I think I have decided on a new career!!!!!!!!!!

[handi243]

Walk by faith not by sight we will pray something else comes along i know young guys who drive trucks i'm talking about 20's and they tell me that they are having back problems. Family comes first we all know that I have been out of work as of Dec 31 been looking real hard have a great family who gives me total support. I have put it in the Lords hands all of it. God bless put it in his hands.

[DalesCarpentry]

Since I have started this thread I have read their contract more closely!!!!!!!!!!! Per their contract they say as a rule of thumb for every week you spend on the road you can expect one day home a month. They also state you will be gone from home for two to three weeks at a time. During this time they expect me to sleep in the back of the truck. I am having a hard time coming to grips with this type of situation. I don't think I could take seeing my little girl ( GROWING VERY FAST ) a few days in a month. I really look forward to asking how her day went at school and how are you doing today. I really can't just throw that away. My daughter is going to be 12 years old in just a few days and I do really know for a fact that if I were not around for at least the next few years to keep her in line that she could easily go south in a moment. She is a very smart little girl but her mother gives into her all the time and if I am not here Lord knows what will take place. Needless to say I am rethinking this now. Dale

[OHHJIMMY]

Glad to see you're rethinking it. I think the truck driving thing would be a mistake for several reasons. For one, it would make your back problem worse, no doubt. You would never be able to make it because of this. From your posts, it seems to me that you like to talk to people. With your background in carpentry, a job at Lowe's or HD would be good. You would be home every night, which I think would be important to you. I know a guy in a similar situation as yours who went to work for HD, and most of his work involved selling to contractors. Might be worth checking into. The nurse thing don't sound bad, either.

[30-06man]

Dale the Nurse thing would be great. Guys that I used to work with at the plant are nurses now and they are all making over $1000 a week. They have been doing this for a little less than a year. They are mostly home health nurses which means you go to the patients houses and take care of them about a hour out of the day and make sure everything is OK but the only catch is you have to drive your own vehicle and you are assigned a area. They normally spend $100 in gas but that's because most of them still have their 4x4's and are doing this.

30-06 Man. I really don't see how. I know 2 guys who lost their CDL's for powered candy and BC Power aspirin because they looked like cocaine. Its stupid. I would think that the state police would test the substance and if I were them I would have demanded it. As far as my pain meds go I have not been off of them in sometime and will have to see if I can deal with the pain. I might be able to if I am not climbing 40' ladders and throwing heavy lumber and plywood all day long as I do now. Dale

They did check it. Still suspended their CDL's permanently at least for the BC power because he had no doctors note for it. I think the other one got his suspended for about 6 months.

[DalesCarpentry]

Dale the Nurse thing would be great. Guys that I used to work with at the plant are nurses now and they are all making over $1000 a week. They have been doing this for a little less than a year. They are mostly home health nurses which means you go to the patients houses and take care of them about a hour out of the day and make sure everything is OK but the only catch is you have to drive your own vehicle and you are assigned a area. They normally spend $100 in gas but that's because most of them still have their 4x4's and are doing this.

30-06 Man. I really don't see how. I know 2 guys who lost their CDL's for powered candy and BC Power aspirin because they looked like cocaine. Its stupid. I would think that the state police would test the substance and if I were them I would have demanded it. As far as my pain meds go I have not been off of them in sometime and will have to see if I can deal with the pain. I might be able to if I am not climbing 40' ladders and throwing heavy lumber and plywood all day long as I do now. Dale

They did check it. Still suspended their CDL's permanently at least for the BC power because he had no doctors note for it. I think the other one got his suspended for about 6 months.

I would say someone is pulling your leg. I think you are a stand up guy but your buddy is not telling you the whole truth. There is no way you need a doctors note for asprin. Dale

[30-06man]

Dale the Nurse thing would be great. Guys that I used to work with at the plant are nurses now and they are all making over $1000 a week. They have been doing this for a little less than a year. They are mostly home health nurses which means you go to the patients houses and take care of them about a hour out of the day and make sure everything is OK but the only catch is you have to drive your own vehicle and you are assigned a area. They normally spend $100 in gas but that's because most of them still have their 4x4's and are doing this.

