In part one of our series, Choosing A Truck Driving Job Part I: Factors That Effect All Companies, we talked about different factors and considerations which will affect your experience at any company you go to work for, including:
- The Elusive “Best Trucking Companies” and the Mythical “Perfect Trucking Company”
- Competition and Politics Within Each Trucking Company
- Different Divisions Working Together, or at Times, Working Against Each Other
- Competition Within The Company
In part two of our series, Choosing A Truck Driving Job Part II: You and “Your People” Are The Most Important Factor, we talked about surrounding yourself with the right people, understanding factors that affect the freight you’ll be getting, and things you can do to put yourself in the best position to succeed, including:
- Be very patient
- Communicate well with your company
- Prove yourself as a driver first, ask favors second
- Learn to understand your company and the trucking industry in general
- Surround yourself with the right people
- Get to know the right people
- and many more….
Now, in part III, let’s begin talking about how you should choose a truck driving job based on your personality and preferred lifestyle.
First let’s start with your lifestyle. Are you married? Divorced? Do you have children? Do you love adventure? Would you like to travel extensively and see the country, or have you already had that chance and would prefer to stay near home?
Home time is one of the most important considerations you should make when choosing a truck driving job. There is one point I can not stress enough – if you have a family of your own, please, please, please don’t take an over the road truck driving job where you are gone for weeks at a time. It’s been done by thousands of truck drivers over the years, and is being done by thousands today, but the stress it puts on every member of the family is enormous and is simply not necessary. There are tons of opportunities in the trucking industry to make good money and be home at least every weekend, and sometimes even every night. Countless numbers of families have split up because of the time they spend apart. I certainly don’t want to see that number grow.
Even for those who have a family, regional truck driving jobs can be stressful, but I think it can be done – at least for a while. But it will definitely test your relationship with your spouse, and with your children. Ideally you would like to be home with your family everyday, but often times your financial situation dictates that you get a really good paying job, which you may not be able to find with a local company. Be forewarned though, even a regional trucking job will be a HUGE test of your family’s strength, not to mention the fact that you will miss out on so much of your family’s lives.
What if you’re married, or in a serious relationship, but you don’t have any children? There are a lot of couples that travel together. In some cases, both are drivers and share the driving duties, and in other cases only one drives and the other helps out in other ways like with navigation, phone calls, paperwork, and a variety of other duties. But again, be forewarned – the inside of your truck is the size of a walk-in closet and you two will be together nearly non-stop 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to share a tiny space with another person practically ever minute of every day but it is not easy. At best it will take a lot of getting used to, and at worst you will be at each other’s throats at times. Some couples can handle it, many can not. Often times the only way to find out is to try it. But if you do decide to give it a shot please don’t give up your home or apartment right away. Wait a few months. If you can handle it for maybe three months then you should be ok. Often, though, both parties are glad that they can travel together sometimes, and at other times one person can stay home to give themselves a break and to take care of other responsibilities. There really is no easy answer for this type of situation. It’s a matter of trial and error.
Now when I started driving I was 21 years old, hadn’t traveled too much, had never been married, and had no children. The idea of traveling all of the time and living in the truck sounded awesome, and it was! The better part of my first 9 years of driving was over the road. I would stay on the road for weeks and sometimes months at a time. I just totally loved it! It really suited my personality and lifestyle perfectly. I was able to give up my apartment, my vehicle, and just let the money pile up in the bank. I usually found myself driving a lot during the week and having a lot of free time on the weekends to entertain myself. I’d go to bars, sporting events, concerts, and do the “tourist thing” like in Las Vegas or New Orleans. It was spectacular!
So your first consideration should be home time. But please be honest with yourself. Don’t convince yourself to do something that deep down inside you probably have some serious doubts about. If you have a family, please try to find a job with as much home time as possible. If you absolutely NEED to make as much money as possible, at least for a little while, then try to formulate a solid plan that will get you out of your money crunch and into a position to take a job with more home time as soon as possible. I’m telling you, too much time away from home can ruin a family. Try to avoid it.
In the next part of this series, we will talk about the difference between working at one of the larger trucking companies, versus one of the smaller trucking companies. I’ve worked at companies with over 5000 trucks, I’ve worked at one with eleven trucks, and everything in between. There are some major, major differences between them and we’ll cover them in detail next.
