Trying To Decide On Trucking As A Career - Take The Blue Pill Or The Red Pill

I made a list of cons and pros about trucking. I'm apprehensive about it!

Cons:

Will have to develop relationships with people including dispatchers (i'm NOT a people person...)
Will have to stop off and eat inside, no drive-throughs
Will or might have to travel to big cities like new york
Mountains. Steep hills.
Getting lost even in a small city, on roads that don't allow trucks
Finding somewhere to park
My hearing is fairly poor so those cbs and dispatchers wont come through like talking on a phone or in a quiet room
Split second decisions
Getting stuck in traffic

Pros:

Get to see the states!
Get to be alone!
Air conditioning!
Comfy room in a big vehicle!
Able to work on my animations, programming and music!
Freedom without bossman looking over shoulder!
Climate controlled instead of working in some hot factory or as a janitor!
Not much pain on the body but maybe later such as the knees, back, sitting for a long time, etc.!
Air conditioning!

Am I being realistic or just making excuses? I know that I'm the only one who will decide to go to trucking school, and that some peoples' cons would be my pros and my cons would be their pros.

Any advice will suffice!

Hi Ben,

I too, have been having the same apprehensions about this driving career. As I mull over my own pro's and con's list, I sometimes get butterflies in my stomach about the con's. But I'm pressing on, as I have come too far to quit now. I'm just gonna suck it up and go for it. As my Dad used to tell me, "You can do anything, you just have to figure out how."

I have spent the past seven years as a retail manager and have begun to realize that I really don't like it! I finally burned out from all the angry/difficult people I dealt with constantly. So after a little research on driving schools-and with my wifes approval- I enrolled in CDL school and just up and quit my job. Truck driving can't be worse-right?

I was pretty excited through school and was positive I would land a GREAT local driving job. I'm smart (got a 96% overall grade from the driving school) and I've got some background with trucks as I was a warehouse manager in a previous life and backed trailers in and out of docks and signed loads in and out all day. So finding a local driving job where I'm home every night will be a breeze.

After applying to about 15 local companies and no phone calls, I started to call around and find that because I have no driving experience, local jobs are out of the question. So now I'm looking at regional , and the wife's not so happy now. After applying to some great southeastern companies that offer really good pay and home every weekend- still no job offers. A few phone calls later and I find an old accident on my driving record is disqualifying me. Now what? Back to school to talk to the placement office. These wonderful gals dove in and found some companies that would accept my driving record and I had some job offers.

So now my con's come to life as this Florida boy will now be driving all 48, learning to drive in the mountains and snow and will be out 3-4 weeks at a time from a now not-so-happy wife. That's not exactly what I signed up for. But, I look at it as a means to an end. I'll get some very valuable driving experience that will qualify me to come back and go local. So I'm gritting my teeth through the next year of con's to get to my pro's.

Take care.

David

Ben, there's a lot of merit to your list but you would have to write a book to explain the pros and cons of life as a truck driver. So I did. You can read it free online or buy a copy from Amazon and it's called Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Trucking. Part of it talks about the practical side of getting started in the industry like how to choose a school and how to pick a company to work for. Part of it is just filled with stories from my years on the road and insights into the personal side of life in this industry.

We also have our Truck Driver's Career Guide which covers both the practical side of getting started in trucking and the personal considerations.

I understand where every one is coming from but for me I just jumped in.. sink or swim kinda lol... if it works out great if not just like any other job I was looking before I found this one.... I don't regret anything so far

Thank you both.

I've read the book once, I'll probably read it again, and the blog posts help, too.

I'd like to mention something I didn't really touch on in my original post, is that my main concern is how social I'm (not). Watching Trucker Mike's videos (ride alongs, episode 1, but here's episode 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRzq9Po3SL4) kind of confirmed what I already knew - well, he had to 'complain' a couple of times, get paperwork straightened out, etc.. I'm a passive person by nature and I don't know if I could get the courage up to go speak with someone about different things regarding loading and unloading. An old boss of mine, while doing construction work, told me that I wasn't assertive enough. I've been used to drive-thrus at McDonald's/Taco Bells/whatever for years. I couldn't tell you the last time I actually went inside of a McDonald's to order and eat.

