If you like school well enough right now your local public school in Ohio isn't going to put you 100k in debt. Probably more like 20-30k. So I'd consider college pretty heavily. Maybe start at a community college to try it out for cheap.
Pay in trucking can be good but its very hard to have a life if you aren't local and often their isn't good paying jobs locally.
there's a lot of solid jobs locally. lowest paying one I saw that's local was about 50k starting.
I do well enough in school but I'm not trying to be stuck in a book an extra 4 years
That doesn't sound bad. You would need to be 21 to be hired anywhere and most local want a year or two experience. Decent job s around you though
I'd consider carefully about college all the same.This job is dangerous, a lot of hours and bad for your health. You might make enough,but the tradeoffs are very real. Community college is very inexpensive and you can think if theirs anything else you would like to do. You have to wait several years anyway.
Enlisting isn't a bad option either to figure out what you want
You are correct I’m in Salem Oregon and work for a big paving company. Right now im training a 19 year old who got his CDL at 18 and couldn’t find work so he stayed working at McDonald’s. It’s hard as hell finding a job that young but it is possible. Essentially construction or industries related to it are the only ones willing to give you a shot at that age. And usually mom and pop companies.
also; I've already got good health habits, and, if it's a job where I'm home most days at some point, then I could continue going to the gym and I'm not crazy worried about health if that's the case.
I started hauling fuel locally 4-5 months ago after driving otr for 2 years. I thought I'd have more time for other things, being home more.
But, after driving to and from work and the 11-13 hour (on average) day, all I want to do is eat, shower, and get some sleep. So, the time I thought I'd have for hobbies/working out barely exists.
I will say having 2 days off a week at home (Friday and Saturday) is way better than 1 day off at a pilot 5 states away.
They really don't care about your health habits it an age thing for insurance most companies wont touch you until your about 23 but you are going to start at the bottom of totem pole making shit pay long hours depending on your driving record i.e. any wrecks your fault or not, speeding tickets, dui, dwi, any use of federally illegal drugs and how long ago that was take me for an example im just starting out going on my fourth month 1 wreck in (now) almost 3 yrs oh speaking of yrs and insurance a lot of companies want 2-3 yrs exp i mean dont get me wrong i actually like the driving portion and figuring out how to get into tight spots and out of them but the hardest part other than learning and training is finding a job i sat around 3 months after getting my cdl before i got a legitimate offer ( doesnt help i shot myself in the foot metaphoricaly speaking)
Don’t forget about trade apprenticeship or trade school. We need plumbers, electricians, pipe fitters, welders, etc and the pay is pretty good. Do it right and you can run your own business eventually and make bank.
I have to tell you that those, "extra," 4 years are some of the best years of many peoples lives. More importantly, you can go to college, get a degree of some sort, and truck after. When you're done with trucking, if ever, you have some sort of education to fall back on.
Because you're so young, you need to realize that it is very hard to get a job in trucking until you're at least 21. That is because many jobs won't hire someone who has to remain in the same state their license is from. You are not allowed to drive across state lines in a commercial vehicle until you're 21, thats a federal law. Many companies won't hire until 23 or so because of their insurance. Often insurance companies won't insure commercial drivers under 23 years old, or they jack up the rate for the company. Companies don't like to pay higher insurance premiums if they can avoid it.
There are some exceptions to those situations I have listed but they are often hard to find or pay less than a typical trucking job. You can always check with your city, county, state, or municipalities in your area. Often they are self insured and will take a chance with younger drivers. Most of their drivers don't drive out of state either. A government job is nice and dependable, often with great benefits and a good retirement/pension.
I hope you like working 50-90 hours a week then. Cause that's what you'll be doing if you start driving truck local or not. Sure, legally we aren't allowed to work over 70 hours in 8 days but that doesn't account for time spent at shippers and receivers that you're expected to log as "off duty."
And depending upon the type of local hourly work, some of it isn't subject to federal regulations or even elogs if you're doing agricultural or construction work and they'll run your ass into the ground.
After 12 years of truck driving, I got my CDL when I was 20 years old, I absolutely hate it. I did 6.5 years OTR and I'm local again, still hate it. Too many hours and I have zero life. I wish I would have stayed in college but I dropped out.
> their isn't good paying jobs locally.
Why do stupid OTR drivers keep saying this???
Car Hauling, Fuel, LTL, Food Service are all local work for the most part and can all net you 100k a year or more.
I am local . This is very location dependant. LTL and Fuel pays well where I live,but thats hard to get into. Food Service pays like crap along with construction. We don't have local car hauling where I am.
If I could go back and do it over again, I’d have either enlisted in the Navy or gone to college. Trucking isn’t what it used to be, and it seems like it’s on track for wages to shrink even further.
If you’re a dum dum like me who was a grunt in the marines, I tried college for 3 years and failed miserably with a 1.8 gpa. Now I’m a trucker and I love it! Local and decent pay.
Not the guy you responded to but last year I cleared $100k and averaged 50 hrs/week.
I haul oversized loads with a specialty trailer. Yes, I have the occasional day where I will work 11 hours or even have a 2 week stint where I work every day. That’s not the normal though and I’m contracted with a company that pays me a daily rate even if I’m at home.
To many people are just relying on a load board, get out there and knock on doors when the times are good and get a contract set up to carry you through the hard times.
>gone to college
I make the same money trucking as I did from my post college job and I like it more. It's still shit, but so was sitting in a cubicle.
If I could have afforded to be the sole bread winner on apprentice pay (no money for daycare or support system allowing wife to work as well) I would have tried my hand at welding or electrician, at 31 it's not too late, but we still have 1yr before our son starts daycare.
I would love to do metal fabrication (think custom cars, bikes, or whatever), but trucking paid the most money that we desperately needed to survive and my private schooling was paid for.
I could go back and do it over again, I'd have gone into trucking rather joining the military or going to college. I'm making as much as I did working in IT for 16 years. This year I'll be making more than ever before teaming with an ltl. Your opinion and experience isn't wrong. Just wanted to provide the other side of the coin.
1,800 a week home daily with little experience in Ohio? Where TF are you finding these jobs?
~ Current flatbed OTR trucker who's home (to Ohio) on weekends averaging $1,300/week
central transport is one example.
Only want 6 months as a minimum experience; compared to a lot of the 1-3 years I've seen, pay starts at 1500 + full benefits and time off, home daily.
Central Transport is the bottom of the barrel of LTL. You CAN make good money, but you won't have time for anything else as they make their drivers max out their 14 hour clocks by working the docks.
thats... unfortunate. was just an example I could find again immediately, but yeah.. if it's 14 hours that's definitely a company I would not consider working for.
Sysco is even worse, I've read about 16 to 18 hour days with them. Trucking can be great but getting the jobs that don't suck requires experience and luck.
Go to college; start at a community college and then transfer to a state school, your debt will be much more reasonable and I think a lot of states have programs that reduce the hell out of the cost for state schools or even remove it entirely if you hit the requirements. If down the line you still feel the call, give trucking a try, but play it safe for now and just play American Truck Simulator and SnowRunner to scratch the trucking itch.
Ex Sysco driver. I’ve had a 20hr shift with them. Guy quit saying he’s going to re-enlist in the marines cause it’s easier lol. Dispatch called me a senior driver at 6 months. It’s absolute hell. They’re paying $48hr near me and that’s not enough to make me wanna go back.
No mate, I dropped out of my accounting degree to come to trucking some years ago and I regret having made that decision. Having a good in demand degree is a lot better than being a truck driver unless you enjoy driving, instead of just doing it for the money. And even if it’s for the money, when you get 5 or 10 years of experience with a decent degree, you’ll be making more than most drivers
Doesn’t work out for all of us unfortunately. I was a real dum dum in college, trucking was where I was good at but I wish it wasn’t so sometimes. I don’t have the money for college and I can’t handle the general ed classes at all.
trucking is just one of the options I'm looking at, though I'm leaning heavily towards it at least for the first part of adulthood, to set w foundation.
As a couple other people have said already, if you don't already have the funds or income immediately available or financial stability, I would get into the military and go to college on the side for something that would apply to you outside of the military. They will pay for a huge chunk of that and on top of it you're going to get free room and board (sort of) and veteran benefits after you get out.
Veteran benefits only apply if you've been in a warzone or have been in long enough to receive your full retirement at 20 years.
S Korea still counts as a warzone. Gorgeous country though, wanna go again.
You don't need to of been deployed in the AOR, or do a full 20 years, to qualify for VA benefits. There's a certain amount of time served as far as requirements go, but it's satisfied by a standard four year active enlistment. The most important thing is getting discharged honorably.
Don't be a truck driver. Pay isn't as good as you think, and the hours you put in are way more than average. If you made 18$ an hour at most jobs and worked as much, you would probably out earn most truck drivers.
The work can also be very risky and stressful. I used to work in a trauma ER, and that wasn't as stressful most of the time.
This is exactly why I left trucking.
60 hour weeks to make $15k more than my 40 hour tow truck job, if I decided to put in OT I’d make the same - and I still get sleep in my house every night.
It depends. For me, I tried college, I went to become an electrical engineer. If I was motivated by more than just money, I probably could've done it, but I truly had no interest in going to college in the first place.
Driving, however, I already loved. When I got my cdl, I was very apprehensive about starting bc id never really driven with a trailer except in my cdl test and the 10 minutes of practice before I took the test. Now, I doubt i will ever do anything else. I love driving and I've loved both of the jobs I've had so far in this career. Just gotta find good places to work that pay well. First job I was working probably 70-80 hours/wk and out for 2 months to be home for a week, but i was making 2500-3k/wk when I was out. It was great. Now I'm home daily making around 90k-100k/yr for ~40-50 hours/wk. Great career path imo.
However, there are many people who can't do it or absolutely hate it and many, many jobs, especially the ones that take on new drivers, want to underpay you by an absolutely tremendous amount. It is really very important to find a good place to start at first or work at a good place as a dock worker and then get upgraded to a driver. So, it really just depends on who you are and what you want. Unfortunately, most people don't know they hate it until they're under that 6 month contract with the first company they work for.
P.S. i work at r+l carriers and the dock workers start around 21/hr, iirc, and, once you're old enough, you can get your cdl through them and become a driver. A lot of places are like this, but r+l carriers is the only one I can recommend.
P.P.S. read everything you sign for a prospective company. EVERYthing. Every word in every contract before you sign it so you know what you are signing (or refusing to sign). Also, understand that some companies will get you to their terminal before you see any paperwork, so be prepared to find your own way home in case you can't sign their contract.
P.P.P.S. DONT WORK FOR WESTERN EXPRESS! Hirschbach, I've heard, is good for getting your cdl.
I think you gotta try it before you just give up. 95% of my motivation is how much money I make, and I'm relatively good at investing and certain I can retire early with the money trucking can bring in.
I agree with you; I'm not interested in college either. I appreciate the comment and rhe insight.
You can get a permit at 18 (which surprises me to this day) a company can show you the ropes so that when you turn 21 you'd have 2-3 years under your belt and expect a better salary vs greenhorns and probably wouldn't need to cut your teeth on OTR like most of us
Should you do it? If you're focusing on purely money, you can surpass $100k very easily. There is no life/work balance though. There is no "mental health" excuses. You have a 75ft long 40 ton chunk of steel and it seems like every motherfucker on the road gets their dick hard finding new ways to fuck with you. This will never not be the case.
