Thinking Of A Career Change To Trucking

Hello Truckerland

I have a few questions about this possible new adventure/career change. But first here's my story

I've been working for the same major retail company for 25 years. It is time to move on. Times are changing in retail and I am not happy with my current employer. Actually have never truly been happy. It was a secure job with decent benefits. The biggest struggle I'm having is giving up my 6 weeks paid vacation, paid holidays + time and a half if working on those paid holidays, and 2 weeks paid sick time. Not bad huh. But if I hate going to work every day, then what's the point.

I have thought about trucking on and off over the last 25 years. Never really looked to seriously into it. It was just always a thought of, that might be a fun job. But now I'm seriously considering it. I started researching about three weeks ago and it is constantly on my mind. I found this wonderful site and have enjoyed the forums and have been doing the high road training. I'm currently at 22% progress with 99% on my score. I'm more of a hands on learner, so this has taken me probably at least 8 hours to get this far.

Over the last three weeks I have had some serious moments of doubt, but for the most part I think I can do this with great success. I think I'm sold on the paid training through Prime. Ultimately, after my 1 year with Prime, I want to run local or regional. At the minimum I just need my weekends off at home. I have an Adult Son and a domestic partner at home. She is on board with me and supports my decision if it will make me happy.

Okay, here are some of my concerns/questions

I'm a socially awkward guy. I'm awful at meeting new people. I'm very uncomfortable with one on one interactions. I'm apprehensive about spending two/three months in a truck with a stranger. Is there anyone else that is like me and survived to tell their survival story?

I heard that some people have gotten fired just before their 1 year contract is up. That would suck. All that time spent and now you're stuck with the training bill and out of a job. Makes me nervous 😓. How often does this happen?

I want to get out of my Job ASAP. But I need to build up my PTO so the unpaid training will essentially be paid for. But also knowing that there is a new chapter to my life right around the corner, it will be hard to put myself through another hellish holiday season in retail😬. Also was thinking that it's probably a better time to go in January so that by the time I'm done with TNT and go solo, it will be Spring time. Thoghts?

Well crap, I'm brain farting right now on other questions.

I'll post this for now and ask questions as they come to me.

TIA

Welcome to TT. You are at the right place. Have you seen Brett's Book? Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Truck Driving Also reading through training diaries can be a huge help in learning what to inspect from training.

To get fired from this you have to be very unsafe, speeding tickets, accident involving personal injury, DUI , rolling the truck, etc. These things represent someone who is unsafe. Now, companies who train, expect new drivers to have minor accidents. Don't sweat those.

Prime is an excellent company with great training and many perks. I was trained by and drive for CFI. With them, you need to get your permit and medical before they get you into training. They provide all your transportation, food and housing during training. After school, you go back to Joplin for four days of orientation then out with your trainer for at least 7500 miles, about 3 weeks. You are dispatched as a solo truck, so you do all the driving while the trainer sits in the passenger seat.

Best of luck to you. We are here to help.

First of all, I'm an Eagles fan, so I'll try to overlook your Rams affiliation. Lol.

Like you I'm not comfortable around groups of new people. I struggle with social anxiety, and going away to CDL school, surrounded by total strangers , was not an easy decision to make.

I was surprised to find out that it was actually not so bad. If I needed to retreat, I studied. I would just write questions and answers over and over for my permit tests and after that, I did the same with pretrip...it paid off too.

I'm sure you will find a few people you feel comfortable around. You will also find people who are nervous and struggling in a worse way than you.

I posted my questions and concerns here at trucking truth and always received good advice from Big Scott and the moderators.

I got lucky with my company trainer after CDL school. He was easy to get along with, patient and helpful. He did talk nonstop but, maybe that helped make the time go by faster. I thought it would be horrible sharing a truck with a person for that long. I'm not so great at being stuck with a total stranger for a few minutes let alone 6 weeks. I just treated it as part of the job, not a social situation.

