Seeking A New Career In Trucking Can You Really Make Good Money Driving Over The Road Or Is This A Myth?
Need CDL school and training.
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Tags: Career, Driving, Good, Make, Money, Over, Really, Road, Seeking, Trucking
Trucking Jobs | cdlbjobs January 2, 2010
9 Comments to “Seeking A New Career In Trucking Can You Really Make Good Money Driving Over The Road Or Is This A Myth?”
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By TheBlack, January 2, 2010 @ 11:53 pm
Yes, you can earn a decent income. But it is the lifestyle which normally turn people off. OTR is the bigger income maker. You have to be the type who can cope without family or friends for weeks or months at a time. If you mind sleeping at hotels, motels or even in vehicle this may not be for you. 9 years ago my sister paid about 6000 for the training and then quit after 10 months on the road. She had a thing about wanting to be clean, and could not always get to showers when she wanted to. I’d suggest looking at what your comfort level is with the above situations before jumping in to trucking for a living.
By fortynin, January 3, 2010 @ 4:16 am
The money you will make will depend on how many miles you drive. Most trucking companies pay by the mile so it will depend on how many miles you drive every day. Like some of the others have already said, if you don’t mind being away from your family, friends, being gone for months at a time then you can make pretty decent money. You will need to like to live inside a truck for long periods at a time to. You will also have to put up with bad food at different places and lot lizzards everywhere trying to get your money from you. It can get very boring at times just seeing the white lines down the road. Being the new man, you will probably have to be a team driver meaning there will be you and another driver in the truck all the time. You will have to live inside a truck with another person. Remember the truck cab isn’t very big either. You will get the runs that no one else likes to run for a long time. Your best bet is to find an old trucker that has been driving for a while and ask him or her as many questions as you can come up with. You could then ask a newer driver and see what he/she has to say, then you can kinda decide for yourself if this is something you would want to do. If you are thinking this is a pud job and you can make big money just setting and driving, you might find it not to be just that way. There are a lot of bad drivers out there driving cars and trucks that you have to watch all the time in order for you not to get involved in an accident. They will cut you off, pull out in front of you and not thinking of how long it takes to stop one of the big rigs. Do your homework before you get to involved in this because driving a truck is not for everyone by any means.
By JetDoc, January 3, 2010 @ 7:43 am
If you are willing to work 12-14 hours per day, live in a truck 24/7 and not see your family and friends for a month at a time, then yes… You can earn a good living driving a truck, but it won’t be much of a life.
Local and regional hauls offer more home time and a (somewhat) better lifestyle, but most of these jobs want you to have a year or two of long-haul experience first.
By Texas Underdog, January 3, 2010 @ 11:20 am
Yes, you can make good money OTR (over the road) driving. (key word being CAN – not will)
HOWEVER, you will spend a lot there also for things like:
food (when you get tired of eating ham sandwiches),
lodging (when you have time to lay over somewhere and are tired of sleeping in the truck),
phone calls – especially roaming charges – (when you want to call home, or your next stop),
souvenirs from places you stop, (at least I did),
and if you own your own truck, then there are LOTS of expenses with that.
etc, etc, etc.
And there isn’t a guarantee. Some weeks you won’t make crap, because your truck will be broke down, or you will be stuck in a snow storm, or you are stuck in traffic (especially around NYC), or your dispatcher is mad at you, and on, and on.
Some people love it, and some hate it. I loved it and hated it at the same time.
======================================…
By KAM, January 3, 2010 @ 2:31 pm
yes you can,i have been driving over the road since 1986,and have had my own since 1991,and after all expenses.i clear just over $6,000.00 a month,but you have to like being away from home for 2-3 weeks at a time and only home maybe 2 days and back at it again,x-military make great truck drivers because we are use to living on our own,being able to survive in the woods and not think about it too much truck driving is much the same .
By Joe, January 3, 2010 @ 9:12 pm
Over the road is a joke. For one you’ll be gone all ******* week. You’ll have to have 50 different fuel stickers. You’ll have to have a very good expensive truck. You can buy a $30,000 truck and trailer and haul grain and make more money. You won’t be deadheading and you will be home every ******* night. I wouldn’t drive over the road for $250,000
By zaphodsc, January 3, 2010 @ 10:47 pm
It is not the easiest lifestyle in the world but if you can avoid the rampant drug abuse and prostitutes than you could make a decent living sure.
Why not find some OTR drivers in your area and offer to buy them lunch in order to pick their brains (come up with 10-20 questions to ask and see if you like the answers.)
By Tiny Dan, January 4, 2010 @ 2:01 am
if you work hard you can , some of those trucks look like a million bucks , money comes from somewhere.
my main concern would be falling asleep while i was driving. there are pros and cons to everything
By Sari, January 4, 2010 @ 4:41 am
the potential is there If you are good at it.