30-06 Man. I really don't see how. I know 2 guys who lost their CDL's for powered candy and BC Power aspirin because they looked like cocaine. Its stupid. I would think that the state police would test the substance and if I were them I would have demanded it. As far as my pain meds go I have not been off of them in sometime and will have to see if I can deal with the pain. I might be able to if I am not climbing 40' ladders and throwing heavy lumber and plywood all day long as I do now. Dale

They did check it. Still suspended their CDL's permanently at least for the BC power because he had no doctors note for it. I think the other one got his suspended for about 6 months.

I would say someone is pulling your leg. I think you are a stand up guy but your buddy is not telling you the whole truth. There is no way you need a doctors note for asprin. Dale

Dale just ask the government. Not allowed, this is beat into my head every time I have to go re new my CDL's. Its just that simple you can take them outside of your truck but they are not to be inside of it without a doctors note explaining that you need them. Its in my manuals also, and in all of the tests you will have to take to get them. Just another form of how stupid, and how our government wants to ban things for no good reason.

[weasel]

Dale, I'm not so sure of the truck driving idea, but I do know getting out of the construction trade might help. It is a young mans' game, only took me 23 yrs to figure it out. Most of the trades anymore are being taken over by Hispanics. Nothing against them, I do admire their work ethic, but hard for most people to work alongside them and not be outworked!  Having a CDL is advantageous, you might qualify for some aid and do it thru a tech school. Then you could go to work for your DOT, getting lots of OT snowplowing. The OT makes up for the low starting wage and most states have guaranteed raises each year, 7% for us, so far anyway. That % adds up fast and we get a pension also and ins. Sure beats working for a living!

[Hairtrigger]

You know construction... how about taking that knowledge and either working for a material supply house or tool/equipment supply?

[greg916]

I have been in trucking over 30 years. Have never heard of anybody losing their license because they had BC powders on them. One of our drivers did have some excitement once because of some loose BC powders he had, it turned out ok though. You will not fail a urinalysis because of pescription medicines. You will need to provide the RX number. However you can not be dispatched while taking the medicine. To renew a CDL, you must provide a current DOT physical, easy enough to do, even if you are not currently employed as a driver.

Try to find a smaller company or maybe a technical school to get your CDL. The bigger companies make it easier, but they tend to keep you out 3 or 4 weeks at a time. Our regional drivers are home every weekend and usually 1 or 2 nights per week. Our west coast drivers are home about every 5 - 6 days. 100% no touch. You should have no problem making $1200 - $1500 per week.

Fuel is an issue, our fuel surcharge is currently 0.51 cents per mile.

 

[Graybeard]

Dale I'm not a trucker and never have been. I can't make decisions for you and wouldn't even if I could. But I would like to add a bit of insight here based on what I do know.

My neighbor across the highway from me is a trucker. He owns his own rig and does long haul trucking. I see his truck parked over there once or at most twice a month and seldom for more than a couple days at a time. I think you'll find that pretty much average if you do long haul loads as I've known a few other truckers and/or lived near them. They aren't home much and at the rate of pay you get you'll live in the back of that truck or need to be rich to pay motel bills.

If you can get a job with a local company hauling only short haul loads you can be home most nights but still not likely every night. I've known guys who did that as well. From what I understand the pay is less but at least they are home most nights. It is an option that still allows a person to make their living as a driver.

From my knowledge of these folks who have been neighbors or friends over the years and one who was my wife's uncle I can tell you that a truck driver job is not likely to be any easier on your back and problably even harder on it. For that reason alone I think it a poor choice for you.

I'd hate to be in your shoes right now I really would. But some things I believe you need to think on are that you have a wife and fairly young daughter and a job that allows you to be home at least most nights is what you really need if you want to hold the family together. I had one of those traveling jobs once long ago and gave it up for less pay to be home not on the road. Traveling fits some folks and doesn't fit others. It does NOT fit me.

My advice would be to forget the truck driving and find something else that is local and allows you to be home nights. With the back problems it also should be something that doesn't require a lot of lifting or pulling and straining. A nurse really does a lot of both and isn't generally speaking such an easy on the back job. But then there are nurses and then there are nurses and what job you have and where that job is makes a lot of difference. In a doctor's office the job is far easier than it is in a hospital for instance. It's a good paying job and one many men do well in.

