Is our industry the only one being overworked at the moment?
Posted by bentstrider83@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 39 comments
I'm over on the jobs and recruitinghell subs quite often. Seems everyone in the finance or IT sectors are sharing stories of going months to years between jobs. And then some taking drastic paycuts just to put some food on the table.
Meanwhile over here in food grade tanker land, we're either running short on clean tankers or having load assignments piled on top of the one we're still on. Seems like it's either feast or famine these days. Either take all the work being shoveled and hold on tight. Or take that breather and deal with what little you can find that won't over work you.
I'm still searching for that Goldilocks zone of a spot. Meanwhile also taking control of finances and stacking away what excess I come across. Lower the bills, and cut expenses to where I can afford the cut that comes with a more comfortable schedule.
Old-Wolf-1024@reddit
Who ya running for in Clovis?? I was one of the first 5 trucks to pull milk outa that area for IRT. Southwest Cheese was just a bunch of bulldozers and scrapers.
bentstrider83@reddit (OP)
That's it. I ran with MyMar for a bit as well. Not sure when SWC was built. But I'm guessing it was a few years before 2012 when I came out here.
Old-Wolf-1024@reddit
SWC opened for operations in ‘05. We were hauling milk outa of that region in’03 trying to get production up to speed,so that when they did open the doors,there was plenty of product. We would run Clovis to Tulare,Ca. just as fast as we could turn em. It was a pretty sweet gig while it lasted.
bentstrider83@reddit (OP)
Milk all the way from Tulare? Guess the local dairies were still amping up. I was still living in SoCal during those years.
Old-Wolf-1024@reddit
No,we ran milk TO Tulare and d/h back
clarobert@reddit
I haul fuel - no shortage of work. Delivering to more and more stores that have run out of gasoline before anyone could get deliveries to them.
bentstrider83@reddit (OP)
Day cab? Hourly? Sounds fair. Again, got my Hazmat, but jack squat near me when it comes to Hazmat hauling. Lots of the fuel places 1-2 hours away have a hard-on against commuting. I used to live in SoCal where 3-4 hour long commutes one way was a way of life. But out here in eastern NM/west TX, nope.
clarobert@reddit
Every fleet worth their salt is going to require that you live within 50 miles of the terminal location for local work. It stems from a lawsuit where a Wal Mart driver had spent nearly 10 hours on the road 'commuting: before jumping in his truck and starting his driving shift - getting into a fatal accident shortly thereafter. The plaintiff's discovery efforts turned up that out of the driver's 34 hour 'reset', he had driven half of it in his POV getting home and back and had likely netted only a couple hours of actual sleep before starting another driving cycle. The resulting judgement was astounding.
bentstrider83@reddit (OP)
Yeah, Tracy Morgan. Still blows that I got to uproot though. Luckily certain policies that New Mexico has implemented has finally made me give up on this state after 12 years. Thought it was going to be a forever home. But then they decided to make certain things unsavory.
Starting to think it's more worth it invest in a travel trailer to follow the local work and union opportunities in the future.
Fit_Hospital2423@reddit
My problem is that I want to drive a fully loaded classic long nose, run long whenever I feel like it, and be home when I want to and need to, and stay away from most cities, and make $100k/yr with benefits. It’s been decades and I’m still looking for that job.
Old-Wolf-1024@reddit
Because that unicorn doesn’t exist……I’m close to it,but still a ways off and I’m content all things considered.
bentstrider83@reddit (OP)
I dunno. I feel $50k/yr and 4off/3on is key. But at this point, working strict 12s would be a blessing. More time at the range, less time performing low altitude flying.