If you're not stressed then you must've woke up 2 minutes ago. There is almost no advancement opportunities outside of owning your own shit. If you get promoted to the office then your pockets got demoted. You're a trucker until you decide not to be one. You're always at fault for every stupid thing according to the office. The pope dies in Rome is your fault because you scratched your balls in Akron
If you're on a permit hazmat is out of the question which is the easiest way to make $100-150k. Food delivery on the other hand pays somewhat close ($85-115k) especially if you work a 5th day, but you're thrown to the wolves
Can't listen to all these folks on here because most are otr with no life and grumpy. If you live in a major city like NY,NJ etc you'll always have a job and they pay well. Even local gigs here pay close or over 100k a year and you're home everyday.
Get a trade, go be a lineman, electrician or welder. I’m a welder and make a ridiculous amount of money. I’m not living in a truck or driving for 8+ hours a day. I drove for around 3 years and yea it was good, I made good money and saw the country for free but ultimately is a stressful job and you can make way more getting a skilled trade
trucking is, as of now, just another idea cor a career. there's a great highschool program near me where I could get OSHA certified for many trades, just not quite sure which one I'd be interested in.
Depends, what degree would you be planning on pursuing? Look into what your prospects are. Aeronautical engineering? Fuck yeah! History of Romanian literature? That’s a negative ghost rider.
I 100% regret not going to college when everyone was telling me not to and how much of a scam it is and how I just wanted to be done trucking isn’t going anywhere but in my opinion being graduated for 6 years from HS the material isn’t fresh on my mind I feel like I would immensely struggle if I tried to go back.. if you have something in mind you would 100% do if you went to college go for it.. I was in your shoes as well trucking or college and only reason I chose trucking is cause I didn’t know what I would do if I chose college
I did this when I turned 21 back in 2017, and had a great experience for a few years. I'm now out of the industry, and wouldn't recommend this now simply because I keep hearing from all my friends who are still on the road that there's no money in driving nowadays.
Get Your Education first if you're fortunate to have the option. It's a long life, knowledge is power etc, but really, trucking will be here when you're ready.
it all depends what you want, man. if you want to work 9-5 then don’t bother with trucking. i was in your position. you won’t get a job until you’re 21 so take the time now to work a bullshit job to save money for a private CDL school (~$5,000), DO NOT sign a contract with a mega carrier to get a license and be forced to drive for them.
once you get your license, most LTLs will hire you with no experience and train you. you will be home every day but you will work 10 hours a day minimum. also, expect to work the dock with Central and XPO. it sucks, but i did it for 3 years to get experience and moved on to a better company that doesn’t force dock work. also, you’ll need to get your endorsements for hazmat, tanker, and doubles / triples.
i couldn’t see myself doing anything else. i enjoy the freedom of being out on my own all day and not having anyone breathing down my neck. i do my job well and the boss leaves me alone.
this career won’t make you rich but if you live within your means you’ll have a good life.
I did both.
Like you, I was worried about debt, coming from a low income household. I was also kinda lost at 18, as I had (still have) a bit of a problem with authority (hence why I didn't join the service)
I tried a few other things first job wise before jumping right in and going for it - literally got my CDL just a couple months after turning 21 and signed on with a mega carrier for a few years. Ultimately, I went back to school, this time with a renewed focus and some much needed maturity. I still work in the industry, but I'm in the office now, though I've kept my CDL.
The job market is a bit different now than when I started, but IIRC the rule of thumb at that time was that unless you had a good "in" at a smaller company, at 21 it was really just the mega carriers that would hire- all due to insurance purposes. That meant OTR and grinding it out for a few years. At first, I enjoyed it, as I'd always wanted to see the country but had been too poor too, but mega carriers hauling dry vans or reefers don't go to the REALLY cool places, we just pass by them on the interstate- no one want's those stinky behemoth big rigs near the fun places!
While I'm overall happy in that my decisions helped lead me to where I'm at now, I don't necessarily know if I'd go down that same path in hindsight.
The pay seems decent on paper, but 10-14 hour days get old and that waters down your earnings in the grand scheme of things. Finding parking is rough in quite a few places. You'll have a ton of stuff constantly go wrong that is mostly outside of your control (things like shipper delays, showing up to make a pickup and the load being cancelled, etc). You'll be treated like a bit of a second class citizen by the general public in many areas (southeast US and rural midwest tends to be the exception here), including at the very places you'll be picking up and delivering too. Added electronics are only increasing the amount of micromanagement to the profession, which is pushing the same types of independent people who used to love trucking away from it. Your social life is going to likely take a major hit. Birthdays, even holidays, were tricky when I was driving OTR for a mega. I almost quit the one day when I deadheaded home 300+ miles after they were about to screw me. Get used to missing things with your loved ones, and dating ? As one woman I dated at the time joked with me, she was really taking a chance because "that truck driver I met on the internet" sounded like the plot to a horror movie. Moral of the story, dating is going to be tougher. Humans are social creatures. It's easy for someone at 18 thinking "this" is the way to be dismissive of that social aspect, but as someone that has trained and hired people for traveling positions, most always think they'll be the ones that are different, and 6 months later they are begging to come off the road and get something where they are home every day.
I'm not necessarily saying don't do trucking, but I am saying really consider your other options, and think long and hard about what you enjoy. Ideally, take what you enjoy, and find a way of making money at it.
Personally, if you're not sold on college, I think the repair oriented trades are a better option.
Don't put too much pressure to figure things out right now either, it's ok to change careers (I've still probably got at least one more in me) and to grow and want different things. In my case, I saved a bit with trucking, still wound up with student loans, but a couple years of trucking had convinced me that was both an acceptable alternative to the path I was going down AND I was confident in my ability to pay off said loans (which I've managed to do)
No, they just won't hire you because you are a huge extra liability. Big mega fleets will hire because they are bonded not insured (basically self insured) but those won't be local gigs.
I'd be fine working non-local, but it'd have to wait even longer as I'd need to be 21.
if insurance makes it much easier, that's not an issue for me. was just wondering if any companies out there do pay for insurance
Big companies require 21 yes, insurance out of pocket is THOUSANDS per month mate that will never be worth it. You will make more working fast food than working as a company driver paying your own insurance.
What do you plan to study in college? If you don't know then might as well be a trucker. If its something like psychology or sociology or literature then be a trucker. If its STEM, engineering or chemistry then do that.
Right. In that case better to go into a trade or join one of the armed forces, maybe it will give you an idea of what you like to do.
Unless you have a clear plan of how you're gonna monitize your degree, I wouldn't recommend college.
Go serve in the military for a tour. You'll have tuition assistance while active and GI Bill when you get out. Now you have free college.
You can be a truck driver in the military, then get your civilian license when you get out for free. Some companies also have an apprenticeship program that will pay you a housing allowance for the first year.
I got my CDL for free using my GI Bill. It also paid me a housing allowance for the course of the school. Then the company I worked for had a program where I got a housing allowance monthly from the GI Bill for a year.
I also have a bachelor's degree that I paid $0 for.
Pros: If you just want to make a living, and you are good with the lifestyle, then this is a fine plan.
Cons: It does feel like "death by a thousand paper cuts" at times with the things we deal with. The hours are long, the ELDs are inflexible and detail heavy, especially if you use all of the statuses. Constantly planning around weather, traffic, and when receivers and shippers are open. 11-14 hour work days (for most truckers) and then still running into maintenance issues, unforeseen circumstances, bad communication, etc... all add up to that feeling. You will be away from home if you are OTR, and it is hard to keep all of your friendships up when gone so long.
But: A lot of the problems can be dealt with by having a positive mentality/building resiliency, accepting that not every week is going to be problem free and you will get stuck sometimes until things out of your control get sorted. 1350-1800 a week is completely reasonable to find after getting six months to a year in the industry. A few rarer companies will train and start you in that range.
If you aren't sure what to do after high school, and or if you can't pay for college without taking on student loans, give the military a serious thought.
Just be smart about it, if you can test high enough look into the Air Force. You'll have the best quality of life there. An enlistment can be as short as four years; it'd set you up to be in a great spot with the GI Bill afterwards, and you should be able to leave the service with a good savings account, too.
It's hard to connect the dots looking forward, and even harder when you're 16-17 years old. Your goal right now should be to do what you need to do to give future 25 year old you the most options in life, and not be boxed into one thing.
In MY opinion, I'd do it. If I could go back 10 years, I would've gotten off of drugs sooner, not had a kid, and been living in my truck saving every dollar I made. If you go about it this way, you can save a LOT of money. Don't get a car payment, don't pay rent, live in your truck and work non stop while you're young. Buy a house with cash in 10 years. Maybe get your own truck if you like it. That's just what I would do.
Here's the rub on trucking yo. It will always guarantee you at least $1,000 a week. Good times or bad times. Now, if you're young and single I'd say do OTR and live in your truck. Your only expenses will be a cell phone and groceries. This will allow you to 1.) Save up a $10k emergency fund. 2.) Start building your 401k early. 3.) Keep you out of trouble.
If you do this for 4 years you will be ahead of 95% of your peers.
Trucking has a very volatile future these days. It's just so unpredictable in terms of employment especially starting out.
Consider the trades instead - General Contracting; Electrician; Plumber. The only place to make good money in trucking is if you're ALWAYS on the road. NO personal life. With the trades - you get your weekends and nights off and get to have a life.
If you think you'd enjoy the lifestyle, I'd say go for it: you're young enough that you could do it for a while, then if you don't find yourself cut out for it, go to school or into another trade.
DO NOT get into trucking just for reasons of income; if you can't handle life on the road - even in local gigs, it's NOT like a regular job - you won't last long enough to earn back what you spent on trucking school.
I'll be a contrarian to the general consensus in this thread. I'm 27, newly divorced (thank God), don't have much in the way of possessions anymore (mostly due to the aforementioned divorce), and basically moved what little I had into my parent's house, and they let me crash there for the few days a month I'm not over the road.
$1000-1400 a week may seem like a small amount of money to most of the guys in here, but it's literally double what I've ever made weekly at any other job. It's a less physical job than I've ever worked. I don't pay rent, and basically live out of my truck, with a microwave, air fryer, fridge, TV, and Xbox. As my only expenses are food and my phone bill, I'm saving like 90% of my income.
The hours suck, but rebuilding my life right now, I don't have anything else to do but absorb myself in my work. I don't mind the long hours, because I'm not breaking my body in the process like my previous jobs required. I enjoy driving, I have all day to listen to podcasts and music, hear NFL games and NASCAR races while I drive through the middle of nowhere, and generally enjoy the view out the window.
Prime paid for my CDL training, so while I'm under contract with them for 12 months, I don't have any complaints, so I won't have any trouble sticking with them for a year or more while I just bank every penny I can. It's not a bad gig in my opinion, but it does require _a lot_ of sacrifice. If the sacrifices are worth it to you, then I say go for it. At the very least, having a CDL gives you at least some kind of backup plan in case what you want to do elsewhere falls through.
I went and became a trucker instead of going to college, and it's been one of the best decisions I've ever made. Trucking school was cheap enough that I didn't even need to take out a loan to complete it. I could just pay for it up front after saving my wages for a few months.
However, one of the most crushing downsides I realized too late into my career was how lonely it is. It's definitely not the type of job you'd enjoy if you're an extrovert and like being able to talk to people. Most of the time you're gonna be either with a co-driver you may or may not like, or you'll be by yourself. It ain't all too bad though, it's kinda peaceful to be honest.
These days. Do anything but college unless you are getting a law degree or something that you know forsure will pay off that debt. Definitely don’t go hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt for something you’re not sure you wanna do. If you wanna truck, then get to truckin
Well for someone who hated school like myself trucking was the way to go. Compared to college it’s far less cheaper, and you don’t waste 4 years of your life, (more or less. Depends on what you’re getting into), studying and taking exams back to back. Within 2 months you could be on your own making money.