If you have a gift for gab you might think on being a salesman say of cars or insurance or such. Much easier on the back for sure and generally allows you to be home at night. I really don't know what might or might not fit you best but I really doubt that driving a truck is a smart move.

If you are near enough to a large city driving a taxi might make more sense.

[30-06man]

Dale I'm not a trucker and never have been. I can't make decisions for you and wouldn't even if I could. But I would like to add a bit of insight here based on what I do know.

My neighbor across the highway from me is a trucker. He owns his own rig and does long haul trucking. I see his truck parked over there once or at most twice a month and seldom for more than a couple days at a time. I think you'll find that pretty much average if you do long haul loads as I've known a few other truckers and/or lived near them. They aren't home much and at the rate of pay you get you'll live in the back of that truck or need to be rich to pay motel bills.

If you can get a job with a local company hauling only short haul loads you can be home most nights but still not likely every night. I've known guys who did that as well. From what I understand the pay is less but at least they are home most nights. It is an option that still allows a person to make their living as a driver.

From my knowledge of these folks who have been neighbors or friends over the years and one who was my wife's uncle I can tell you that a truck driver job is not likely to be any easier on your back and problably even harder on it. For that reason alone I think it a poor choice for you.

I'd hate to be in your shoes right now I really would. But some things I believe you need to think on are that you have a wife and fairly young daughter and a job that allows you to be home at least most nights is what you really need if you want to hold the family together. I had one of those traveling jobs once long ago and gave it up for less pay to be home not on the road. Traveling fits some folks and doesn't fit others. It does NOT fit me.

My advice would be to forget the truck driving and find something else that is local and allows you to be home nights. With the back problems it also should be something that doesn't require a lot of lifting or pulling and straining. A nurse really does a lot of both and isn't generally speaking such an easy on the back job. But then there are nurses and then there are nurses and what job you have and where that job is makes a lot of difference. In a doctor's office the job is far easier than it is in a hospital for instance. It's a good paying job and one many men do well in.

If you have a gift for gab you might think on being a salesman say of cars or insurance or such. Much easier on the back for sure and generally allows you to be home at night. I really don't know what might or might not fit you best but I really doubt that driving a truck is a smart move.

If you are near enough to a large city driving a taxi might make more sense.

I have to agree. On the BC powers thing it was out west were it happened and they had no clue what BC power was but I know it wasn't in the labeled pack. Just in the white inner pack. He still can't get his CDL's back. If you take any Medication while your driving in your truck you must have the bottle and a doctors note but pain pills can't be taken inside a truck no matter what.

[Dee]

Well after 20 years of Law Enforcement, and hauling grain and cattle on the weekends, I decided I would drive a truck full time. After clanging around two or three companies, and learning the ropes, I worked my way up, and bought 4 trucks (all but the first one new),paid for a home, and some extra land in 7 years. All of this was accomplished in under 12 years. I located a dedicated run, and was home every other night, and EVERY weekend.
Now, after selling a successful trucking business and investing in real estate, and watching the bottom drop out of the housing market, I am once again in a truck (not my own this time). In this truck, I am now paying for a home that I do not need, making my bills, and and once again home about every other night.
It is not near as rough as construction, which I am very familiar with, as I done all of my own remodeling on the houses I bought plus contract remodeling.
As for my age? I am 58. My health? I have had both knees operated on so many times, there is nothing left to do but replace them. My nose has been cut in half (across and between the eyes), and I don't get the air thru it like it should. Both shoulders have had the rotator cuffs torn, my right elbow has been broken twice, my right forearm three times, my right ankle has three floater bones that have been broken so many times they are permanently broken, both sides of my jaw have a pop in the joints and have been broken, and I have arthritis in both knees, my right hip, both hands, oh yeah, I forgot all the fingers on my left hand have been broken at one time or another, but back to the arthritis, which I also have in my back and neck. I don't remember how many ribs have been broken, and can't even guess how many stitches. Before all the bird shot was removed my back made a very interesting x-ray.