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Great site! I have a page full of questions to ask the recruiter, and I know what kind of truck and which lifestyle I want to pursue-Thank You
I am 53 and married. I drove for 6 yrs back in the ’90s and now I want to drive again for 2 or 3 years to get out of debt. My wife understands what the transition will entail. I’m being very picky and doing my research for a company to work for. Is there any other info you could give? Thanks.
Hi Robert.
Well, for starters you’re going to have to go through the training all over again like you never drove a truck before. You didn’t mention if you still have your CDL or not, but even if you do you’ll have to go out on the road with a trainer for a few weeks. No big deal, really. But it does mean you’ll have to go with a company that has training in the first place – which likely means a larger carrier.
With the bad economy, I’d say you should take a look at some of the larger refrigerated carriers like KLLM, England, Stevens, Prime, or Central Refrigerated. I wouldn’t worry yourself do death over which company you choose. If they’re a well-established carrier with a fairly large fleet, you know you can make things work out. You know how they should be treating you and you know if you’ll need to switch dispatchers and all that. You’ve been there.
Take a look at our page on companies with low-cost CDL training. If you have your CDL you may not need to go through the schooling, but they may want you to play around in the yard backing up trucks for a couple days and going over the newer logbook rules just to freshen you up – and it’s probably a really good idea for you to do so. Hey, what’s a few days in the yard, right? Nothin to it.
Take a look at some of those companies on that page along with the other companies that I had mentioned. Make a few phone calls, tell them your situation, and see what they say. I’m sure several of them would love to have you as long as your record has stayed decent these past few years.
Best of luck to ya! Enjoy being back out there! Hey, they have cell phones, GPS, wi-fi, and Satellite communications now! Remember when we had to rely on notebooks, payphones, and $5 maps???? LOL! I do not consider those the “good ole’ days”! I love the new technology which makes life so much easier out there now!
Good luck!
You’re doing fantastic…and you know it! The only site I could find that actually articulates in depth, from a true experienced and unbiased point of view. I’ve been trying to make my mind up on wether to make the ‘career switch’ and become a professional driver, but every time I think I’m ready to take the plunge and I start looking for that ‘elusive perfect company’, all I find is a myriad of complaints, from a company that runs usafe equipment to a company that leaves it’s drivers stranded to a company that pushes the drivers to the illegal limit…I was getting confused and irritated…these were ‘big name’ companies too, the ones that pass you on the Interstate on a daily basis…what to do, what to do…meanwhile I have noticed one thing, two and a half years ago, the driver demand was somewhere around 800,000 nationally, currently that number has dropped to 250,000…time to meake a decision. Thank you so much for such an informative site.
This is a great web site I really enjoy all the info its a tremendous help, I’m 37 years old and I have always wanted to drive truck but every time I would start to pursue it something or someone would make it to where I couldn’t, now in my eye’s I’m getting to that age of do or die and my wife knows how bad I really want to drive, she’s not thrilled mind you but we’ve been married 8 years and have 5 children (7yr,6yr,4yr,and 2-3yr olds) and I’ve been a machinist for the past 10 yrs and it used to pay the bills but not anymore and jobs around here just don’t pay good for running cnc lathe’s, So me and my wife sat down and wrote out pro’s and con’s to me driving truck and kinda came up with a plan then I found this site and some things have changed a little, now I’m trying to find companies that will hire students and still let me get home once a week or more and still make good money and benefits. If anyone knows where I might find this info. please email me at Jeremy41672@att.net thank you in advance, I really want to start this career as soon as possible but do to financial troubles and I am working just can’t afford to be without a check for a week or two and I don’t have any credit or a co-signer ,so once again I am on hold till the end of the year when we get back our tax refund then I will be able to afford the time needed without money coming in,and I’ll be able to eat while I’m gone..but never the less I’ve been looking on the internet and my dad is a driver so I ask him alot of questions and try to get him to talk to driver’s of Co. I’m interested in ,and I’ve even went to a near by truck stop a few times talking to drivers some good help some not.I would go drive with the co. my dad drives for but he doesn’t like it and they don’t offer insurance..so he’s looking to move to a diff. co. we’ve talked a little bit about driving teams but not quiet sure that would work do to otr time..my plan originally was to go threw a independent school and obtain my CDL and then drive for a co. OTR for a year or two and then try to go to a LTL co. like CCX or one like them, then I saw where one co. said home 46 out of 52 weekends and that got me thinking that might be a little safer on the family..and so here I am, any info or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.thanks again too all that take the time to read this and e-mail me ..