All in all it was not a bad experience. Plus, I really like what I'm doing now. It was totally worth any anxiety I experienced along the way. Winter is coming soon and I'm sure I'll be needing all the advice I can get for driving in Winter conditions.

Now, companies who train, expect new drivers to have minor accidents. Don't sweat those.

This is true, I work for Schneider and I have only been out solo right out of orientation for almost two weeks. Well last Friday I was parking at a loves truck stop for my 34 hour reset and while backing into the spot I found... I hit a rock piller thats used to block off the area they re-fuel the tanks at. It cracked my bumper. I was a little worried at first, but I talked to my DBL about it and he scheduled me for extra training which was watching a safety video about defensive driving(because I had a hard braking event the same day) and I had to show what I have changed since and that I can backup safely.

Your situation is extremely similar to what mine was. 12 years of retail and needed an out. The change has been one of the best decisions I have made. I paid for my school though and went the local route (typically unadvised) because it fit my personal needs and couldn't be happier with the company I started with. I started this journey at the same time you are thinking for the same reasons. I think having the summer to learn and practice will be beneficial this winter but only time will tell.

When you do decide to start jump in fully committed and ready to learn. No matter how bad it may seem just stick with it. Everything gets easier and the money starts rolling in.

Oh I almost forgot, I also had to put it In writing on what I have learned and what I will do differently to prevent it in the future. it sucks that it happened, totally my fault. But at the same time I'm glad, because it was an experience that has helped me with both being safer and having to extra training has helped me out a lot.

Prime was my first choice. I'm still with them, and couldn't be happier. The training, pay, facilities, and atmosphere far exceeded my expectations.

Don't sweat the TNT phase. It'll go by in a blip. You'll only be strangers for a couple of minutes. Pretty soon you'll both know each other on a personal level, and can become good friends. I still speak with my trainer almost two years later.

Don't sweat being fired. Operate your truck in a safe, efficient, productive manner and not only will you have job security, but you'll also quickly rise to the top of the food chain. Your longevity at this job is on you. Trust me, they don't want to fire you.

I began my TNT phase in the first week of January, and was done by late February. Training during the winter wasn't part of my thought process at the time, but I'm glad it worked out that way. I got the benefit of my trainer's guidance through the snow and ice. Going solo has enough of a learning curve as it is without throwing that into the mix.

So yeah you've made an excellent choice, and can't go wrong with Prime. There are many of us Primates here to help you along the way.

Umm... I'd keep the whole Rams fan thing on the down low though. You don't want that getting around. Go Jags!

Hey Rams4Life, you've obviously been getting some bogus information from your trucking research. We understand the dilemma. It's absolutely horrific how much outright blasphemy is on the internet about trucking, and it all comes from the people who couldn't make the cut. The trucking failures seem to have the most time on their hands to continuously produce venom and lies about the industry that we thoroughly enjoy.

Look, none of these companies who are willing to invest their time and treasure to train new drivers are the least bit interested in firing them at the last minute just so they can collect the training fees. They need drivers far more than they need cash. They do what they do in the hope that they can find a few professionals who can be contributing members on their team. If you even show a little bit of ability to succeed at this job, they will work with you and help you get up to speed.

Don't believe all the nonsense. You can find good reliable information right here. Anytime you are feeling concerned about something, we will be more than happy to help you get a better understanding of what we call "Trucking Truth."

Umm... I'd keep the whole Rams fan thing on the down low though. You don't want that getting around. Go Jags!

I would keep the whole Jags thing on the down low. TITAN UP!!!!!!!!!

Wow, thanks everyone for the replies. This has really helped me with some of my fears.

Thanks big Scott for the link to Bretts' book. How long ago was that written? The pay scale seems a bit low.

The amount of info, good and bad, that's out there on trucking is incredible. Overwhelming to be honest.

Well, I'm just going to keep studying the High Road Training and hopefully get my permit by November.