Dale you are not going to start at the top in the trucking industry, but you CAN make a damn good living at it, AND have a LIFE also, IF YOU PAY ATTENTION. I have proved it TWICE. The industry is changing to better fit the needs of the driver, and you just have to look. You cannot expect someone to train you for nothing, so YOU must be willing to sacrifice to gain in the end.
 Also, my AGE, and my list of PAST INJURIES, and PRESENT CONDITIONS are I believe, comparable to yours. The key is not quiting. If when I was receiving all those injuries during my previous career, I had laid down and quit, I would be DEAD. A tactical officer takes a beating, but I, as a former one, am proof that if you try, you can take a licking and keep on ticking. It's all a state of mind.  Good luck.

[DalesCarpentry]

Dee. I am still looking around for my best deal. I really don't like the idea of being gone from home for three weeks at a time and then comming home for just 3 or 4 days. What I do have going for me is I have a clean driving record. As far as my pain meds go I have quit taking them the past couple days to see how I can function with out them. The best I can explain the way my back feels without them is it feels like a constant toothache. I am not working right now so I would have to say if I had to do a lot of lifting and carrying I am not sure I could do it very long. Boy with your injuries you sound like you were working as a dare devil instead of law enforcement. Dale

[Dee]

Sometimes daredevil and tactical seemed the same Dale.
There are lots of trucking jobs out there with NO TOUCH freight, it is just a matter of asking the company. Many companies are seeing the wisdom in going regional, and the drivers are home EVERY night, but this in many areas and cases is still in the development stages.
I know what ya mean about the constant pain, the last time I had knee surgery, the doctor offered to sign me for disability, and I declined. He told me that he knew I had to be in constant pain as the inside of both knees looked like they were packed with angel hair. I laughed and told him they only hurt when I was awake, and I don't take any pain medication at all, other than something like Aleve, when it occasionally gets so bad even I can't stand it. My method of pain control is to try and ignore it. It has slowed me down a bunch, but I have always been pretty high drive by nature.
At my age, I look at it as simply decay of the body, as we all break down naturally over time, and accept it. Some faster than others, and some was and is self induced.
I don't believe I have near the back problems you have, mine is one of mobility and flexibility all over my body, which is inhibited by pain when I try something that is simply not possible any more. I simply fight the urge to quit. I have given up hard kicking rifles and hand guns, and gone back to the basics of hunting and fishing, along with the simpler life in entertainment outdoors. In other words, I have become a pretty boring person. I tell everyone that asks if I miss the action, that I don't care what anyone does anymore, as long as they don't do it in my yard without my permission. They get a kick out of that, and don't suspect I actually feel that way. God and family is all that really counts. At this stage, the government, and political correctness can kiss my southern _______.  I have seen every thing I want to see, in the realm of new and improved.

[Don Fischer]

Dee, you are the exception, not the rule.

Try to find a smaller company or maybe a technical school to get your CDL. The bigger companies make it easier, but they tend to keep you out 3 or 4 weeks at a time. Our regional drivers are home every weekend and usually 1 or 2 nights per week. Our west coast drivers are home about every 5 - 6 days. 100% no touch. You should have no problem making $1200 - $1500 per week.

Fuel is an issue, our fuel surcharge is currently 0.51 cents per mile.

 

What company is it that he can make $1200 to $1500 per week? At .40 cpm he'd have to do between 3000 and 3750 miles per week. 3000 is doable if he is kept moving and driving time maximized. 3750 is not legally doable. Assuming he drove 10 hrs every day, he won't, and he avaraged 53 mph, he won't, in 7 days he could do just over 3700 miles. He can't legally drive 70 hrs in 8 days. Do you have 24 hr dispatch? If you don't that drops him to 60 hrs 7 days doesn't it? On top of that, .40 cpm I've never seen as an entry level wage, that's way high. Your west coast drivers are home every 5-6 days? Where are you out of? This post was much longer but I deleted most of it. Getting myself upset because after 30yrs in the indusrty as a driver, I know what the truth is and new people coming in don't get it!

$1500 per week at .40cpm times 52 weeks is $78K per year devided by .40cpm is 195,000 mi per year! Thats a lot more than can be legally logged solo. What's the average entry rate now, about .35 and less as a trainee? If your a trainee do you really get an experienced trainer of some new guy that made it to 6 mos? The trainer/trainee relationship is a win for the company. They have a team on the road and the trainee is cheap labor. Many companies in a effort to make the pay per mile look better are giving you a base cents per mi plus per-diem that brings up the pay scale. You don't have to claim the per-diem your paid but it probably won't cover your expenses and you can't claim your own road expenses on your taxes. No matter what the per diem pay is, you don't get it if the truck isn't moving. That means if your laid over some where two days, it's on you and not tax deductable. You don't get per-diem while your taking your 32 hr re-start either if your on the road when that hits.

