Hi all! Thanks for checking out my blog. This is the first of hopefully many, many more to come. And I hope I can help those of you who are considering getting into the trucking industry. I’m not a truck driver quite yet. In fact, I’m in a white collar, 9 to 5, office job right now (why do I want the career change? More on that later.). I’m in the stage right now that many of you reading are probably in. I still need to attend a truck driving school to obtain my CDL, find a company that will hire me, go through their training, and learn all the tough lessons that lay ahead when I finally get my own truck!

I am going to be TruckingTruth’s guinea pig. I’ll be sharing all the hardships, and all the good times, right from the beginning. I have no motivation for this blog other than helping you out, so that you can learn from my experiences and find out what the industry is really like, not what the recruiters tell you. My plan is to bring you from day 1 (researching the industry), through all of the training, and into my first months on the job, and beyond. This blog is going to be like my journal that all of you can read to see exactly what I’m going through, right from day one. I’ve never had my own blog before, so I encourage you all to post comments, ask questions, and tell me what you would like to hear. This blog isn’t for me, it’s for you! So let me know what you’d like to hear! This blog is useless unless the content is what you want to read!

Ok, so how about an introduction. When I was young, I knew trucking was something I’d want to do at some point in my life, but then again, I was just a kid. My family never had the money to fly around the country, so when we took vacations, we’d drive in our Ford van. About once a year, we’d drive from Chicago to Florida to see my grandparents (about a 24 hour drive). I remember sitting in the back seat as a kid, watching all the trucks on the expressway. I used to watch them closely. I thought trucks were one of the coolest things (and I still do!). Where are they going? How much power do those huge vehicles have? What are they hauling? What is life like on the road? The only way I could “pretend” as a kid was to tie my Radio Flyer wagon to the back of my bike and hit the road!

I specifically remember when one truck would pass another at nighttime, the truck being passed would flash his headlights when the passing truck could safely move back over. Then, when the passing truck was safely in the right lane, he’d flash his lights back as a “thank you.” While this may seem like nothing special to the average person, it was special to me (and still is). I felt as if truckers had a brotherhood. They were looking out for one another. They were part of a fraternity of sorts. I always looked forward to driving at night during road trips just so I could watch the truckers flash their lights at each other. I’d watch them for hours. Oh how easy it is to please a child!

As I got older, I lived your typical American life in the suburbs of Chicago, and my dreams of becoming a trucker faded. I struggled a bit in school, but got through it. I finally graduated High School, which was one of the best days of my life! Many say High School is the best 4 years of your life, but I didn’t enjoy it much. I never wanted to have an office job, but I felt college was just something I was supposed to do, so I went. Now those years have been the best 4 years of my life so far.

College was a fantastic experience. I’d like to be able to say that I studied 8 hours a day in the library, attended every class, and passed with flying colors. The reality is, I used college as an expensive 4 year vacation. I’m not saying it wasn’t hard….it was. I’m not saying I didn’t put in effort.…I did. And I did my fair share of studying. But on the same token, I really only did what I needed to do to get by. I’m not proud of that, but I’m just being honest, which will be a common theme in my future blogs.

I finally graduated with my Bachelors degree in Communications. So, I thought… “What now?” Since I now had a degree, I felt the right thing to do was to get into the business world. I briefly thought about becoming a truck driver after I graduated, but that idea quickly left the picture. I have a college degree! I can’t be a trucker! I didn’t go to college for 4 years just so I could be a truck driver! People with Bachelors degrees don’t become truckers…..do they? I guess I felt like I was above that lifestyle. I thought I deserved better since I had that almighty piece of paper. That’s just the way I was thinking back then.

So I wound up in a sales career, which I’m still in today (and looking to get out of). I remember doing great on the interview and receiving my job offer. You’d think I would have been excited, but I had more of a “meh” attitude about it. The thought of spending the rest of my working life in an office was not so thrilling. But I accepted the offer and began working in the “real world.” My career started off ok, but I always knew in the back of my head that I wanted something more. I couldn’t stand knowing that I had my whole life in front of me, yet it would be spent in an office 40 to 50 hours a week, 5 days a week….sometimes 6. The money I can make in this career is huge (huge to me at least). I sit right next to somebody making close to 200k a year. And no, I don’t make close to that currently. I make what an average truck driver makes in a year. If I stick it out for a few more years, I could probably make that 200k per year. But is the money worth it if I’m not happy in that career? That’s a question that can only be answered on an individual bases. But my answer is no, it’s not worth it.

Then, the recession hit…..

continue to page two —>

Pages: 1 2