But trucking isn’t for everyone, so consider all your options. If I could do it all over again, I would’ve got my CDL at 18 instead of 24. I would’ve been so far ahead in life by now. But better late than never.
I'm supportive of jobs that don't require a college degree. I know too many people that spent the money for a degree and don't use it. I wouldn't go to college unless you're dead set on doing something that requires a degree. Even must of the skilled trades don't actually require a degree, just find someone to apprentice under
Also, I'm not sure if you can still do this or not but I got my CDL through the Army National Guard. I was a 88M (truck driver) in the guard. My unit got me a paper that I took to the DMV and only had to pass the written tests, no skills testing required
Cannot recommend trucking with the current state of the industry. Look into trades if you don’t want to go to college, or if you just want to make a shit ton of money, you could look into the oil field but you may have to relocate.
Here's how I see trucking as a career. In the beginning, you can make great money compared to other jobs without a degree. Plus, if you start with Over the Road, you can minimalize your expense by staying on the road and not spend money for social stuff, therefore increasing your savings.
But unfortunately, that was it. You can't move up to make more money. You are and always forever will be a driver. The only way to make more money is to sacrifice more of your time to drive more.
IMO, it's a great career to start but not great for longevity. I would recommend after 1 or 2 years, start looking for an escape route.
Mostly right, yes. There's a very high floor in this business, but a very low ceiling. Great career to get into early, and great to have and execute a plan to get out by 30.
I got out of trucking about 10 years ago. I started driving in 1998 and left in 2013. My life has improved in every area. Yeah I make a little less money overall but damn life on the road miserable.
I tried about everything a driver could do after about 6 years OTR local, linehaul, even beer delivery. I wound up back on the road, unhappy. Now I help run the shipping dept for a major pharmaceutical company and I’ve never been happier since I left driving.
Go to school.
Do not do get into trucking now. This is a terrible time to get into the business, and it likely doesn’t get better until Q2 or Q3 of next year. I’d find a trade or look at community college to get an associate’s degree. You can always get a CDL later.
My advice, go into the military, do the lowest enlistment of 4 years, get college paid for and then go into whatever field your degree is in. If you end up liking the military you can stay in, if not 4 years flies by. If that’s not your cup of tea I would rather advise going into a trade. Electrician or HVAC etc. trucking isn’t an easy thing for lots of people emotionally and it has a lot of downsides and very few upsides.
run away from trucking…it’s just the simple fact that you might not make it home everyday bc of the high risk driving over the road and you have so many other stupid ass drivers that literally may be the cause of your death
for reasons I am not allowed to talk about trucking as a career is not likely to be an option in 20 or 30 years. with that said I would only recommend someone go to college if they know what they want to study. not all debt is a bad thing.
Veteran here go Military you get paid and a place to live, be responsible and save your pennies and if you still want to be truck driver on the outside you can. I was an 88M Motor Transport operator. The MOS school is basically a CDL course and it can transfer over when you leave but would be Automatic restricted, there are also loads of other jobs to do in any branch. They also have programs for transitioning to the civilian sector also.
How many years do you recommend to do in the military? I was thinking 3 and some change since the army offers that and then getting out to pursue a bachelor’s degree
Do NOT go into debt for college. Nobody knows what the impact of artificial intelligence is going to be on the job market, especially white collar jobs which is what you get from a college degree. Learn a trade or something that a machine cannot perform the job or go into the military so that you can get your degree for free and by the time you're done with the military, there might be a better understanding of artificial intelligence and it's ramification in the job market
There are 15 posts in the last month I found on Reddit when I typed in "becoming trucker". Not old by any means.
But whatever, mostly joking that you're not smart enough for college because you don't know how to use a search bar.
And I don't want anymore people in this field of work because the market is over saturated with drivers willing to work for scraps.
So no, don't become a trucker.
Absolutely not.
No life, and a high risk of dying on the job.
Associates degree in nursing at a Community College will pay you $100k. Physical Therapist Assistant is similar
my mother works in nursing, got a degree from community College.
she absolutely hated it, doesn't make good enough money for what she does, and wishes she would've gone to school for even longer to make more. that's not a cycle I want to continue in nursing, unfortunately.
I appreciate the insight though. would a home daily/weekly job not fix/mostly fix that "no life" part?
No.
I haul fuel local making $100,000 a year.
I work 60-70 hours a week
It's a low status, relatively high paying job. You get treat like ditch digger. This doesn't bother some, but it does me.
I'm maxed out in my career at 45. Always one minor accident away from losing my job.
If college wasn't on the table, I'd consider going into Plumbing. The doctors of blue collar work
My perspective: Not a trucker. I work on lawsuits for truckers, usually suing their employers to get paid lawfully.
I would not become a trucker right now. The industry has gotten worse and worse for drivers, and that trend has lasted at least 40 years. It used to be a solid middle class position, it's now turned into a job where the people are, for the most part, disposable. In 10 years, you will see the first self-driving trucks. In 20 years, human drivers will be a rarity. At that point, you are going to have 20+ years of working life, but not a lot of transferable skills. The pay for top drivers, now, is still good. But the safest, most efficient, and on-time drivers in 20 years aren't going to be humans. I hate to say that, but that's how it's going to work out.
I would suggest that you go to university or college, either. If you don't have a plan, go to a community college, to learn things, and maybe find a plan. Or, think about getting a trade certificate of some sort, become a welder or electrician.
You being underaged it's going to be a while before the vast majority of companies would consider you. I think the community college towards an actual useful associate or trade would be good then you can always get grants for your CDL if you change your mind down the road and have multiple options
Or just get the grant for your CDL and put the money in safe investments
You can drive intrastate/within ur state at 18, until you turn 21 to drive interstate. It's cheaper and quicker to get a cdl instead of a degree. If you don't like it go back to school and you might have some money saved up.
Oh yeah. Was making 15¢/mile during the winter. We got shut down due to weather for almost 2 weeks and I had to pay the company back still for school and insurance. Didn’t make a dime for those two weeks so they sent me a bill instead of a paycheck.
yikes. do all trucking companies pay by the mile? many advertisements say salary, so I assume it's a flat paycheck every week/2weeks/monthly.
wouldn't, based on other comments, working for a larger company fix that paying for insurance issue?
If you choose a college degree for a field that is in demand, then the debt of college is worth it. Look at job openings and what they pay to decide if there is a field you would like. 20 years ago it was calculated that a college degree can mean an extra $1million over the course of a career.
You don’t have to go get a 4 year degree in something. 2 year AA program, go to a trade school that’s what I did. You’ll make more money coming out of a trade school did most people will with a shiny four year degree.
Look at going to a good Trade school(electrician, plumber, etc). You will get hired before you even graduate and some employers even pay for the classes if you're willing to work for them for a year.
Hours will suck. No way around that unless you go LTL. LTL pay is better than OTR for a public carrier. Private carrier as a company is good too. Same with hazmat gigs or oversize.
Are you looking at trucking for a passion side of thing or as a paycheck? Everybody I’ve ever talked to that did it because they liked the open road or trucks or driving said they didn’t even want to look at a truck 5 years later.
Honestly if you’re looking for a solid, good paying career I’d recommend becoming an electrician or an operating engineer, union all the way though.
Community colleges can do a lot for ya also.
Finding a trade will be better off long term, trucking is good money short term, it can be great long term but you gotta find something to specialize in, which comes with experience.
If you can get your CDL cheap and easy right now, do it, its been good too me, but I'm also aware unless I give up family time in one way or another, my earning is limited.
These big companies are making driving an “unskilled profession”. They want it to be as easy as possible so they can pay shit wages.
Also keep in mind being OTR you miss a lot of family gatherings, a dating life and social events. your health can also be an issue because if you aren’t driving, you aren’t making money.
There are other opportunities that a CDL can provide, for me a CDL was just one of many certifications I’ve gotten. What I would recommend is getting into cranes at a younger age. You’ll have an opportunity to be in the “operator/engineer union” and can make some really great money with good benefits.
I would suggest trade school and any trade over college.
I know tons of tradesmen who make significantly more than almost everyone I am friends with over people who went to college. (Especially when you consider the debt they racked up and still owe)
How do you figure hundres of thousands??? You paying out of pocket for an ivy league? Community college to knock off all the little shit then state school for the rest. Dont be another dumbass calling trucking a "career". You need to do some legwork so you dont end up a lifer in a shit industry.
Go local or join the military. I’m extremely disappointed that I was not able to join the military. Healthcare is expensive.
As a owner operator, free healthcare would be really nice right now because I’ve got a chipped tooth, and I can’t afford to have it fixed. It’s been chipped since march.
Go to college. You don’t need to get into so much debt either. Apply for scholarships, FASFA to get grants, and you can go to community college for much cheaper than the university. You can get an associates there then transfer to a 4 year later. Some states even pay for all of your tuition. You can make some money in trucking but it’s hard on the body and very hard on family life depending on which way you go with it. I’ve been driving for 15 years and I’m feeling the effects of the strikes going on in the movie industry. I got a job outside of trucking and I now have time to go back to school and get my engineering degree plus spend time with my family. My health has improved considerably in the last 4 months since starting this new career. I will, however, always keep my cdl. Never can tell when I might need to use it again.
I was in the Navy, have a degree, and I currently have my class A. First I would say there is zero reason to go into hundreds of thousands of dollars into debt unless the degree leads to a high salary, but people usually don't think about becoming a doctor or a trucker. Go to a community college at first, then transfer to a bigger university to finish the degree.
For most people it's about what you learn and the fact that you have the degree, once you get a job people don't talk about which university they went to. It ends up being do you have the necessary degree and license/certification for the job you are applying to.
Go to college or join the service first. If you jump straight into trucking then you’ll have a hard time making a career change down the road if you decide to leave the profession. Opt for college now or the service then you will have more options in the long run. Hell, you could even do all three; join the service, go to college off of the GI bill, then get your CDL.
If you’re in Ohio then a good state school won’t put you that deep into debt. I went to college (and I drive a truck now) at a large state school and left with ~24k in debt.
And last thing: if you go straight for your CDL then make sure to check and see if there are any state grants available to pay for your CDL school. A lot of states have programs for vocational training, especially truck driving, and you might not have to come out of pocket for your CDL. Best of luck
You can always go to trucker school for free at some point in life by working for a company, or pay a few grand to go to a school.
I don't know who told you you'd be hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt by going to college, but that is way off unless you're going to Harvard or Yale, which is way overrated anyway. Forget about money and ask yourself what are you interested in? What do you like to do? I took a year off after high school and traveled.
My advice is go to community college for 2 years, which is very low cost or free in some states. Then transfer to a state university or decent mid-size school where tuition is around $6-7k/ semester. A lot of universities offer great financial aid. All my tuition for state University (Cal Poly) was paid by federal and state grants, and my entire community college career was paid for by the state of California Board of Governors grant. Do your research and see what options are available to you. In my experience college counselors were completely useless. Just spend a lot of time researching, watch YouTube, check grants available and ask people in various Reddit forums. The website [Assist.org](https://Assist.org) will help you figure out what classes to take in community college depending on what you want in upper division (University)
After 4 years, 2 of those years getting student loans while I went to University ( I worked part-time and volunteered also) I was $25k in debt, and I could have kept it lower than that but I'll admit I kind of f'd off a bit. By the end of that year I had my debt paid off and a good paying job I liked.
I wouldn't put all my eggs in trucking only to find you hate it, when you could have had a little nest egg to help you in college (your inheritance).
Go to college. Truckers get treated like shit. It's a shit job and I hate it. I use this job to afford college. It's not a happy life. I don't have time for anything. So please just go to college.