Montreal4life@reddit
bro for real lmao I want a long nose kenworth or pete and live my life in the hammer lane but at the end of the day I gotta pay my bills womp womp this automatic cascadia will do
Different_Mousse_564@reddit
The week before last I worked 84hours for a 1500$ check without Medical, Dental and 401k deductions. Tells you where the industry stands right now. With deductions that’s probably 12-1300 at best not to mention only getting Sunday off
bentstrider83@reddit (OP)
Less for the same or more. Maybe I should take up some cooking classes to hone my kitchen skills and start an ebike elote cart.🤷
Different_Mousse_564@reddit
The hell with these hours man. I got 60/120 credits towards my computer science degree that’s my plan.
bentstrider83@reddit (OP)
Already halfway done? I applaud you for staying the course. I'm trash when it comes to college. It's been on-again/off-again with me and college courses since graduating high school in 2001. Maybe it's time for intravenous Ritalin🤷
deadpat03@reddit
I used to be IT. I remember when network administrator used to make 150-200k a year when I first wanted to get into it in the early 2000's by the time i left the military in 2011 the job was paying 75 to 100k after completing 4 year bachelor it was barely 50k and programmers were getting the big bucks. 10 years later , they are at 50k. Engineers are now getting the big money, but now AI is replacing them. The problem with computers is when their is a demand their is no supply of workerss. Give it 10 years that supply exceeds demand and desperate people take crumbs crashing the field. I choose trucking because it's the only field that has more demand than supply. But the supply we are getting in the drivers is really killing the business. We need to speak out and defend our position and report dirty drivers and companies to FMCSA and to you local, state and federal delegates about the corrupt practices that cities like Chicago and Denver allow in our business.
bentstrider83@reddit (OP)
I've always heard the different ways of getting into the IT careers you described. Some said the CS degree route was the superior one. Others said a coding boot camp ran by whomever was the best way. I was only suggested IT by some I've met along the way due to anger issues I've had in the past. They were under the false pretenses that CS/IT types worked alone and it was a low stress job. Of course this was back in 2011 as well after a major meltdown I had at a distribution center that got me "taken away".
Of course reading and researching the various accounts of CS/IT workers, I come to find that it's probably worse than what I deal with trucking. Like any one mistake, not meeting a deadline, or rubbing someone the wrong way will send you to the poorhouse. At least with driving, different companies seem to have differing tolerances for performance issues.
That said, I've been trucking full time for the past 17 years all together. But only because I had no idea what I wanted to do in my 20s. I sure have no idea what I want to do in my 40s. At the very least, this line of work lets my the electrons run through my noodle and process the ideas.
xenodine@reddit
Did a stint at a msp. I'd rather go back to swift than that slice of hell
RealSharpNinja@reddit
I got news for anyone looking at an IT career: don't. Practically all IT functions are being eliminated with AI. There will be work very short term, but over the next 2 to 5 years, you will be increasingly competing with displaced workers for fewer and fewer jobs, ESPECIALLY DEVELOPERS.
WIbigdog@reddit
I mean, they've been saying the same thing about our industry and it's not even close to happening.
RealSharpNinja@reddit
It IS happening in IT. Ask me how I know.
xenodine@reddit
Nearly a decade in it, nobody even wants to pay $10 an hour where I'm at. Whataburger pays double the it jobs now.
Baconated-Coffee@reddit
I worked 81 hours last week. Even though I have an ELD in the truck a lot of what I do is HoS exempt.
bentstrider83@reddit (OP)
If only all those hours got compensated.😞
Baconated-Coffee@reddit
Speak for yourself, I'm union and paid hourly. OT after 8 in a day, OT before 6 AM and after 5 PM, OT all day Saturday, double time Sunday.
bentstrider83@reddit (OP)
Should've opened with that first. Now I'm heated. Where I'm at, wheels ain't turning, you're not earning type of garbage. Every week or so we get a run out to a milk plant in Columbia MO. Sometimes it's 3-4 hours waiting to get unloaded. Other times it's 15-20 hours. Would be more tolerable if we could leave our tankers there and park elsewhere. Get a call back to come pick it up when empty. But no. It's all babysitting.