[Dee]

Don I don't know about me being the exception not the rule, BUT I do KNOW that if one applies himself, he can make a good living trucking. There are thousands DOING IT. If you couldn't make a living at it, there would be none on the road today. I am offering Dale encouragement not discouragement. He will not start at the top. No one does, REGARDLESS of profession. But one has to START. Are you speaking from experience or opinion?

[greg916]

Why not 5-6 days? it is only 48 - 52 hours to the west coast. We only run teams to the west coast, no solo. start at .39 top at .43, plus accessorials. One of the best runs we have for solo in my opinion is SC to OH. Driver is home Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights.  The most desired lane when bid time comes is NC to IN. 2 drivers get this, they alternate 2 runs one week, three runs the next.

[Sourdough]

Dale:  My Dad was a trucker from the time I was 2, he was 22, till he retired at the age of 70.  During the time I was growing up, I seldom saw him.  He would be home for two or three days, sleeping most of it, then gone again.  He left me and my four little brothers home with a lazy, overbearing, and abusive mother.  We did not see him much as we grew up.  So for your kids sake don't become a Driver.  Many of the other boys that I knew growing up, kids of truckers, did not become good role models as fathers, because they themselves did not have a good role model as they grew up.  Our best friends were other trucker families, and I vividly remember three of the girls in other families committed suicide as a teen.  I feel this was due to the fact that the mother was trying to be both mother and father, and not doing either one good.  Of the five of us, two left home as soon as we graduated high school.  Two ran away in their mid teens, never to return till they were in their 30s.  One stayed home with Mom till he was in his late 20s, till Dad kicked his lazy carcase out.  Two of the boys became truckers themselves.  Both have sever back problems, and are now disabled due to their back problems and unable to work.  Both are obese, diabetic, and drowning in self hatred.  Both also changed jobs like changing shirts and never got any retirement benefits.  Same thing with my dad, no retirement, just Social Security, period.  He never joined a union either.

One of the things that really burns my mother up is the fact that my monthly Air Force retirement, that I started receiving when I was in my early 40s, was almost equal (about 80%) to what my father was making at that time driving.   

[JonD.]

Dale I can't tell you anything about the trucking industry, but I know where your coming from, things are so slow at my job we are wondering if we are going to have a job much longer. I can't do anything but pray for you, and I sure will do that. 

[Don Fischer]

Why not 5-6 days? it is only 48 - 52 hours to the west coast. We only run teams to the west coast, no solo. start at .39 top at .43, plus accessorials. One of the best runs we have for solo in my opinion is SC to OH. Driver is home Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights.  The most desired lane when bid time comes is NC to IN. 2 drivers get this, they alternate 2 runs one week, three runs the next.

I'm not sure where you are on the east coast but the 48 to 52 hr coast to coast run is more talk than fact. Yes it has been done but the truck doing it speed's and run's 24 hrs a day stopping only long enought for fuel and fast food at the trk stop. NYC to San francisco is a bit over 2900 mi. 2900 devided by 53mph, which he won't do without speeding is almost 55 driving hrs!! That does not allow for any time to even stop for fuel! I did Easton,Md to Anahiem, Cal in just under 48hrs one time. The company I was with guarenteed 24 hr delivery any where in the country except Miami, Fla out of Holcum, Kan. I just wanted to see if it could be done. The truck I was driving would run 115 mph. I didn't sleep the whole way and ate fast food and pocket rockets when I stopped for fuel, no showers!

When I was with Ralinda Corp, leased to Time DC SCD, we ran team to haul drugs, Nutley, N.J. to Oakland, Cal. We could make a round a week but it was hard running. Leave Nutley by noon on Fri and arrive in Oakland midnight sunday. Wait till Monday morning to unload then reload and back in the city by thurs afternoon if everything went right. That is hard running even for a team. Your looking at about 23,000 miles per month.