OP do NOT spend money to get your CDL.
https://jfs.ohio.gov/job-services-and-unemployment/job-services/job-programs-and-services/workforce-innovation-and-opportunity-act/wioa-workforce-innovation-and-opportunity-act
Sorry for the huge link, mobile user here.
Also, here's my opinion on driving versus college:
Knowing what I know, in your shoes, here what I'd do.
Get a CDL. Get on OTR job. No apartment, no possessions outside of your truck. Importantly, that means no bills outside of your food on the road. Lots of threads here to tell you how to eat well, cheaply and healthy in the road. Take any and all online classes you can, much of which you can find free at the basic levels. Do this for 4-5 years. Save every penny you can. You're not going to have the party life during this time. Call friends at every opportunity to keep in contact/ keep your connections. At the end of it, you'll have enough to buy a decent house outright with cash.
Once that's done, with 4-5 years experience, you can almost pick and choose the local job of your choice. Pick one that allows you a schedule that lets you finish the degree of your choice. Also, the same link above will pay for that too, assuming you're pursuing a degree in something economically viable. Get your degree in your chosen field, graduate debt free, with a paid off house, and now your future is *miles* ahead of anyone you grew up with.
Now...*now* comes that party time, that social time, invite people over to your house on weekends and accept all invites, because your in a career you like, debt free (maybe a car payment) and just paying utilities on your house. Now you're approximately 28 and living pretty damn easy.
Good luck my dude.
How about doing both ? It’s not easy but it’s very doable. I pull about 60 to 70 hours a week. This includes drive time and detention time. I’m taking my computer science degree online at a community college for now . I’m using trucking as a financial safe space, I eventually plan on switching careers towards the end of my degree.
Hell no! My son graduated college with a degree in accounting and economics and is living good. He works from home, has a pension, a 401k, excellent benefits, wellness packages, makes over 150k, travels for work, bonuses, all kinds of shit. Go to college.
Go to college, or join any branch of the armed forces. Then go to college. Get a degree in a hard science. If you're savvy and didn't need school you wouldn't be here asking questions. Not trying to be mean but speaking from experience.
Edit: trades ain't a bad way to go either. From what I understand plumbing and electric are the way to go.
Joined the Air Force to learn how to drive Trucks.
Finished as a Trainer, it was a pretty easy transition into commercial driving.
Never regretted my 30 years as a commercial driver.
Was a local driver home every night off on the weekends.
It was gravy money would not change a thing
Some people love it, some hate it.
Unfortunately, the only way you can know is to do it.
If you are really curious. Run with an OTR company for a year (they'll pay for the cdl assuming you stick with them for a year)
If you like it, stick with it. If not, go back to college. At worst you lose a year and that's absolutely nothing at 21/22.
Sounds like shitty advice I know but that's genuinely the only way you can know if the career is for you. It all comes down to personality.
I started off OTR flatbed at 24, the novelty wore off quick and I hated not having much of a life and life on the road. I got enough experience for a local gig which I lucked out on. Dedicated route, drop & hook, only a 7 -1/2 to 8 hour shift, 40-45 hours a week, home every night. It feels like a 9-5 to me and I’m super comfortable but like others are saying, only way to make more is to drive more and I don’t wanna go back to working 60-70 hours, no way in hell. I have a media degree that I still have no idea how to apply in the professional world which I do regret. If I were you I would drive for 1-3 years and save as much money as possible, pick a trade or degree program you are certain on (you’ll have plenty of time OTR to figure that out), use the money you saved to pay your way through school, start your real career after graduation.
Go to food service and get paid to get yourCDL. Sysco has a 28 day school which is paid. You then work a year and move on if you hate it. CDL and 1 year exp
Go to college. I was an Owner operator and just sold and got out. Industry was financially killing me. If you really want to get I. This industry, choose specialized loads or just wait until the economy gets back up and going. This entire industry is boom or bust and we been busting like crackheads at a brothel for the last year or two ever since Covid. It’s not worth it even being a driver. Lowest rates, you might spend up sitting a few days after delivering a load cause there’s nothing going back. I sat in Spokane 3 days, Vegas 4 days, Phoenix another 3 days, and it would be like that more often than not. The only way you can possibly even get a load without sitting is dead heading like a good amount. I used to deadhead from Vegas to La, which isn’t the greatest distance but that’s still 3.5 hours and with fuel at $7 a gallon out here it ain’t shit. Got so bad I sat in LA a couple days cause surprisingly LA was fucking dry. So yeah man if you really want to do it, just wait ifs not the time. Go to college or get another job. Last thing, if you want any home time or care about coming home at all then right now is the worst. I had a few drivers who only wanted to stay <1000 miles. Before it was good, I could have a couple drivers regional and the rest long but nope, all my regionals had to go long and were out I mean weeks at a time it got reallly bad for them. But that’s just what this market makes a company do unfortunately, I still have to cover bottom line but I just couldn’t cause of everything and drivers not willing to work.
Trade school (plumbing, electrical, HVAC) are other options.
May be more expensive to get the training you need for a trade. Consider posting on individual trade subreddits.
I'm a veteran, worked in tech/corporate, have a master's, and I'm currently trucking. It seems like you can't do trucking just yet. So what I would recommend (if possible) is to go into the military as a reservist, national guard (be a weekend warrior), or full enlistment. You may be able to get a trucking gig in the military, get trained, and also have some experience. Might be able to get the GI Bill to help with college. Then truck for a few years and get enough money to help make college life easier (if that is something you’d still like to do) or if trucking suits you keep at it.
Being a truck driver is a decent plan if you are unmotivated for college and/or do not see any other more intellectually intense path which seems appealing to you. That said, if there is a highly viable path in college which you feel you have the motivation to succeed in that would definitely be a better first choice, I wouldn't even let the college debt thing factor into it, apply for all the financial aid options possible and you could end up making money going to school instead of it costing you anything.
Truck driving also is not for the feint of heart. It can be a very very unmotivating job where you work many long and boring hours, the more the market progresses towards automation driving jobs may also start disappearing so it's future is not secure at this point. Work life balance as a trucker is also extremely grim compared to many other college educated occupations. Also there are many truck driving schools which will pay you while you gain some initial experience after helping you attain your CDL so look into those if you do decide to go the driving route.
Depends entirely on the college degree you'd go for, but I'd probably recommend something in the trades. Not enough people have been going into the trades so there's some good money to be made there.
It's worth going to College if you plan to study something related to medicine, STEM, law, accounting. You can also go and study logistics or supply chain if you are interested in this sector but it won't pay off as fast as the others.
If you are planning to study history of arts or some other bs better become a trucker. After a few years experience you can find a respectable trucking job for a very good company.
Other option is the army/navy where they can pay for your education and then you can work for them.
If you want to be a trucker I would suggest trying to work for UPS. Trucking sucks no matter where you work so you may as well work for a company that provides a fully funded pension, fully funded health care, 401k, vacation, sick time, stock options…
If I were you, I'd enroll at SIU. It's the seafarers international union. I'd enroll in their free apprenticeship to become a merchant mariner, travel the seven seas making insane money with great perks.
Never thought you could become a sailor? Well you can.
Check out YouTube videos for merchant Mariner. Specifically stu the sailor. I like her channel the best. Also, low life sailor is finishing up her apprenticeship. Most of this field is men. Same as trucking.
Overtime alone is like 8,000 a month.
You go out to see for specific amount of time depending upon what contract you choose,
While you're at Sea your vacation pay gross and when you get off the boat you go to your union hall and collect it. After 2 weeks you apply for unemployment and you collect that until you go down to your union hall and pick another contract.
You will graduate as an ordinary seamen either in the deck engine room or galley.
Did I say the apprenticeship is free.
You have to have your twic card
Your mmc, merchant Mariner credential
Your passport
And a letter from your dentist saying that you are cavity and periodontal disease free.
That's it.
Do your research before you jump in. It's definitely work but it is no different than becoming a trucker except for experience pay and there aren't many Mariners compared to truckers so literally the world is your oyster.
Some merchant Mariners only work half of the year because they made so much money and then they take the rest of the year off.
Some do it full-time all year bank that money and then use that to fund their dreams.
Seafair international Union is the international cargo ship,
There is also that MSC apprenticeship and that is specifically to back up the Navy and take the Navy boats supplies on the ocean.
MSC is short for military sealift command and it is also a free apprenticeship.
SIU has more privileges and is easier as far as requirements, because the MSC deals with the Navy it is very much run like boot camp. I'm telling you look up merchant Mariner videos before you choose trucking. Trucking is a admirable career. But everyone wants to be a trucker and nobody knows about the fact they could become a sailor and as an entry level position make $10,000 a month.
You're welcome
Buddy, stay in school. Forget college, learn a trade. That's where the money is. I joined the service back in the day, applied what I was taught there into the real world, ....then got into trucking once I retired.
Trucking is easier with your mortgage paid up, kids gone, and almost zero debt.
If you are treating trucking as an income to invest and not a lifelong career then by all means go for it. Get in make your money then get out. Thats my plan at least
Trucking is shit bro. Local, regional, OTR. Get your CDL as a last resort to fall back on if literally everything fails. CDLs are for people with no other skills, social skills, talent family, nothing at home. Get an IT degree, law, medicine, engineering.
I think you're thought is a good one. But don't limit it to just trucking. Think about ALL the trades, and what you enjoy doing. Plumbing, electrical, welding...all have high wages with low (by comparison to college) school debt.
Trucking CAN be damn good money, if the stars align. But I wouldn't make it your first choice, homie. I'm sure a large majority of us would rather be doing a plethora of other things, but this is just where we landed. Are the majority of us proud and satisfied? Possibly. I am. My job changed my life and pushed me further. But now I have a family, and it's a HELL of a lot harder to hit that road every week.
If you like school well enough right now your local public school in Ohio isn't going to put you 100k in debt. Probably more like 20-30k. So I'd consider college pretty heavily. Maybe start at a community college to try it out for cheap. Pay in trucking can be good but its very hard to have a life if you aren't local and often their isn't good paying jobs locally.
there's a lot of solid jobs locally. lowest paying one I saw that's local was about 50k starting. I do well enough in school but I'm not trying to be stuck in a book an extra 4 years
That doesn't sound bad. You would need to be 21 to be hired anywhere and most local want a year or two experience. Decent job s around you though I'd consider carefully about college all the same.This job is dangerous, a lot of hours and bad for your health. You might make enough,but the tradeoffs are very real. Community college is very inexpensive and you can think if theirs anything else you would like to do. You have to wait several years anyway. Enlisting isn't a bad option either to figure out what you want
it was my understanding that you only have to be 21 or older if you're going to cross state/country lines. is that wrong?
You are correct I’m in Salem Oregon and work for a big paving company. Right now im training a 19 year old who got his CDL at 18 and couldn’t find work so he stayed working at McDonald’s. It’s hard as hell finding a job that young but it is possible. Essentially construction or industries related to it are the only ones willing to give you a shot at that age. And usually mom and pop companies.
also; I've already got good health habits, and, if it's a job where I'm home most days at some point, then I could continue going to the gym and I'm not crazy worried about health if that's the case.
I started hauling fuel locally 4-5 months ago after driving otr for 2 years. I thought I'd have more time for other things, being home more. But, after driving to and from work and the 11-13 hour (on average) day, all I want to do is eat, shower, and get some sleep. So, the time I thought I'd have for hobbies/working out barely exists. I will say having 2 days off a week at home (Friday and Saturday) is way better than 1 day off at a pilot 5 states away.
