Why trucking for a living

No luck. I bounced around in sales for a while too. Its a tough economy out there -- even with a college degree.

I like to follow Mike Rowe's advice from Dirty Jobs. Dirty jobs are the best paying jobs for those that can't find work or if their college degrees are not paying off. I consider trucking a dirty job. Oil field trucking is another dirty job. Plumber, welder, ironworker, electrician -- any trade is decent paying. Trucking offers security. Yes, it can be single man's game - but hey some family men do it too to pay the bills.

Bob, you won't really understand until you've been out here, until you've seen what I've seen, until you've survived what I've survived, until you've seen the sights I see on a daily basis. Right now I'm in the Mojave Desert watching the sun set - I can't describe how beautiful it is. Being out here really shows you just how beautiful God's creation is.

The scenery I've seen and experienced will follow me through the rest of my life and I can surely tell you this - I'll be your best friend around a campfire because truckers have a million stories to tell.

You obviously are not interested in driving a truck. You obviously don't understand economics and how utterly vital to our nations economy trucking is. You seem to think that anyone who wants to be happy can just go down to the local university and get themselves a diploma and be making a ton of money while home with their families.

I don't even want to pretend I understand why you are in this forum asking such a question, but I sure wish you would give us a little more information. Some jobs require sacrifice, and not all folks are willing to make those sacrifices. But the same folks who wouldn't make the sacrifices that the truck driver makes would be upset very quickly if they couldn't make a quick little jaunt to the local store to get the things they need for life and sustenance.

The clothes you were wearing as you typed your query on this forum came delivered in our trucks. The computer you used to pose your inquiry and all the various parts that came together to make it were delivered by a truck driver who would have preferred sitting around a warm fire at his home with his loved ones around him.

The chair or sofa you were sitting in, the very materials that were put together for the home that keeps you warm and sheltered were all put in their place by the people you just can't understand.

And when you go to your job in the morning you will be driving a car that I probably hauled the steel for the manufacturing process that caused it to come into being.

You have no idea how miserable your life would be were it not for the men and women who give of their time for your benefit by moving this nations goods all across this great and prosperous land.

We love our families just as much as anyone does, but there is a need for us to be doing the thing that we do. Now if we could find enough professional responsible folks who didn't have any family ties then we could maybe have all of them be truck drivers. But, even the folks who don't have families are not willing to make the sacrifices that a professional driver makes. It is a special person who fills the American Truck Driver's boots, but you wouldn't have a clue about what type of people they are.

You have no idea of the diversity of people who are out here making sacrifices for your daily needs and pleasures. I seriously would like to know why a man, who has no interest in truck driving, is squandering the precious time he could be spending with his children perusing trucking forums and posing questions.

If you can give me a satisfactory response to that question I will gladly give you an ear full as to why I am out here keeping this economy chugging along. I am choosing this route because of 2 reasons, 1 I love seeing the country and 2 because the money vs years spent is better than college at my age. Sure I can go back to school for 4 years racking up thousands in debt while holding a full time job and not seeing my kids tball games because I am at school or work so I can graduate and get a job making 60k a year while being 20k in debt.

Or I can get a job that will keep me away from home for a few years while racking up no new debt that I could be making 80k within 3 years and then have experience to go to pretty much any company I wanted and continue to make 50k a year even with local and be home daily. OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region.

It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time. Well I can only speak for myself on some of this but I will toss my two cents in. I just recently was doing the college thing to get a degree, however I was finding it impossible to find work in my field within relative close driving distance IE less than miles one way. Relocating was not in the cards as I would need to be working first to save up money, and living out of a car for any length of time in the Detroit area is suicide.

Now yes I do not have kids or major bills to worry about at the moment so by most common people's logic this would make me a fine candidate to become a driver, however these are not the only things that go into this decision for most. First you have to be comfortable to be by yourself for weeks on end, and for me the less people I have to deal with on a daily basis the better for me.

A career as a truck driver is truly a great job, as long as you can manage the issues involved with it. If you click on one of the product or service links on this site, we may receive commissions if you purchase something. Learn more This post may contain affiliate links. You can read the full disclosure policy, which is pretty dull, but here it is. My personal career in trucking has lasted for 45 years. This is a realistic look at what to expect from a driving career in trucking.

Mountain driving can be intimidating, especially for first time or rookie truck drivers. If you follow some basic safety rules and take advantage of the safety features available to you then you can quickly gain confidence on mountains. And they have to adhere to federal safety guidelines.

As the day gets longer, truckers start paying closer attention to the Department of Transportation time clock. This is important because driving past the hours-of-service limits can result in expensive penalties. A day comes to a close in one of two ways: Either the clock runs out or the driver reaches the destination.

If you have one with a sleeper cab, you probably also have satellite TV, internet, and just about everything you need to relax for your mandated 10 hours before hitting the road again. Of course, truckers also know all about the best roadside restaurants, places to park, and sites to see. Truck driving is one of the last of the romantic American professions. It allows you to see the country, put bread on the table, and largely live life on your own terms.

Truck drivers live a very unique life on the road. Inconsistent sleep schedules, cooking in the truck, and finding places to park for the night are just a few of the things a trucker deals with every day that the average person does not. Many people would not be able to handle days on the road like the average truck driver is able to. When you spend enough time on the road, you are able to get used to this type of life.

Also, over the years, many things have gotten better for truck drivers which has made living in the truck easier. Having to live your life in a truck can definitely feel crammed.

This is because your whole house is basically an 8-foot by foot box. These small dimensions make staying neat and organized a challenge. As you continue to accumulate stuff, it continuously gets more difficult to find a place for it all.

This is especially true if you collect things that you think you need but never end up using again. Whenever you want, you can get in the back of your truck, close the curtain, and nobody will really bother you. Lastly, living in your truck means there is no real commute from home to the office. When you wake up, you are already where you need to be in order to get the workday started. Weekly schedules on the road vary from truck driver to truck driver.

Some truckers drive the same set route every week.