I love this site and all the information it contains. So, here’s my issue. I am a 50 year old female. I retired from the military in 2002. Since then I’ve been working temp…and the last 2-3 years have been really lean, as in I had 3 very short jobs in the last two years. I noticed companies have a thing about periods of unemployment and whether one has received unemployment benefits. Originally, I was looking at attending a local driving school and getting a pre-employment letter before starting. It starts tomorrow, but alas I won’t be attending because apparently there are more qualified student drivers. I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t gotten my license yet, am female, 50, haven’t had a full time permanent job in the last 3 years, or all of the above. After reading your information on company-sponsored training, I think I might go that way. My BIG problem is I need a company with a pet policy. I have a friend who will take care of Josie during training. However, after I get my own truck, I need her with me. I have no significant other to stay home with her, and as much as she has many human traits, she still can’t serve herself her food or turn the water faucet on and off to fill up her water bowl. One company I’m looking at is Schneider. Unfortunately, from what I can tell they don’t allow pets. Do you have any suggestions how to get into that “qualified” category? And, do you know of any companies who train folks like me AND have a pet policy?
Thanks
Hi Stephanie. I’m glad you enjoy the site!
I don’t believe any of the items you mentioned as possibly hurting your qualifications are in fact hurting you much, if any. Certainly being a female and being 50 years old is no problem at all. Not having full time employment in the past 3 years isn’t going to help as far as finding employment, but it won’t hurt much either, and a school wouldn’t care about that. Now when you say “I haven’t gotten my license yet” I’m assuming you mean your CDL, but you do in fact have a regular driver’s license, correct? Because that would be a very big deal.
Usually your health, your ability to get financing, your driving record, and your criminal record are the main things that schools and trucking companies look at. To be honest, schools generally accept anyone they feel can get the financing and will qualify to find work in the trucking industry. It’s rare to ever hear anyone get denied by an independent school. Now schools that are owned by trucking companies are obviously a bit different because they intent to hire you after the training ends, so their qualifications are more stringent.
As far as a pet policy goes, it’s just a matter of doing the research. I don’t have a master list of any sort that says which companies do or do not allow pets, and these types of policies change quite often. So you’ll just have to look it up on company websites or ask each company.
Hello. I too am turning 50 and looking for my first career in trucking ! You are encouraging to me. As far as pets go, I know through my research that U.S. Xpress does allow them. Good luck with your job hunt !
This is a very informative series and I appreciate the fact that you are mentioning the things that most people would try to tell you, but not enough info or experience themselves to tell you the information needed.
Thank you for creating this website. It really helps answer a lot of questions. I am 24 and currently employed at a retail store as a computer technician. I have always worked with computers and enjoyed it, but now I am getting tired of the same thing every day. I don’t have a degree so I am paid almost minimum waige and it just doesn’t give me the sadisfaction I want.
Recently while job hunting I stumbled upon a company sponsored CDL training that got me intrested in a truck driving profession. I am from Italy do the thought of exploring the country while getting paid for it is very alluring. I worked with my dad at a transportation business driving vans to deliver products to customers or stores. I would drive 16 hours a day, 6 days a week. I did enjoy the time I spent outside of the house driving and it was nice not having the same task, the same way everyday. Of course its not the same as OTR driving, but I definetly think that I would enjoy it.
The problem is: I am married and I have 2 children (4yr and 2yr). My wife says that she will be very supportive if I decide to do this, but I am concerned that it might hurt our relationship in the long run.
I feel that truck driving would give me economical and personal sadisfaction but I don’t want to make a decision that I will regret.
Any advice on wether I should go with the wild side of me or stay and be more cautious without risking my family? Thanks
In my opinion, trucking should be an absolute last resort when you’re raising children. The satisfaction you might get from travelling will be overrun by the guilt and disappointment you feel being away from them all the time and missing their childhood. But that’s only a minor concern. The real concern is for the children. They’re never going to get back that time with you, and they desperately need you around. I would suggest finding work that keeps you home every night and keep trucking on the back burner. Trucking is an excellent career for later in life. Once the kids are grown and moved out, you can get into trucking and you and your wife can enjoy some travelling together. But for now, I would desperately try to find something to keep you home. Countless families have fallen apart because of too much time away from each other.