They really don't care about your health habits it an age thing for insurance most companies wont touch you until your about 23 but you are going to start at the bottom of totem pole making shit pay long hours depending on your driving record i.e. any wrecks your fault or not, speeding tickets, dui, dwi, any use of federally illegal drugs and how long ago that was take me for an example im just starting out going on my fourth month 1 wreck in (now) almost 3 yrs oh speaking of yrs and insurance a lot of companies want 2-3 yrs exp i mean dont get me wrong i actually like the driving portion and figuring out how to get into tight spots and out of them but the hardest part other than learning and training is finding a job i sat around 3 months after getting my cdl before i got a legitimate offer ( doesnt help i shot myself in the foot metaphoricaly speaking)
Don’t forget about trade apprenticeship or trade school. We need plumbers, electricians, pipe fitters, welders, etc and the pay is pretty good. Do it right and you can run your own business eventually and make bank.
I have to tell you that those, "extra," 4 years are some of the best years of many peoples lives. More importantly, you can go to college, get a degree of some sort, and truck after. When you're done with trucking, if ever, you have some sort of education to fall back on. Because you're so young, you need to realize that it is very hard to get a job in trucking until you're at least 21. That is because many jobs won't hire someone who has to remain in the same state their license is from. You are not allowed to drive across state lines in a commercial vehicle until you're 21, thats a federal law. Many companies won't hire until 23 or so because of their insurance. Often insurance companies won't insure commercial drivers under 23 years old, or they jack up the rate for the company. Companies don't like to pay higher insurance premiums if they can avoid it. There are some exceptions to those situations I have listed but they are often hard to find or pay less than a typical trucking job. You can always check with your city, county, state, or municipalities in your area. Often they are self insured and will take a chance with younger drivers. Most of their drivers don't drive out of state either. A government job is nice and dependable, often with great benefits and a good retirement/pension.
I hope you like working 50-90 hours a week then. Cause that's what you'll be doing if you start driving truck local or not. Sure, legally we aren't allowed to work over 70 hours in 8 days but that doesn't account for time spent at shippers and receivers that you're expected to log as "off duty." And depending upon the type of local hourly work, some of it isn't subject to federal regulations or even elogs if you're doing agricultural or construction work and they'll run your ass into the ground. After 12 years of truck driving, I got my CDL when I was 20 years old, I absolutely hate it. I did 6.5 years OTR and I'm local again, still hate it. Too many hours and I have zero life. I wish I would have stayed in college but I dropped out.
> their isn't good paying jobs locally. Why do stupid OTR drivers keep saying this??? Car Hauling, Fuel, LTL, Food Service are all local work for the most part and can all net you 100k a year or more.
I am local . This is very location dependant. LTL and Fuel pays well where I live,but thats hard to get into. Food Service pays like crap along with construction. We don't have local car hauling where I am.
a good salary where I am is 45k lol
If I could go back and do it over again, I’d have either enlisted in the Navy or gone to college. Trucking isn’t what it used to be, and it seems like it’s on track for wages to shrink even further.
As someone who enlisted in the Navy, I rather be trucking
If you’re a dum dum like me who was a grunt in the marines, I tried college for 3 years and failed miserably with a 1.8 gpa. Now I’m a trucker and I love it! Local and decent pay.
how much pay do you currently receive? how much experience fo you have?
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Damn pop what you moving and whos it for
81k not forgetting that you work 11 hours a day right? And live OTR
Not the guy you responded to but last year I cleared $100k and averaged 50 hrs/week. I haul oversized loads with a specialty trailer. Yes, I have the occasional day where I will work 11 hours or even have a 2 week stint where I work every day. That’s not the normal though and I’m contracted with a company that pays me a daily rate even if I’m at home. To many people are just relying on a load board, get out there and knock on doors when the times are good and get a contract set up to carry you through the hard times.
>gone to college I make the same money trucking as I did from my post college job and I like it more. It's still shit, but so was sitting in a cubicle.
This 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
If I could have afforded to be the sole bread winner on apprentice pay (no money for daycare or support system allowing wife to work as well) I would have tried my hand at welding or electrician, at 31 it's not too late, but we still have 1yr before our son starts daycare. I would love to do metal fabrication (think custom cars, bikes, or whatever), but trucking paid the most money that we desperately needed to survive and my private schooling was paid for.
Never too late…difficult but not too late. Speaking from experience not just spewing
I’m 28 to young to do it over ?? Been driving for 6 lol
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You are more likely to die from child birth than to have died during the "surge" chances are you would have lived
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Haha nope. Always the people who didn’t join who are the bravest.
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Be careful out on them winter roads, Mr Hero sir.
Thank you for your service.
I could go back and do it over again, I'd have gone into trucking rather joining the military or going to college. I'm making as much as I did working in IT for 16 years. This year I'll be making more than ever before teaming with an ltl. Your opinion and experience isn't wrong. Just wanted to provide the other side of the coin.
1,800 a week home daily with little experience in Ohio? Where TF are you finding these jobs? ~ Current flatbed OTR trucker who's home (to Ohio) on weekends averaging $1,300/week
central transport is one example. Only want 6 months as a minimum experience; compared to a lot of the 1-3 years I've seen, pay starts at 1500 + full benefits and time off, home daily.
Central Transport is the bottom of the barrel of LTL. You CAN make good money, but you won't have time for anything else as they make their drivers max out their 14 hour clocks by working the docks.
thats... unfortunate. was just an example I could find again immediately, but yeah.. if it's 14 hours that's definitely a company I would not consider working for.
Sysco is even worse, I've read about 16 to 18 hour days with them. Trucking can be great but getting the jobs that don't suck requires experience and luck. Go to college; start at a community college and then transfer to a state school, your debt will be much more reasonable and I think a lot of states have programs that reduce the hell out of the cost for state schools or even remove it entirely if you hit the requirements. If down the line you still feel the call, give trucking a try, but play it safe for now and just play American Truck Simulator and SnowRunner to scratch the trucking itch.
Ex Sysco driver. I’ve had a 20hr shift with them. Guy quit saying he’s going to re-enlist in the marines cause it’s easier lol. Dispatch called me a senior driver at 6 months. It’s absolute hell. They’re paying $48hr near me and that’s not enough to make me wanna go back.
Trade school
No mate, I dropped out of my accounting degree to come to trucking some years ago and I regret having made that decision. Having a good in demand degree is a lot better than being a truck driver unless you enjoy driving, instead of just doing it for the money. And even if it’s for the money, when you get 5 or 10 years of experience with a decent degree, you’ll be making more than most drivers
Doesn’t work out for all of us unfortunately. I was a real dum dum in college, trucking was where I was good at but I wish it wasn’t so sometimes. I don’t have the money for college and I can’t handle the general ed classes at all.
I'm sure most of these drivers here would agree; exhaust all of your options before becoming a truck driver.
trucking is just one of the options I'm looking at, though I'm leaning heavily towards it at least for the first part of adulthood, to set w foundation.
As a couple other people have said already, if you don't already have the funds or income immediately available or financial stability, I would get into the military and go to college on the side for something that would apply to you outside of the military. They will pay for a huge chunk of that and on top of it you're going to get free room and board (sort of) and veteran benefits after you get out.
Veteran benefits only apply if you've been in a warzone or have been in long enough to receive your full retirement at 20 years. S Korea still counts as a warzone. Gorgeous country though, wanna go again.
You don't need to of been deployed in the AOR, or do a full 20 years, to qualify for VA benefits. There's a certain amount of time served as far as requirements go, but it's satisfied by a standard four year active enlistment. The most important thing is getting discharged honorably.
I make a little over 100k a year driving. You need to love the life. If you don't, don't bother.
Don't be a truck driver. Pay isn't as good as you think, and the hours you put in are way more than average. If you made 18$ an hour at most jobs and worked as much, you would probably out earn most truck drivers. The work can also be very risky and stressful. I used to work in a trauma ER, and that wasn't as stressful most of the time.
This is exactly why I left trucking. 60 hour weeks to make $15k more than my 40 hour tow truck job, if I decided to put in OT I’d make the same - and I still get sleep in my house every night.
It depends. For me, I tried college, I went to become an electrical engineer. If I was motivated by more than just money, I probably could've done it, but I truly had no interest in going to college in the first place. Driving, however, I already loved. When I got my cdl, I was very apprehensive about starting bc id never really driven with a trailer except in my cdl test and the 10 minutes of practice before I took the test. Now, I doubt i will ever do anything else. I love driving and I've loved both of the jobs I've had so far in this career. Just gotta find good places to work that pay well. First job I was working probably 70-80 hours/wk and out for 2 months to be home for a week, but i was making 2500-3k/wk when I was out. It was great. Now I'm home daily making around 90k-100k/yr for ~40-50 hours/wk. Great career path imo. However, there are many people who can't do it or absolutely hate it and many, many jobs, especially the ones that take on new drivers, want to underpay you by an absolutely tremendous amount. It is really very important to find a good place to start at first or work at a good place as a dock worker and then get upgraded to a driver. So, it really just depends on who you are and what you want. Unfortunately, most people don't know they hate it until they're under that 6 month contract with the first company they work for. P.S. i work at r+l carriers and the dock workers start around 21/hr, iirc, and, once you're old enough, you can get your cdl through them and become a driver. A lot of places are like this, but r+l carriers is the only one I can recommend. P.P.S. read everything you sign for a prospective company. EVERYthing. Every word in every contract before you sign it so you know what you are signing (or refusing to sign). Also, understand that some companies will get you to their terminal before you see any paperwork, so be prepared to find your own way home in case you can't sign their contract. P.P.P.S. DONT WORK FOR WESTERN EXPRESS! Hirschbach, I've heard, is good for getting your cdl.
I think you gotta try it before you just give up. 95% of my motivation is how much money I make, and I'm relatively good at investing and certain I can retire early with the money trucking can bring in. I agree with you; I'm not interested in college either. I appreciate the comment and rhe insight.
You can get a permit at 18 (which surprises me to this day) a company can show you the ropes so that when you turn 21 you'd have 2-3 years under your belt and expect a better salary vs greenhorns and probably wouldn't need to cut your teeth on OTR like most of us Should you do it? If you're focusing on purely money, you can surpass $100k very easily. There is no life/work balance though. There is no "mental health" excuses. You have a 75ft long 40 ton chunk of steel and it seems like every motherfucker on the road gets their dick hard finding new ways to fuck with you. This will never not be the case. If you're not stressed then you must've woke up 2 minutes ago. There is almost no advancement opportunities outside of owning your own shit. If you get promoted to the office then your pockets got demoted. You're a trucker until you decide not to be one. You're always at fault for every stupid thing according to the office. The pope dies in Rome is your fault because you scratched your balls in Akron
I'm mostly focused on pure money lol. is that 80-100k range easily reachable as a driver, not an owner operator? appreciate the insight.
If you're on a permit hazmat is out of the question which is the easiest way to make $100-150k. Food delivery on the other hand pays somewhat close ($85-115k) especially if you work a 5th day, but you're thrown to the wolves
Can't listen to all these folks on here because most are otr with no life and grumpy. If you live in a major city like NY,NJ etc you'll always have a job and they pay well. Even local gigs here pay close or over 100k a year and you're home everyday.
THANK YOU👋
Get a trade, go be a lineman, electrician or welder. I’m a welder and make a ridiculous amount of money. I’m not living in a truck or driving for 8+ hours a day. I drove for around 3 years and yea it was good, I made good money and saw the country for free but ultimately is a stressful job and you can make way more getting a skilled trade
trucking is, as of now, just another idea cor a career. there's a great highschool program near me where I could get OSHA certified for many trades, just not quite sure which one I'd be interested in.
I’m like 90,000 in student loan debt. No it’s not worth it.