How much experience is required to start at .39? And what is the split? If one is at .39 and the other at .43 you pay the truck .41cpm? Thats half of each. In that mileage rate are you figuring in per diem? If so, you just took away a write off from the driver. More money up front and no taxes on it but a driver can do better paying his own per diem. He just has to wait till taxes come back.

Dee, I made a very good living at trucking. But what I gave up for it wasn't worth it. I missed my son's birthday till his 17th. Was never home on holidays either. Didn't see my step son grow up and miss all birthdays and high school graduation. Sourdough told of his brothers and their medical problems from driving. I wouldn't call myself obease but am over weight. I have a bad back and diabetes and clinical depression that is controlled with drugs. I'm retired on disability. My posts are not about weather you can make a living at it or not but rather what you have to give up to do it and the truth about what the job really is. 30yrs and I've see everything in the U.S. from Miami to Prudoe Bay. from Gloster, Mass to Chula Vista, Cal. Been there, done that!

When telling us that a lot of people make a good living at it please also include turnover rates and an explanation of why they are so high. Why depression, obesity, diabetes and bad backs are so prevalent in the industry. There's reasons for all of it and no it doesn't happen to all truck drivers, just the majority.

[Dee]

Depression? Heck Don, depression is in EVERY work place, and EVERY PROFESSION. Obesity is from eating JUNK FOOD, AND NEVER EXERCISING, AND IS IN EVERY WORK PLACE AND PROFESSION. Diabetes IS IN EVERY WORK PLACE AND EVERY PROFESSION?  You are talking like this is the ONLY PROFESSION that has these problems. Bad back? Good Lord Don, Dale is looking into trucking BECAUSE HE HAS A BAD BACK, that he injured in ANOTHER PROFESSION.
As far as being away from home, that's a gimme. Of course your away from home, on certain types of runs.
Don your team running NIGHTMARE STORIES are nothing new to me. I owned four trucks and I and my wife ran TEAMS OURSELVES. We did the coast to coast HOT RUNS, BUT! WE DID IT BY "CHOICE" JUST LIKE YOU DID. No one put a gun to your head, and made you do it.
I am not over weight by more than 10 lbs at 6'3" in height, I don't have diabetes, I don't have back problems and I DON'T EAT JUNK FOOD. It would seem to me many of your problems are not from trucking, but from POOR CHOICES, and BAD HABITS.
Given you NIGHTMARE scenario, perhaps Dale should just sit down and not do anything. That's better than paying his bills, and having money in the bank.
As far as your description of a typical truck driver, your eating habits are certainly TYPICAL of many, but it was YOUR CHOICE TO EAT THAT CRAP, as it is many others.
That story about your 115 mph truck. NOW THAT'S A TYPICAL TRUCKER STORY. You should however, started it with; You ain't gonna believe this s#@T but! I bought big CAT powered 379 Pete's with 18 speeds, and I don't to this day know how fast they would run, because "ANYONE" who will run a SEMI TRACTOR TRAILER RIG, loaded or unloaded on the highway at those speeds, with innocent folks out there is a damn fool, and should be JAILED and NEVER ALLOWED IN A TRUCK AGAIN! NO EXCEPTIONS!
If I am NON-TYPICAL or the EXCEPTION TO THE RULE as you say, it is simply because I made better choices. And that is what life is about anyway isn't it Don? Making the right choices?

Dale, the jobs in trucking are out there, some good, and some not so good. As I said before, you aren't gonna start at the top, but Don's trucking horror stories ARE TYPICAL of many truckers and ex truckers. It is all about choices. Good luck.

[williamlayton]

If my experience running the freeways in Montana, Wyoming and Nebraska are any where normal, you must drive 80 or 85 too keep out of the way.
Going west on IH 10 out of San Antonio a way the Speed limit is 80 mph and that is what they drive.
I do know that you would not lie and your experiences are truthful, but, I do think those are exceptions--not the rule.
I coffee daily with a retired driver of 32 years and his stories do not confirm that your experience is commonplace. Now, he has told of good jobs that were not as hard as others but neither was the pay and he is constantly talking of the poor equipment he was forced too drive when it was a company truck.
I like too hear his stories of hauling steel in the winter, and they are entertaining, but I would not choose too do it.
If Dale can find the right situation that is one thing, a bad situation is another.
Blessings

[Graybeard]

I've known a lot of truckers as neighbors and family (by marriage) and can say from what I've learned from them and not from my personal experience that there are a lot of different types of trucking jobs and situations you can get into.

