Well folks, pushed the button on the applications for Knight and Swift this morning, and dropped a line into my local private school as well. Been looking at trucking for a couple years now, and those looks have been getting more and more serious over the last 6-8 months now. And I'm ready now to make the leap. Wife has given me the greenlight to (once I'm in a program otherwise) quit my job of 13 years and be technically unemployed for the first time since half my life ago at 17.
So, I've worked in a grocery store since I was 21. I've been in every department you can think of, and I've run multiple departments. And dudes, that grind sucks. I was first exposed to the trucking world by way of having been the overnight/backup receiver for the last 10 years or so. I know the paperwork, how the scheduling works, all of that fun stuff. And I'm a curious man. So I built a rapport with our drivers and have had many opportunities to see that side of logistics. And the chance to see the opportunities that lie within the industry in exchange for hard work.
I'm going into this knowing its going to be a huge adjustment. It isn't going to be easy. Its gonna suck. I've got a wife and small child who I love to see daily. But this isn't a short term job outlook. In my eyes a year or so of being not home every day (I'm hoping to slot into a home weekly regional if/when it becomes possible) is a small price to pay for the opportunity to have a job that even in training will far outstrip my current income potential. I know there are gonna be days I want to leave that truck on the side of the road and walk away from it all, days that are gonna test everything I got. But i also have the outlook of just push on through, be safe, and learn the first time so the second time doesn't drive me up a wall.
And finally, just want to say thanks to you folks for having all this information on here, both in the articles and in the forums. Sites like this help a ton with being able to walk into a situation not completely blind.
Posted: 2 years, 4 months ago
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Right off into that deep end
Well folks, pushed the button on the applications for Knight and Swift this morning, and dropped a line into my local private school as well. Been looking at trucking for a couple years now, and those looks have been getting more and more serious over the last 6-8 months now. And I'm ready now to make the leap. Wife has given me the greenlight to (once I'm in a program otherwise) quit my job of 13 years and be technically unemployed for the first time since half my life ago at 17.
So, I've worked in a grocery store since I was 21. I've been in every department you can think of, and I've run multiple departments. And dudes, that grind sucks. I was first exposed to the trucking world by way of having been the overnight/backup receiver for the last 10 years or so. I know the paperwork, how the scheduling works, all of that fun stuff. And I'm a curious man. So I built a rapport with our drivers and have had many opportunities to see that side of logistics. And the chance to see the opportunities that lie within the industry in exchange for hard work.
I'm going into this knowing its going to be a huge adjustment. It isn't going to be easy. Its gonna suck. I've got a wife and small child who I love to see daily. But this isn't a short term job outlook. In my eyes a year or so of being not home every day (I'm hoping to slot into a home weekly regional if/when it becomes possible) is a small price to pay for the opportunity to have a job that even in training will far outstrip my current income potential. I know there are gonna be days I want to leave that truck on the side of the road and walk away from it all, days that are gonna test everything I got. But i also have the outlook of just push on through, be safe, and learn the first time so the second time doesn't drive me up a wall.
And finally, just want to say thanks to you folks for having all this information on here, both in the articles and in the forums. Sites like this help a ton with being able to walk into a situation not completely blind.
See y'all out there!