Need Help Starting A Trucking Career.

Ok guys and gals I need some help. I am a 25 year old guy and am in between careers at the moment. I was previously a deputy sheriff in my county here in southeastern Kentucky and since I have a newborn girl & 3 year old boy I decided to try something making more money ( than $14.00/hr ) and something safer so my kids will have their daddy around through out their lives. Im assuming I will have to be gone from home a lot for the first few years since I'm just starting out but I'm trying to determine the best company to start out with. I only have my class a cdl permit with doubles/triples endorsement. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I am a little confused, not really but, you choose to leave a low paying job, understandable, and give a reason like you want to be around through out their lives...... Can only assume you mean due to the volatile nature of being a policeman? Psst... Just a little secret.... More truck drivers die per year than cops do in 10 years.

Or do you mean your work schedule as a cop? You would be gone from home ALOT more as a truck driver and it's a guarantee you WILL miss some very important days in your kids lives.

Let's say you were lucky enough to land a LTL driving job right out of school. Your schedule would look ALOT like this..... Go to work and drive and do your shift.... You come home and since you have to be back to work in 10 hours you eat and shower and go to bed. rinse and repeat everyday for the next 20 to 30 years. True your home more with that type of job. Most times every night but your so tired and must get your rest that you don't have time for the family.

Basically you really need to understand what your getting into when thinking about driving a truck. True you make better money but the trade off is you sacrifice your social life and family time. Essentially you become a stranger in your house cause when you are home, even if everyday, you have to get to sleep so you can go back to work and do it again the next day.

Trucking is extremely stressful for families and especially so when young kids are involved. The stuff you do now, your wife will be stuck doing cause you will not be around to help.

Sorry I could not be more positive with this post but I have a feeling your kids are a important part of your life and trucking will remove you from the vast majority of their lives. Is the money you can earn in trucking worth the sacrifice? Only you can decide that part

Now there are companies that get you home more but since drivers are paid by the miles they turn more hometime equals less money. You could get lucky and land a LTL driving jobs right out of school but unless you live close to a terminal those can be a bit tougher to get ahold of.

Welcome aboard Kenton!

I agree completely with Guyjax. I can understand wanting to make better money but there's no way that moving from being a Sheriff to a truck driver is a step up for a young guy with a family. Trucking is certainly not safer. And even though you'll make a little more out of the gate there isn't much room to move up the ladder as a trucker.

If you definitely want to get out of being a Sheriff I would consider learning a trade that not only can make solid money but affords you opportunities in the future. Even something like the building trades (electrician, plumber, etc) can pay decent and will give you an opportunity to make extra money doing work on the side, will keep you home every night, and you can own your own business someday. Trucking isn't going to give you that kind of opportunity.

I don't know much about law enforcement careers so I don't know what the potential is to move up the ladder. But I can't see going from being a Sheriff to being a truck driver for a young man with a family. That doesn't seem like a good career move long term.

I understand your guys point of view but im assuming as a truck driver you don't have to fight multiple drunk/methed out/ pillhead on a daily basis. My point being that it was not worth the money to see children being beat half to death by lowlifes or killed in car accidents... Its just not worth the money for the stress and heartachen of all the crap cops have to see and do everyday. My wife is wanting to leave her 8.00 job and go back to cutting hair in her spare time... To pretty much be a house wife while keeping our kids out of daycares. I am just curious if i start trucking if my wife and kids just couldnt come with me on occasion. We really dont have alot of bills each month, around $1600-1800. Im just confused about what to do.

Im kindof in the same boat Kenton I dont make enough money and want to enter the trucking industry. And Ive thought alot about the sacrifices me and my wife will have to make. It wont be as difficult as your situation since you have children. My wife plans on going over the road with me after i get my first 6 months in the Co Im planning on signing with will let me choose to stay as a team or give me keys to my own truck. Since we dont have kids yet we plan on putting all our things in storage since we only have an apartment and she will go with me on the road so we wont have rent and utilities etc. And just come home occasionally and stay with a relative a couple days or a friend. That way we will be saving as much money as possible. Although she will have to quit her job to go over the road with me we will still save alot hopefully. Ive heard the first year is the toughest and me and my wife are trying to prepare ourselves for it. After the 1st or 2nd year we plan on getting a place again and finding me a local LTL job as well. My home town has a ton of LTL companies so with regards to what guyjax said it should be a little easier since Ill be living close to a terminal.

I understand your guys point of view but im assuming as a truck driver you don't have to fight multiple drunk/methed out/ pillhead on a daily basis. My point being that it was not worth the money to see children being beat half to death by lowlifes or killed in car accidents... Its just not worth the money for the stress and heartachen of all the crap cops have to see and do everyday. My wife is wanting to leave her 8.00 job and go back to cutting hair in her spare time... To pretty much be a house wife while keeping our kids out of daycares. I am just curious if i start trucking if my wife and kids just couldnt come with me on occasion. We really dont have alot of bills each month, around $1600-1800. Im just confused about what to do.

Oh....that's totally different. You said you were looking for a better paycheck but you didn't say you felt that way about the job. Well from that perspective getting into trucking might be a step up, especially if you can land a local job where you're home every night. Getting started in trucking is pretty quick and easy. I mean, in a few weeks from now you can have your CDL and be on the road with a trainer at your first company if you wanted to. And of course you can always walk away from trucking at anytime if you wanted to move onto something else.

So if the job conditions are such that you want to make a move in a hurry then trucking would be a good place to look. But personally I see it as more of a stepping stone to better things than a life-long career for someone with a family at your age. I did it for 15 years and loved it but I was never married and don't have any children so it's completely different. But that's what trucking was for me - a stepping stone for a lot of different things. I took a break from trucking one time and went to school for Harley mechanics & welding. I also learned a lot of computer programming while I was on the road.

So going into trucking is certainly something you can consider and it would be a quick move if you were looking to make one. Just keep in mind it may not be the best long term solution for you in your situation. But hey, it doesn't have to be.

Now that all that has been said if you really want to pursue trucking you are in the right place. We can help you along the way and keep you pointed in the right direction.

In your alls opinion who would be the best company to start out with? Swift has contacted me about starting in their school. Idk who a good company would be