I really need to move. Get closer ti those teamster and other union positions. There's a reason these rural areas are imploding. That and it's just me and my cat. No friends or family after 12 years of living out here. I could become an Unsolved Mysteries case and no one would care. Except for maybe my work. Angry that a long timer jumped ship without notice😂😂😂😂
GroundbreakingSir386@reddit
Always strive for more money but do what you enjoy. i work LTL and I love my job and I make honest money nothing crazy but it's enough. I have great work life balance and I even am going on a small business trip to another terminal where I'm going to stay in a hotel with all my meals and expenses paid for.
bentstrider83@reddit (OP)
I've been hearing some pretty good things about LTL. Of course like I mentioned in other threads, got to also deal with the added bologna of relocation. Live in Clovis NM currently and am looking at least hopping to nearby Lubbock or Amarillo to get my "moving groove" back on. And they're a much closer move compared to staying in NM(Albuquerque ain't the fine bride it used to be🤢).
Plenty of jobs here in Clovis. Only thing is they're all either milk hauling or agriculture/non HAZMat related. All long hours and pay topping off at like $65k/year. These dairy farmers and co-ops are greedy to no end.
GroundbreakingSir386@reddit
Yeah. I see so many car hauler gigs where they boast about making $120k a year but they have to drive extremely old tractors and are only driving overnight. I think if you really want to do it for the money and need money car hauling is awesome but if I have 10+ years seniority in LTL and have a solid company that isn't going bankrupt I will make $90-100k easy and not have to deal with half the crap car haulers have to go through. Even my hazmat is extremely easy The handheld just tells us everything what to do And It's not that complicated. I would definitely prefer having a company that honors you the longer you stay with the company. I believe after every year we are with my company we earn 5 days PTO till we max out in 10 years and we start with two and a half weeks PTO every year.
Stormy_Turtles@reddit
They've been cutting runs at UPS. Lots of extra drivers. I got pushed back to swing shift after being on days for five years. Glad I have enough seniority to not have to worry about getting laid off.
Montreal4life@reddit
brother I'm going for a test drive in five hours for feeder in my city I hope it's not the case out here :(
Stormy_Turtles@reddit
I hope that doesn't happen to you. I just went thru getting bumped off runs like 4 or 5 times bc they kept cutting runs
bentstrider83@reddit (OP)
Ouch. That's a rough one. At my current gig, there is no seniority. If there's work, there's work. If it's slow, you take whatever you can or go elsewhere.
But as with this industry, the better jobs will put the interrogation lamp on you over why you abruptly left the previous place.
Stormy_Turtles@reddit
Yeah, I really miss my 11am start times and 10 hour work days. Now I'm 3pm to 2am.
I've only ever worked for UPS so it's all I know and probably all I ever will know (halfway to retirement). We have plenty of guys who jumped ship from other trucking companies when UPS went on a hiring spree a few years back. They've told me some stories about the place they came from
mcgunner1966@reddit
No...I'm in IT and I do 50hr weeks as norm.
Independent-Fun8926@reddit
It took almost 3 months for me to find my current job. Granted it was over the holidays lol. Food grade tank as well now, and I’ve been running my ass off lol.
I’m always searching for the right spot. Enough pay, enough time off. That’s about all I want lol. Neither is asking for too much either. I don’t mind if I don’t make $100K a year. $70-80K a year is alright so long as I have a reasonable home life. 4/10 schedule would be best. I’d like to think I’m buying my life back by taking less pay for more time off. But so often is the case in this fucked up industry, they’ll pay you less and make ya work recaps for 70 days straight before reluctantly permitting home visitation lol. Fuck that shit, I’m almost through with my OTR sentence
bentstrider83@reddit (OP)
I used to run local with my current outfit until 2020. Then it became regional. Then along came a dispatcher I didn't really care for that worked at another place in town and she's been turning us into autobots ever since. The other two dispatchers I got along with got let go in the past year and now it's like I don't really have any incentive to stay here.
For me, I just like to be able to get back into some hobbies I was heavily involved with prior to 2020. If it means making that leap into the unknown, I'll find some way to adapt.