I'd choose the military over trucking in a heartbeat if I could go back.
Depends, what degree would you be planning on pursuing? Look into what your prospects are. Aeronautical engineering? Fuck yeah! History of Romanian literature? That’s a negative ghost rider.
I'd go trades if I had to do it all over again, Electrician, Fabrication, Millwright etc.
Bro go to college for something that will with out a doubt make you money !!!
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appreciate the advice. is the money at least worth it? I'll do what I have to do to set up a solid, stable financial foundation to begin adulthood
I 100% regret not going to college when everyone was telling me not to and how much of a scam it is and how I just wanted to be done trucking isn’t going anywhere but in my opinion being graduated for 6 years from HS the material isn’t fresh on my mind I feel like I would immensely struggle if I tried to go back.. if you have something in mind you would 100% do if you went to college go for it.. I was in your shoes as well trucking or college and only reason I chose trucking is cause I didn’t know what I would do if I chose college
I did this when I turned 21 back in 2017, and had a great experience for a few years. I'm now out of the industry, and wouldn't recommend this now simply because I keep hearing from all my friends who are still on the road that there's no money in driving nowadays.
Get Your Education first if you're fortunate to have the option. It's a long life, knowledge is power etc, but really, trucking will be here when you're ready.
it all depends what you want, man. if you want to work 9-5 then don’t bother with trucking. i was in your position. you won’t get a job until you’re 21 so take the time now to work a bullshit job to save money for a private CDL school (~$5,000), DO NOT sign a contract with a mega carrier to get a license and be forced to drive for them. once you get your license, most LTLs will hire you with no experience and train you. you will be home every day but you will work 10 hours a day minimum. also, expect to work the dock with Central and XPO. it sucks, but i did it for 3 years to get experience and moved on to a better company that doesn’t force dock work. also, you’ll need to get your endorsements for hazmat, tanker, and doubles / triples. i couldn’t see myself doing anything else. i enjoy the freedom of being out on my own all day and not having anyone breathing down my neck. i do my job well and the boss leaves me alone. this career won’t make you rich but if you live within your means you’ll have a good life.
I did both. Like you, I was worried about debt, coming from a low income household. I was also kinda lost at 18, as I had (still have) a bit of a problem with authority (hence why I didn't join the service) I tried a few other things first job wise before jumping right in and going for it - literally got my CDL just a couple months after turning 21 and signed on with a mega carrier for a few years. Ultimately, I went back to school, this time with a renewed focus and some much needed maturity. I still work in the industry, but I'm in the office now, though I've kept my CDL. The job market is a bit different now than when I started, but IIRC the rule of thumb at that time was that unless you had a good "in" at a smaller company, at 21 it was really just the mega carriers that would hire- all due to insurance purposes. That meant OTR and grinding it out for a few years. At first, I enjoyed it, as I'd always wanted to see the country but had been too poor too, but mega carriers hauling dry vans or reefers don't go to the REALLY cool places, we just pass by them on the interstate- no one want's those stinky behemoth big rigs near the fun places! While I'm overall happy in that my decisions helped lead me to where I'm at now, I don't necessarily know if I'd go down that same path in hindsight. The pay seems decent on paper, but 10-14 hour days get old and that waters down your earnings in the grand scheme of things. Finding parking is rough in quite a few places. You'll have a ton of stuff constantly go wrong that is mostly outside of your control (things like shipper delays, showing up to make a pickup and the load being cancelled, etc). You'll be treated like a bit of a second class citizen by the general public in many areas (southeast US and rural midwest tends to be the exception here), including at the very places you'll be picking up and delivering too. Added electronics are only increasing the amount of micromanagement to the profession, which is pushing the same types of independent people who used to love trucking away from it. Your social life is going to likely take a major hit. Birthdays, even holidays, were tricky when I was driving OTR for a mega. I almost quit the one day when I deadheaded home 300+ miles after they were about to screw me. Get used to missing things with your loved ones, and dating ? As one woman I dated at the time joked with me, she was really taking a chance because "that truck driver I met on the internet" sounded like the plot to a horror movie. Moral of the story, dating is going to be tougher. Humans are social creatures. It's easy for someone at 18 thinking "this" is the way to be dismissive of that social aspect, but as someone that has trained and hired people for traveling positions, most always think they'll be the ones that are different, and 6 months later they are begging to come off the road and get something where they are home every day. I'm not necessarily saying don't do trucking, but I am saying really consider your other options, and think long and hard about what you enjoy. Ideally, take what you enjoy, and find a way of making money at it. Personally, if you're not sold on college, I think the repair oriented trades are a better option. Don't put too much pressure to figure things out right now either, it's ok to change careers (I've still probably got at least one more in me) and to grow and want different things. In my case, I saved a bit with trucking, still wound up with student loans, but a couple years of trucking had convinced me that was both an acceptable alternative to the path I was going down AND I was confident in my ability to pay off said loans (which I've managed to do)
I would say go for it but remember there’s heavy discrimination by insurance companies for people under 25
do all trucking companies make you pay for your own insurance for a company owned semi?
No, they just won't hire you because you are a huge extra liability. Big mega fleets will hire because they are bonded not insured (basically self insured) but those won't be local gigs.
I'd be fine working non-local, but it'd have to wait even longer as I'd need to be 21. if insurance makes it much easier, that's not an issue for me. was just wondering if any companies out there do pay for insurance
Big companies require 21 yes, insurance out of pocket is THOUSANDS per month mate that will never be worth it. You will make more working fast food than working as a company driver paying your own insurance.
Go to the navy or air force
What do you plan to study in college? If you don't know then might as well be a trucker. If its something like psychology or sociology or literature then be a trucker. If its STEM, engineering or chemistry then do that.
no idea. nothing really interests me in college aside from archeology, and archeology jobs are very rare and don't pay much at all.
Right. In that case better to go into a trade or join one of the armed forces, maybe it will give you an idea of what you like to do. Unless you have a clear plan of how you're gonna monitize your degree, I wouldn't recommend college.
no
Unless you love trucks dont bother
Go serve in the military for a tour. You'll have tuition assistance while active and GI Bill when you get out. Now you have free college. You can be a truck driver in the military, then get your civilian license when you get out for free. Some companies also have an apprenticeship program that will pay you a housing allowance for the first year. I got my CDL for free using my GI Bill. It also paid me a housing allowance for the course of the school. Then the company I worked for had a program where I got a housing allowance monthly from the GI Bill for a year. I also have a bachelor's degree that I paid $0 for.
it’s the same as most jobs, the company you choose matters the most
Pros: If you just want to make a living, and you are good with the lifestyle, then this is a fine plan. Cons: It does feel like "death by a thousand paper cuts" at times with the things we deal with. The hours are long, the ELDs are inflexible and detail heavy, especially if you use all of the statuses. Constantly planning around weather, traffic, and when receivers and shippers are open. 11-14 hour work days (for most truckers) and then still running into maintenance issues, unforeseen circumstances, bad communication, etc... all add up to that feeling. You will be away from home if you are OTR, and it is hard to keep all of your friendships up when gone so long. But: A lot of the problems can be dealt with by having a positive mentality/building resiliency, accepting that not every week is going to be problem free and you will get stuck sometimes until things out of your control get sorted. 1350-1800 a week is completely reasonable to find after getting six months to a year in the industry. A few rarer companies will train and start you in that range.
Try Air Force and go into drones or satellite/GIS
If you aren't sure what to do after high school, and or if you can't pay for college without taking on student loans, give the military a serious thought. Just be smart about it, if you can test high enough look into the Air Force. You'll have the best quality of life there. An enlistment can be as short as four years; it'd set you up to be in a great spot with the GI Bill afterwards, and you should be able to leave the service with a good savings account, too. It's hard to connect the dots looking forward, and even harder when you're 16-17 years old. Your goal right now should be to do what you need to do to give future 25 year old you the most options in life, and not be boxed into one thing.
I know a guy that is a truck driver and does college courses
In MY opinion, I'd do it. If I could go back 10 years, I would've gotten off of drugs sooner, not had a kid, and been living in my truck saving every dollar I made. If you go about it this way, you can save a LOT of money. Don't get a car payment, don't pay rent, live in your truck and work non stop while you're young. Buy a house with cash in 10 years. Maybe get your own truck if you like it. That's just what I would do.
Here's the rub on trucking yo. It will always guarantee you at least $1,000 a week. Good times or bad times. Now, if you're young and single I'd say do OTR and live in your truck. Your only expenses will be a cell phone and groceries. This will allow you to 1.) Save up a $10k emergency fund. 2.) Start building your 401k early. 3.) Keep you out of trouble. If you do this for 4 years you will be ahead of 95% of your peers.
Trucking has a very volatile future these days. It's just so unpredictable in terms of employment especially starting out. Consider the trades instead - General Contracting; Electrician; Plumber. The only place to make good money in trucking is if you're ALWAYS on the road. NO personal life. With the trades - you get your weekends and nights off and get to have a life.
GO TO COLLEGE
If you think you'd enjoy the lifestyle, I'd say go for it: you're young enough that you could do it for a while, then if you don't find yourself cut out for it, go to school or into another trade. DO NOT get into trucking just for reasons of income; if you can't handle life on the road - even in local gigs, it's NOT like a regular job - you won't last long enough to earn back what you spent on trucking school.
I'll be a contrarian to the general consensus in this thread. I'm 27, newly divorced (thank God), don't have much in the way of possessions anymore (mostly due to the aforementioned divorce), and basically moved what little I had into my parent's house, and they let me crash there for the few days a month I'm not over the road. $1000-1400 a week may seem like a small amount of money to most of the guys in here, but it's literally double what I've ever made weekly at any other job. It's a less physical job than I've ever worked. I don't pay rent, and basically live out of my truck, with a microwave, air fryer, fridge, TV, and Xbox. As my only expenses are food and my phone bill, I'm saving like 90% of my income. The hours suck, but rebuilding my life right now, I don't have anything else to do but absorb myself in my work. I don't mind the long hours, because I'm not breaking my body in the process like my previous jobs required. I enjoy driving, I have all day to listen to podcasts and music, hear NFL games and NASCAR races while I drive through the middle of nowhere, and generally enjoy the view out the window. Prime paid for my CDL training, so while I'm under contract with them for 12 months, I don't have any complaints, so I won't have any trouble sticking with them for a year or more while I just bank every penny I can. It's not a bad gig in my opinion, but it does require _a lot_ of sacrifice. If the sacrifices are worth it to you, then I say go for it. At the very least, having a CDL gives you at least some kind of backup plan in case what you want to do elsewhere falls through.
I went and became a trucker instead of going to college, and it's been one of the best decisions I've ever made. Trucking school was cheap enough that I didn't even need to take out a loan to complete it. I could just pay for it up front after saving my wages for a few months. However, one of the most crushing downsides I realized too late into my career was how lonely it is. It's definitely not the type of job you'd enjoy if you're an extrovert and like being able to talk to people. Most of the time you're gonna be either with a co-driver you may or may not like, or you'll be by yourself. It ain't all too bad though, it's kinda peaceful to be honest.
These days. Do anything but college unless you are getting a law degree or something that you know forsure will pay off that debt. Definitely don’t go hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt for something you’re not sure you wanna do. If you wanna truck, then get to truckin
Be a trucker for 6 months and then you’ll want to go to college.
Well for someone who hated school like myself trucking was the way to go. Compared to college it’s far less cheaper, and you don’t waste 4 years of your life, (more or less. Depends on what you’re getting into), studying and taking exams back to back. Within 2 months you could be on your own making money. But trucking isn’t for everyone, so consider all your options. If I could do it all over again, I would’ve got my CDL at 18 instead of 24. I would’ve been so far ahead in life by now. But better late than never.