Would I be in the wrong business? I'm guessing so, but I realize that everyone has to speak up at times, and deal with people no matter what the profession (I was in the computer/IT field for a couple of years and the people that are in that industry are....well...I better stop myself before I say something I'll regret.) and sometimes it's just unavoidable - but since I would see people at the docks and within the companies I load and unload with, maybe twice a month (once or never, maybe?), is that reason enough to forget getting my CDL since I'm so anti-social?

I'm not totally anti-social, and, like my current boss told me about a social situation a few months ago - "speaking to you as a friend and not as a boss, but if you don't face your fears and get around people, you'll never get anywhere in life."

Thank you both.

I've read the book once, I'll probably read it again, and the blog posts help, too.

I'd like to mention something I didn't really touch on in my original post, is that my main concern is how social I'm (not). Watching Trucker Mike's videos (ride alongs, episode 1, but here's episode 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRzq9Po3SL4) kind of confirmed what I already knew - well, he had to 'complain' a couple of times, get paperwork straightened out, etc.. I'm a passive person by nature and I don't know if I could get the courage up to go speak with someone about different things regarding loading and unloading. An old boss of mine, while doing construction work, told me that I wasn't assertive enough. I've been used to drive-thrus at McDonald's/Taco Bells/whatever for years. I couldn't tell you the last time I actually went inside of a McDonald's to order and eat.

Would I be in the wrong business? I'm guessing so, but I realize that everyone has to speak up at times, and deal with people no matter what the profession (I was in the computer/IT field for a couple of years and the people that are in that industry are....well...I better stop myself before I say something I'll regret.) and sometimes it's just unavoidable - but since I would see people at the docks and within the companies I load and unload with, maybe twice a month (once or never, maybe?), is that reason enough to forget getting my CDL since I'm so anti-social?

I'm not totally anti-social, and, like my current boss told me about a social situation a few months ago - "speaking to you as a friend and not as a boss, but if you don't face your fears and get around people, you'll never get anywhere in life."

Sorry Scott. O, I was in the middle of composing this message before I saw your reply.

Thank you both.

I've read the book once, I'll probably read it again, and the blog posts help, too.

I'd like to mention something I didn't really touch on in my original post, is that my main concern is how social I'm (not). Watching Trucker Mike's videos (ride alongs, episode 1, but here's episode 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRzq9Po3SL4) kind of confirmed what I already knew - well, he had to 'complain' a couple of times, get paperwork straightened out, etc.. I'm a passive person by nature and I don't know if I could get the courage up to go speak with someone about different things regarding loading and unloading. An old boss of mine, while doing construction work, told me that I wasn't assertive enough. I've been used to drive-thrus at McDonald's/Taco Bells/whatever for years. I couldn't tell you the last time I actually went inside of a McDonald's to order and eat.

Would I be in the wrong business? I'm guessing so, but I realize that everyone has to speak up at times, and deal with people no matter what the profession (I was in the computer/IT field for a couple of years and the people that are in that industry are....well...I better stop myself before I say something I'll regret.) and sometimes it's just unavoidable - but since I would see people at the docks and within the companies I load and unload with, maybe twice a month (once or never, maybe?), is that reason enough to forget getting my CDL since I'm so anti-social?

I'm not totally anti-social, and, like my current boss told me about a social situation a few months ago - "speaking to you as a friend and not as a boss, but if you don't face your fears and get around people, you'll never get anywhere in life."

Ben I think your over thinking this... you will have to talk to maybe two or three people a week from a shipper or receiver and mostly they ask you questions.. this is what I say. hi I'm with crst and I'm here for a pick up our dropping off.. and that's it for the most part... I think you would do just fine since alot of us truckers are alone for the most part..

Your boss is right.. im not much of a people person but in this job you do have to talk to a few new people but for the most part it's about work IE where do you want the trailer, what door, here to drop or pick up and so on but not enough to worry about...

Your boss is right.. im not much of a people person but in this job you do have to talk to a few new people but for the most part it's about work IE where do you want the trailer, what door, here to drop or pick up and so on but not enough to worry about...

Thank you Scott!

Your boss is right.. im not much of a people person but in this job you do have to talk to a few new people but for the most part it's about work IE where do you want the trailer, what door, here to drop or pick up and so on but not enough to worry about...

Thank you Scott!

the good out way the bad to a point... im not trying to talk you in to something but just letting you know how it is out here.. to a point