What is typical if there is such a thing I have no clue. But long haul trucking is a horrible way to make a living for a family man from what I've seen. Now if you're married and really prefer to be away from that gal you married and if you think the kids are a real PITA then heck it might be an ideal choice as it would keep you away from them. 

But there are local driving jobs and long distance jobs and no doubt jobs that are a combination of the two. I'm betting Dee is right that there are some really good jobs available but also know from talking with those drivers I know that not all are good jobs and not all are easy jobs. If one could be assured of lining up a really good one and keeping it I think it might not be such a bad occupation if it actually suits a person.

Me I'd not make it ten minutes as a trucker. Heck I can't even back up my pickup the length of an 18 wheeler trailer without running over or into something. Folks who can amaze me but I can't so driving a truck would not be a job I could ever have done.

I feel for those of you young enough to still be having to work for a living and sure am glad my days of that are over. I will say that in my working career I don't recall ever holding a job for very long that I can actually say I liked. Maybe it was just my luck or my poor choices or maybe it's the way of life for most but I stuck it out and managed to find an employer (US Government) that allowed early retirement and I took advantage of that option and got out when I was 50 well OK 50-1/2 if ya wanna get real technical. I'm now a week away from being 63 so I've been retired quite a good long while and have to admit this retirement stuff suits me well. I think it's the first job I ever had I really was well suited for. 

[DalesCarpentry]

GB. What type of job did you retire from if I may ask? Dale

[Graybeard]

I worked Federal Civil Service at the local Army Depot. My last job was Division Chief of Supply Quality Control Division on the Army side of the house. Then when Defense Logistics Agency DLA took over all of the supply missions at all the military service depots I was transferred to DLA in the same job but with a slightly different name of just Quality Assurance Division Chief.

Not too terribly long after DLA took over they decided that quality wasn't very important really so they did away with the organization and I got tossed into a new job that never really developed before I retired. My last six months there I actually had no job. I had no one who came checking on me or who gave me any tasks. I was basically just kinda ignored like I wasn't there really except the pay check kept on coming regularly. Otherwise I might not have known I was employed. I got in a lot of time reading magazines, playing games on my government issued computer and such things as that plus a bit of nap time from time to time. Real tough job dontcha know.

Even that got old however so when they offered me an early retirement I took it and came home. That was in September of '95. Less than two years later we started GBO and now I have this site to keep me busy when I have nothing else to do. 

[Don Fischer]

Hey Dale,

Go find yourself a truck and let us know what you think in six months. Good luck. Dee, he's 41 yrs old and has a family. The things that I'm plagued with are pretty common place in the industry also. Who were you leased to?

[beemanbeme]

Oh well, he's already taking drugs to control the pain in his back. A few more to keep him awake on the road and while he's at home ain't gonna hurt. Will it? 

[30-30man]

Hey Dale, here's one that you may not have thought of.  How about teaching?  You could teach carpentry to young people at a career center or two year tech school.  The benefits are great and starting teacher pay in my area is around $40k  You get most fed holidays off, two weeks at Christmas and the entire summer off where you could earn additional income with small jobs. You could substitute until the right position came along.  Subs in my area get $75-125 day.  Just a thought.

[DalesCarpentry]

You know that is an option. I have saw adds in the paper for a teaching position at ITT Tech. I am really considering that. Just don't know if I am the teaching kind. Dale

[Don Fischer]

Hey Dale, here's one that you may not have thought of.  How about teaching?  You could teach carpentry to young people at a career center or two year tech school.  The benefits are great and starting teacher pay in my area is around $40k  You get most fed holidays off, two weeks at Christmas and the entire summer off where you could earn additional income with small jobs. You could substitute until the right position came along.  Subs in my area get $75-125 day.  Just a thought.

That is a great idea. The last 8 yrs I drove I trained new drivers. I taugh them to do basics and basics only. I wrote a manual that I never did anything with but had all my trainees read it. There is no greater satification in the world than teaching and seeing it pay off. I get calls now and then from students from years ago, its really special. On rare occassions I still get a call wanting to know what to do in some situtation. Its great to know that you've made that kind of impact on someones life.