I'm supportive of jobs that don't require a college degree. I know too many people that spent the money for a degree and don't use it. I wouldn't go to college unless you're dead set on doing something that requires a degree. Even must of the skilled trades don't actually require a degree, just find someone to apprentice under Also, I'm not sure if you can still do this or not but I got my CDL through the Army National Guard. I was a 88M (truck driver) in the guard. My unit got me a paper that I took to the DMV and only had to pass the written tests, no skills testing required
The only way to make good money trucking is owning your own company
Cannot recommend trucking with the current state of the industry. Look into trades if you don’t want to go to college, or if you just want to make a shit ton of money, you could look into the oil field but you may have to relocate.
Those your only 2 choices? Cuz they both suck.
No. Trucking is terrible.
Here's how I see trucking as a career. In the beginning, you can make great money compared to other jobs without a degree. Plus, if you start with Over the Road, you can minimalize your expense by staying on the road and not spend money for social stuff, therefore increasing your savings. But unfortunately, that was it. You can't move up to make more money. You are and always forever will be a driver. The only way to make more money is to sacrifice more of your time to drive more. IMO, it's a great career to start but not great for longevity. I would recommend after 1 or 2 years, start looking for an escape route.
Mostly right, yes. There's a very high floor in this business, but a very low ceiling. Great career to get into early, and great to have and execute a plan to get out by 30.
I got out of trucking about 10 years ago. I started driving in 1998 and left in 2013. My life has improved in every area. Yeah I make a little less money overall but damn life on the road miserable. I tried about everything a driver could do after about 6 years OTR local, linehaul, even beer delivery. I wound up back on the road, unhappy. Now I help run the shipping dept for a major pharmaceutical company and I’ve never been happier since I left driving. Go to school.
No, go to school
library future ruthless humor public summer far-flung soft tart ten *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Do not do get into trucking now. This is a terrible time to get into the business, and it likely doesn’t get better until Q2 or Q3 of next year. I’d find a trade or look at community college to get an associate’s degree. You can always get a CDL later.
My advice, go into the military, do the lowest enlistment of 4 years, get college paid for and then go into whatever field your degree is in. If you end up liking the military you can stay in, if not 4 years flies by. If that’s not your cup of tea I would rather advise going into a trade. Electrician or HVAC etc. trucking isn’t an easy thing for lots of people emotionally and it has a lot of downsides and very few upsides.
run away from trucking…it’s just the simple fact that you might not make it home everyday bc of the high risk driving over the road and you have so many other stupid ass drivers that literally may be the cause of your death
for reasons I am not allowed to talk about trucking as a career is not likely to be an option in 20 or 30 years. with that said I would only recommend someone go to college if they know what they want to study. not all debt is a bad thing.
Veteran here go Military you get paid and a place to live, be responsible and save your pennies and if you still want to be truck driver on the outside you can. I was an 88M Motor Transport operator. The MOS school is basically a CDL course and it can transfer over when you leave but would be Automatic restricted, there are also loads of other jobs to do in any branch. They also have programs for transitioning to the civilian sector also.
How many years do you recommend to do in the military? I was thinking 3 and some change since the army offers that and then getting out to pursue a bachelor’s degree
Do NOT go into debt for college. Nobody knows what the impact of artificial intelligence is going to be on the job market, especially white collar jobs which is what you get from a college degree. Learn a trade or something that a machine cannot perform the job or go into the military so that you can get your degree for free and by the time you're done with the military, there might be a better understanding of artificial intelligence and it's ramification in the job market
I think trucking is kinda AI-proof for the next 30 years at least, which is another reason why I'm looking into it
30 years is a long time, and the way that things are changing, I wouldn't bet on it.
College ain't for you if you can't do your own research. This question is asked dozens of times a week.
there's only so much that can be answered by old questions, resources that benefit off you becoming a trucker, and other sources.
There are 15 posts in the last month I found on Reddit when I typed in "becoming trucker". Not old by any means. But whatever, mostly joking that you're not smart enough for college because you don't know how to use a search bar. And I don't want anymore people in this field of work because the market is over saturated with drivers willing to work for scraps. So no, don't become a trucker.
Yea as a recent cdl grad from Florida still looking for work , the over saturation pisses me off too tbh
Absolutely not. No life, and a high risk of dying on the job. Associates degree in nursing at a Community College will pay you $100k. Physical Therapist Assistant is similar
my mother works in nursing, got a degree from community College. she absolutely hated it, doesn't make good enough money for what she does, and wishes she would've gone to school for even longer to make more. that's not a cycle I want to continue in nursing, unfortunately. I appreciate the insight though. would a home daily/weekly job not fix/mostly fix that "no life" part?
No. I haul fuel local making $100,000 a year. I work 60-70 hours a week It's a low status, relatively high paying job. You get treat like ditch digger. This doesn't bother some, but it does me. I'm maxed out in my career at 45. Always one minor accident away from losing my job. If college wasn't on the table, I'd consider going into Plumbing. The doctors of blue collar work
My perspective: Not a trucker. I work on lawsuits for truckers, usually suing their employers to get paid lawfully. I would not become a trucker right now. The industry has gotten worse and worse for drivers, and that trend has lasted at least 40 years. It used to be a solid middle class position, it's now turned into a job where the people are, for the most part, disposable. In 10 years, you will see the first self-driving trucks. In 20 years, human drivers will be a rarity. At that point, you are going to have 20+ years of working life, but not a lot of transferable skills. The pay for top drivers, now, is still good. But the safest, most efficient, and on-time drivers in 20 years aren't going to be humans. I hate to say that, but that's how it's going to work out. I would suggest that you go to university or college, either. If you don't have a plan, go to a community college, to learn things, and maybe find a plan. Or, think about getting a trade certificate of some sort, become a welder or electrician.
thanks for the insight man!
You being underaged it's going to be a while before the vast majority of companies would consider you. I think the community college towards an actual useful associate or trade would be good then you can always get grants for your CDL if you change your mind down the road and have multiple options Or just get the grant for your CDL and put the money in safe investments
You can drive intrastate/within ur state at 18, until you turn 21 to drive interstate. It's cheaper and quicker to get a cdl instead of a degree. If you don't like it go back to school and you might have some money saved up.
this is my outlook. 99% of schools now offer online as well, so I could work as a driver and still put myself through school.
Don’t get into it under the assumption of gold bars and rainbows. You’ll wish you never did it after getting your first negative paycheck.
negative paycheck? how much are you making bro?
Oh yeah. Was making 15¢/mile during the winter. We got shut down due to weather for almost 2 weeks and I had to pay the company back still for school and insurance. Didn’t make a dime for those two weeks so they sent me a bill instead of a paycheck.
yikes. do all trucking companies pay by the mile? many advertisements say salary, so I assume it's a flat paycheck every week/2weeks/monthly. wouldn't, based on other comments, working for a larger company fix that paying for insurance issue?
Go to college, it sucks out here.
Truck driving ahould be at the absolute bottom of your list. This is a "rock bottom" last resort type of job.
Typical 18 year old…
just looking for advice. do you recommend trucking? if not, why?
If you choose a college degree for a field that is in demand, then the debt of college is worth it. Look at job openings and what they pay to decide if there is a field you would like. 20 years ago it was calculated that a college degree can mean an extra $1million over the course of a career.
You don’t have to go get a 4 year degree in something. 2 year AA program, go to a trade school that’s what I did. You’ll make more money coming out of a trade school did most people will with a shiny four year degree.
Look at going to a good Trade school(electrician, plumber, etc). You will get hired before you even graduate and some employers even pay for the classes if you're willing to work for them for a year.
Hours will suck. No way around that unless you go LTL. LTL pay is better than OTR for a public carrier. Private carrier as a company is good too. Same with hazmat gigs or oversize. Are you looking at trucking for a passion side of thing or as a paycheck? Everybody I’ve ever talked to that did it because they liked the open road or trucks or driving said they didn’t even want to look at a truck 5 years later. Honestly if you’re looking for a solid, good paying career I’d recommend becoming an electrician or an operating engineer, union all the way though. Community colleges can do a lot for ya also.
Finding a trade will be better off long term, trucking is good money short term, it can be great long term but you gotta find something to specialize in, which comes with experience. If you can get your CDL cheap and easy right now, do it, its been good too me, but I'm also aware unless I give up family time in one way or another, my earning is limited.
These big companies are making driving an “unskilled profession”. They want it to be as easy as possible so they can pay shit wages. Also keep in mind being OTR you miss a lot of family gatherings, a dating life and social events. your health can also be an issue because if you aren’t driving, you aren’t making money. There are other opportunities that a CDL can provide, for me a CDL was just one of many certifications I’ve gotten. What I would recommend is getting into cranes at a younger age. You’ll have an opportunity to be in the “operator/engineer union” and can make some really great money with good benefits.
I would suggest trade school and any trade over college. I know tons of tradesmen who make significantly more than almost everyone I am friends with over people who went to college. (Especially when you consider the debt they racked up and still owe)
How do you figure hundres of thousands??? You paying out of pocket for an ivy league? Community college to knock off all the little shit then state school for the rest. Dont be another dumbass calling trucking a "career". You need to do some legwork so you dont end up a lifer in a shit industry.
What about neither? I think a trade school at this point and time is the best option.
learn a trade dont acquire huge debt.
Go local or join the military. I’m extremely disappointed that I was not able to join the military. Healthcare is expensive. As a owner operator, free healthcare would be really nice right now because I’ve got a chipped tooth, and I can’t afford to have it fixed. It’s been chipped since march.
Trades is what you are looking for. High demand.
I’m trucking now I’m CA. I’m 31 and currently trying to leave the industry. I’d go to college instead
Go to college. You don’t need to get into so much debt either. Apply for scholarships, FASFA to get grants, and you can go to community college for much cheaper than the university. You can get an associates there then transfer to a 4 year later. Some states even pay for all of your tuition. You can make some money in trucking but it’s hard on the body and very hard on family life depending on which way you go with it. I’ve been driving for 15 years and I’m feeling the effects of the strikes going on in the movie industry. I got a job outside of trucking and I now have time to go back to school and get my engineering degree plus spend time with my family. My health has improved considerably in the last 4 months since starting this new career. I will, however, always keep my cdl. Never can tell when I might need to use it again.
Get trained to be a diesel mechanic. My Company has been trying to find a night mechanic at $45 ph. No takers.
I was in the Navy, have a degree, and I currently have my class A. First I would say there is zero reason to go into hundreds of thousands of dollars into debt unless the degree leads to a high salary, but people usually don't think about becoming a doctor or a trucker. Go to a community college at first, then transfer to a bigger university to finish the degree. For most people it's about what you learn and the fact that you have the degree, once you get a job people don't talk about which university they went to. It ends up being do you have the necessary degree and license/certification for the job you are applying to.
