit
Ricemunchr@reddit (OP)
man i can’t stress it enough that people on my cdl school complain we only drive manual trucks but have a non restricted cdl is such a big deal when it comes to hiring.
but dude i get you know these big companies can give a rats ass about you or the guy next to you we’re all just a number to them. Honestly though i highly recommend get your experience and apply to local jobs even small companies. they’ll accommodate you better and care for you better than any mega or save up money to be a o/o
AnnieGS@reddit
I wanted money and didn't have any better ideas, I wanted my dog to come with me to work every day, and I hated landlords/working to stay at a place I can only enjoy for like 4 hours a day. And I wanted to be around people wayyy less.
Ricemunchr@reddit (OP)
good enough reasons for me. plenty of people find it as an escape whether it just be family or just people in generally.
PontoonDood@reddit
Was having a baby, working retail. Dad had been laid off. Went to CRST together
Ricemunchr@reddit (OP)
sometimes things in life happen and it’s ultimately up to us to make that right decision and i think you did just right. it’s great that you looked after your father as well.
82ToyotaFarmin@reddit
It was a job I could do independently. I don't like working with or around other people. Really cut back on the micromanagement and exposure to toxic company culture also.
Ricemunchr@reddit (OP)
partly why i want to be in this industry, currently i have people breathing down my neck at my job couldn’t even use the bathroom in peace without being accused of taking too long. The supervisor is an extreme micromanager all of my co workers hate him for it.
Competitive-Item-927@reddit
I was unemployed and living out of my car, traveling to different family members houses. Now I do that but with a lot more money.
Ricemunchr@reddit (OP)
glad it worked out for you and you didn’t give up, big kudos.
CaveatLector_@reddit
Dad was a trucker and machine operator, so I grew up around equipment, but I never gave it a single thought as a career. Growing up, I worked many jobs but I seemed to have a knack for delivery, like pizza guy and big city courier. As time passed, life threw me some curve balls, and eventually my old man got into car hauling. One day, it just clicked that a CDL was something worth pursuing, I had a knack for transportation, as well as a great teacher. Got my license, cut my teeth as an o/o car hauler in a partnership with my old man for a couple years, but ended up leaving that behind for a sweet M-F local job as a driver for a construction company. Probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, money is hardly a problem nowadays and I no longer stress about employment, a real water-to-wine scenario.
Ricemunchr@reddit (OP)
that’s awesome dude happy for you. the whole money is never a problem is a thing id love to say one day. for your construction company you still drive class a? hauling heavy equipment?
12InchPickle@reddit
I like to drive. Hated being in a hot ass warehouse all day throwing boxes inside a trailer. Plus my dad was an owner op for a while. As a kid I used to go with him on his runs. I enjoyed it and as I got older realized this is what I wanna do.
Ricemunchr@reddit (OP)
that’ll do it. usually it’s always a bs ass job that forces you to find a way out. family is the biggest stem to breeding new drivers i have family and friends who drive and that’s part of the reason im going to cdl school for it. money is definitely on top for my reason though but who works and doesn’t do it for the money.
RhinoDK@reddit
I'm gonna be honest man, I'm in CDL school right now and I seriously don't know why. Why did I sign up for this? I got sick of plumbing and started watching some hotshot trucking YouTube channels and was like "I should do that" but I really don't have the money to start, and with the way the market has been idk how sustainable it would be either, especially being based out of ND. But when I get my CDL I know I'm going to want to use it. Being an Owner/Operator would be kickass too.
Ricemunchr@reddit (OP)
it’s definitely a different environment but truth be told i see it as a job that’s very likely better than your average 9-5 job where there are bosses/supervisors who breathe down your neck. You basically can work at our own pace because at the end of the day you hold that cdl license and you must protect it.
nobody can force you to go fast to make that delivery, if you crash that trailer ain’t gonna make it to the destination neither.
Coompa@reddit
I got my cdl so I would have a back-up plan. Ended up coming in handy when I shifted industries.
Ricemunchr@reddit (OP)
holding a cdl is definitely a good back up plan to rely on and go just have. Many jobs would require you drive heavy equipment, at my cdl school plenty of dudes who have to obtain a cdl so they can drive the company truck that hauls street light poles.
Fit_Hospital2423@reddit
Back when trucks had rows of gauges, and rows of switches, and lots of gears…for me it was about driving the machine. The weight, the power, the movement, the trailing smoke back the top of the trailer with every shift, and making those shifts as smooth as silk every time….the lights at night…and going places and seeing sights I hadn’t seen before. Interacting with other drivers and getting into industrial settings that you otherwise had no access to….I could go on….haha!….And believe it or not, a lot of people used to respect a professional truckdriver.
Ricemunchr@reddit (OP)
i strongly believe people would be more respectful to truck drivers these days if they knew that if we ever stopped moving shit around they wouldn’t get to get things they wanted. but it also doesn’t help we have d head truckers also.
bigred_944@reddit
Grew up in it. My grandma and grandpa team drove as owner ops. Rode around with my grandma and my dad a lot so I was screwed from the beginning lol it’s my passion and the money helps. I’m an owner op now
Ricemunchr@reddit (OP)
i can see many who stem from family being truckers especially owner ops. it’s definitely a lifestyle and you could say it’s in the blood.
hesslake@reddit
This is what happened to me Grampa owned a small milk hauling company. Got my drivers license in 1979. Grampa woke me up the next morning at 3am and said go pick up the milk from such and such farms. Been doing it ever since. I do own the company now
Ricemunchr@reddit (OP)
that’s awesome i think a lot of drivers who have family who drive/drove have that stem of a background. it’s great that the business is still within the family, do you still drive or just manage the business now?
hesslake@reddit
Trucking milk almost everyday as a relief driver
Ricemunchr@reddit (OP)
nice! you got a fleet going? that’s pretty badass tho to have a boss who still drives and makes deliveries.