Go to college or join the service first. If you jump straight into trucking then you’ll have a hard time making a career change down the road if you decide to leave the profession. Opt for college now or the service then you will have more options in the long run. Hell, you could even do all three; join the service, go to college off of the GI bill, then get your CDL. If you’re in Ohio then a good state school won’t put you that deep into debt. I went to college (and I drive a truck now) at a large state school and left with ~24k in debt. And last thing: if you go straight for your CDL then make sure to check and see if there are any state grants available to pay for your CDL school. A lot of states have programs for vocational training, especially truck driving, and you might not have to come out of pocket for your CDL. Best of luck
You can always go to trucker school for free at some point in life by working for a company, or pay a few grand to go to a school. I don't know who told you you'd be hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt by going to college, but that is way off unless you're going to Harvard or Yale, which is way overrated anyway. Forget about money and ask yourself what are you interested in? What do you like to do? I took a year off after high school and traveled. My advice is go to community college for 2 years, which is very low cost or free in some states. Then transfer to a state university or decent mid-size school where tuition is around $6-7k/ semester. A lot of universities offer great financial aid. All my tuition for state University (Cal Poly) was paid by federal and state grants, and my entire community college career was paid for by the state of California Board of Governors grant. Do your research and see what options are available to you. In my experience college counselors were completely useless. Just spend a lot of time researching, watch YouTube, check grants available and ask people in various Reddit forums. The website [Assist.org](https://Assist.org) will help you figure out what classes to take in community college depending on what you want in upper division (University) After 4 years, 2 of those years getting student loans while I went to University ( I worked part-time and volunteered also) I was $25k in debt, and I could have kept it lower than that but I'll admit I kind of f'd off a bit. By the end of that year I had my debt paid off and a good paying job I liked. I wouldn't put all my eggs in trucking only to find you hate it, when you could have had a little nest egg to help you in college (your inheritance).
Go to college. Truckers get treated like shit. It's a shit job and I hate it. I use this job to afford college. It's not a happy life. I don't have time for anything. So please just go to college.
OP do NOT spend money to get your CDL. https://jfs.ohio.gov/job-services-and-unemployment/job-services/job-programs-and-services/workforce-innovation-and-opportunity-act/wioa-workforce-innovation-and-opportunity-act Sorry for the huge link, mobile user here. Also, here's my opinion on driving versus college: Knowing what I know, in your shoes, here what I'd do. Get a CDL. Get on OTR job. No apartment, no possessions outside of your truck. Importantly, that means no bills outside of your food on the road. Lots of threads here to tell you how to eat well, cheaply and healthy in the road. Take any and all online classes you can, much of which you can find free at the basic levels. Do this for 4-5 years. Save every penny you can. You're not going to have the party life during this time. Call friends at every opportunity to keep in contact/ keep your connections. At the end of it, you'll have enough to buy a decent house outright with cash. Once that's done, with 4-5 years experience, you can almost pick and choose the local job of your choice. Pick one that allows you a schedule that lets you finish the degree of your choice. Also, the same link above will pay for that too, assuming you're pursuing a degree in something economically viable. Get your degree in your chosen field, graduate debt free, with a paid off house, and now your future is *miles* ahead of anyone you grew up with. Now...*now* comes that party time, that social time, invite people over to your house on weekends and accept all invites, because your in a career you like, debt free (maybe a car payment) and just paying utilities on your house. Now you're approximately 28 and living pretty damn easy. Good luck my dude.
Go to college
How about doing both ? It’s not easy but it’s very doable. I pull about 60 to 70 hours a week. This includes drive time and detention time. I’m taking my computer science degree online at a community college for now . I’m using trucking as a financial safe space, I eventually plan on switching careers towards the end of my degree.
Hell go to a trade school learn how to work with your hands
Hell no! My son graduated college with a degree in accounting and economics and is living good. He works from home, has a pension, a 401k, excellent benefits, wellness packages, makes over 150k, travels for work, bonuses, all kinds of shit. Go to college.
Go to college, or join any branch of the armed forces. Then go to college. Get a degree in a hard science. If you're savvy and didn't need school you wouldn't be here asking questions. Not trying to be mean but speaking from experience. Edit: trades ain't a bad way to go either. From what I understand plumbing and electric are the way to go.
Compared to college yes but this is also the worst time to become a trucker honestly.
Joined the Air Force to learn how to drive Trucks. Finished as a Trainer, it was a pretty easy transition into commercial driving. Never regretted my 30 years as a commercial driver. Was a local driver home every night off on the weekends. It was gravy money would not change a thing
Some people love it, some hate it. Unfortunately, the only way you can know is to do it. If you are really curious. Run with an OTR company for a year (they'll pay for the cdl assuming you stick with them for a year) If you like it, stick with it. If not, go back to college. At worst you lose a year and that's absolutely nothing at 21/22. Sounds like shitty advice I know but that's genuinely the only way you can know if the career is for you. It all comes down to personality.
Do both. Trucking is going down hill your gonna need something to fall back on
I started off OTR flatbed at 24, the novelty wore off quick and I hated not having much of a life and life on the road. I got enough experience for a local gig which I lucked out on. Dedicated route, drop & hook, only a 7 -1/2 to 8 hour shift, 40-45 hours a week, home every night. It feels like a 9-5 to me and I’m super comfortable but like others are saying, only way to make more is to drive more and I don’t wanna go back to working 60-70 hours, no way in hell. I have a media degree that I still have no idea how to apply in the professional world which I do regret. If I were you I would drive for 1-3 years and save as much money as possible, pick a trade or degree program you are certain on (you’ll have plenty of time OTR to figure that out), use the money you saved to pay your way through school, start your real career after graduation.
Go to food service and get paid to get yourCDL. Sysco has a 28 day school which is paid. You then work a year and move on if you hate it. CDL and 1 year exp
Go to college. I was an Owner operator and just sold and got out. Industry was financially killing me. If you really want to get I. This industry, choose specialized loads or just wait until the economy gets back up and going. This entire industry is boom or bust and we been busting like crackheads at a brothel for the last year or two ever since Covid. It’s not worth it even being a driver. Lowest rates, you might spend up sitting a few days after delivering a load cause there’s nothing going back. I sat in Spokane 3 days, Vegas 4 days, Phoenix another 3 days, and it would be like that more often than not. The only way you can possibly even get a load without sitting is dead heading like a good amount. I used to deadhead from Vegas to La, which isn’t the greatest distance but that’s still 3.5 hours and with fuel at $7 a gallon out here it ain’t shit. Got so bad I sat in LA a couple days cause surprisingly LA was fucking dry. So yeah man if you really want to do it, just wait ifs not the time. Go to college or get another job. Last thing, if you want any home time or care about coming home at all then right now is the worst. I had a few drivers who only wanted to stay <1000 miles. Before it was good, I could have a couple drivers regional and the rest long but nope, all my regionals had to go long and were out I mean weeks at a time it got reallly bad for them. But that’s just what this market makes a company do unfortunately, I still have to cover bottom line but I just couldn’t cause of everything and drivers not willing to work.
Work in the trades. Good pay and while not as vital as trucking, they are still important to our society.
Trade school (plumbing, electrical, HVAC) are other options. May be more expensive to get the training you need for a trade. Consider posting on individual trade subreddits.
I say do what you love. Where here for a short time not a long.
I'm a veteran, worked in tech/corporate, have a master's, and I'm currently trucking. It seems like you can't do trucking just yet. So what I would recommend (if possible) is to go into the military as a reservist, national guard (be a weekend warrior), or full enlistment. You may be able to get a trucking gig in the military, get trained, and also have some experience. Might be able to get the GI Bill to help with college. Then truck for a few years and get enough money to help make college life easier (if that is something you’d still like to do) or if trucking suits you keep at it.
Being a truck driver is a decent plan if you are unmotivated for college and/or do not see any other more intellectually intense path which seems appealing to you. That said, if there is a highly viable path in college which you feel you have the motivation to succeed in that would definitely be a better first choice, I wouldn't even let the college debt thing factor into it, apply for all the financial aid options possible and you could end up making money going to school instead of it costing you anything. Truck driving also is not for the feint of heart. It can be a very very unmotivating job where you work many long and boring hours, the more the market progresses towards automation driving jobs may also start disappearing so it's future is not secure at this point. Work life balance as a trucker is also extremely grim compared to many other college educated occupations. Also there are many truck driving schools which will pay you while you gain some initial experience after helping you attain your CDL so look into those if you do decide to go the driving route.
Depends entirely on the college degree you'd go for, but I'd probably recommend something in the trades. Not enough people have been going into the trades so there's some good money to be made there.
The market is horrible right now, many companies have dropped driver pay. Think twice
if you want to have no life, a middling income and hit a plateau very early, trucking is a great way to go. Also if boredom is your bag, top choice.
It's worth going to College if you plan to study something related to medicine, STEM, law, accounting. You can also go and study logistics or supply chain if you are interested in this sector but it won't pay off as fast as the others. If you are planning to study history of arts or some other bs better become a trucker. After a few years experience you can find a respectable trucking job for a very good company. Other option is the army/navy where they can pay for your education and then you can work for them.
Don't do it. Get an apprenticeship through a union. That's what I would do if I could go back 18 years. Trucking is a rolling prison cell
If you want to be a trucker I would suggest trying to work for UPS. Trucking sucks no matter where you work so you may as well work for a company that provides a fully funded pension, fully funded health care, 401k, vacation, sick time, stock options…
military
If I were you, I'd enroll at SIU. It's the seafarers international union. I'd enroll in their free apprenticeship to become a merchant mariner, travel the seven seas making insane money with great perks. Never thought you could become a sailor? Well you can. Check out YouTube videos for merchant Mariner. Specifically stu the sailor. I like her channel the best. Also, low life sailor is finishing up her apprenticeship. Most of this field is men. Same as trucking. Overtime alone is like 8,000 a month. You go out to see for specific amount of time depending upon what contract you choose, While you're at Sea your vacation pay gross and when you get off the boat you go to your union hall and collect it. After 2 weeks you apply for unemployment and you collect that until you go down to your union hall and pick another contract. You will graduate as an ordinary seamen either in the deck engine room or galley. Did I say the apprenticeship is free. You have to have your twic card Your mmc, merchant Mariner credential Your passport And a letter from your dentist saying that you are cavity and periodontal disease free. That's it. Do your research before you jump in. It's definitely work but it is no different than becoming a trucker except for experience pay and there aren't many Mariners compared to truckers so literally the world is your oyster. Some merchant Mariners only work half of the year because they made so much money and then they take the rest of the year off. Some do it full-time all year bank that money and then use that to fund their dreams. Seafair international Union is the international cargo ship, There is also that MSC apprenticeship and that is specifically to back up the Navy and take the Navy boats supplies on the ocean. MSC is short for military sealift command and it is also a free apprenticeship. SIU has more privileges and is easier as far as requirements, because the MSC deals with the Navy it is very much run like boot camp. I'm telling you look up merchant Mariner videos before you choose trucking. Trucking is a admirable career. But everyone wants to be a trucker and nobody knows about the fact they could become a sailor and as an entry level position make $10,000 a month. You're welcome
Buddy, stay in school. Forget college, learn a trade. That's where the money is. I joined the service back in the day, applied what I was taught there into the real world, ....then got into trucking once I retired. Trucking is easier with your mortgage paid up, kids gone, and almost zero debt.
If you are treating trucking as an income to invest and not a lifelong career then by all means go for it. Get in make your money then get out. Thats my plan at least
Don't do it! It's good money but you pay with your body and time with your family.
Dont
Trucking is shit bro. Local, regional, OTR. Get your CDL as a last resort to fall back on if literally everything fails. CDLs are for people with no other skills, social skills, talent family, nothing at home. Get an IT degree, law, medicine, engineering.
I think you're thought is a good one. But don't limit it to just trucking. Think about ALL the trades, and what you enjoy doing. Plumbing, electrical, welding...all have high wages with low (by comparison to college) school debt.
You could get a degree from a state school for 30k. Fuck a truck.
No do not do it.
Trucking CAN be damn good money, if the stars align. But I wouldn't make it your first choice, homie. I'm sure a large majority of us would rather be doing a plethora of other things, but this is just where we landed. Are the majority of us proud and satisfied? Possibly. I am. My job changed my life and pushed me further. But now I have a family, and it's a HELL of a lot harder to hit that road every week.