Is truck driving viable?

[Avocado]

As you guys know, I was awarded a free bachelors program for a good high school GPA and good test scores. I'm training to be a teacher, but like all of my long-term goals, I lost interest in pursuing teaching after just a short amount of time (though I still intend to finish what is essentially a free degree). Truck driving sounds nice, now, since there is an opportunity to avoid contact with people, avoid multitasking, avoid fine detail work, avoid a lot of heavy lifting, while still getting to travel a lot and be in a big truck, pull home a decent paycheck, and...truck driving sounds more like a therapy than a job to me if that makes sense. Maybe there is some aspect I'm not thinking of, but it seems like a nice balance between variety and staying in my comfort zone. Of course, I need a few more certifications to do that, and there is a fear in the back of my mind the whole thing might be taken over by robots, but everything has a drawback.

Am I missing anything?

 

[S16M4]

It's really not bad except when you get routed through to city streets, but the majority of my pick-ups and drop-offs were outside city centers in industrial parks. The DOT will be on your back, so keeping an accurate logbook is important. Owner operators will keep a fake logbook with doctored times, but it's really not worth it if you're a company driver. If you get into an accident, it doesn't matter who is right or wrong. What matters is: Was it preventable or non-preventable? Insurance companies will do everything in their power to call it a preventable. Some iffy moments like having to spend a night in the hood or driving the mountain roads while there's black ice, being stuck in Florida during August, and driving through caves. When you talk on the radio, you develop a southern good ol boy way of speaking, because well... I dunno. It was a good experience, and if you don't have a family its a great way to see the country. I've been to every major city except Rochester, NY and New Orleans.

 

[Cellmold]

I don't know about heavy lifting, depends on where you get sent to and who you are sub-contracted by. I'm assuming you mean a HGV driver or even a smaller vehicle equivalent?

Or do you mean like a van? Some places will make you hand-ball goods which can be a big pain in the neck, literally.

 

[Avocado]

It's really not bad except when you get routed through to city streets, but the majority of my pick-ups and drop-offs were outside city centers in industrial parks. The DOT will be on your back, so keeping an accurate logbook is important. Owner operators will keep a fake logbook with doctored times, but it's really not worth it if you're a company driver. If you get into an accident, it doesn't matter who is right or wrong. What matters is: Was it preventable or non-preventable? Insurance companies will do everything in their power to call it a preventable. Some iffy moments like having to spend a night in the hood or driving the mountain roads while there's black ice, being stuck in Florida during August, and driving through caves. When you talk on the radio, you develop a southern good ol boy way of speaking, because well... I dunno. It was a good experience, and if you don't have a family its a great way to see the country. I've been to every major city except Rochester, NY and New Orleans.

Still sounds fun as hell...especially since I don't intend to settle down and date for a while. I'm kinda glad I stayed a single virgin when all my high school acquaintances got married...I'm free to do whatever.

 

[S16M4]

Still sounds fun as hell...especially since I don't intend to settle down and date for a while. I'm kinda glad I stayed a single virgin when all my high school acquaintances got married...I'm free to do whatever.

It's a MGTOW lifestyle. Double wrap if you dare taking on a lizard, or at least wait until you get routed to Vegas. As far as loading and unloading, I never touched it and if I did, I got paid extra.

Definitely a con: eating healthy and/or exercising. Truck driving is not the greatest for health.

 

[Avocado]

It's a MGTOW lifestyle. Double wrap if you dare taking on a lizard, or at least wait until you get routed to Vegas. As far as loading and unloading, I never touched it and if I did, I got paid extra.

Definitely a con: eating healthy and/or exercising. Truck driving is not the greatest for health.

Well, I tried eating healthy...then I discovered truck stop food...I love truck stop food.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

I wannna

 

[Coriolis]

As you guys know, I was awarded a free bachelors program for a good high school GPA and good test scores. I'm training to be a teacher, but like all of my long-term goals, I lost interest in pursuing teaching after just a short amount of time (though I still intend to finish what is essentially a free degree). Truck driving sounds nice, now, since there is an opportunity to avoid contact with people, avoid multitasking, avoid fine detail work, avoid a lot of heavy lifting, while still getting to travel a lot and be in a big truck, pull home a decent paycheck, and...truck driving sounds more like a therapy than a job to me if that makes sense. Maybe there is some aspect I'm not thinking of, but it seems like a nice balance between variety and staying in my comfort zone. Of course, I need a few more certifications to do that, and there is a fear in the back of my mind the whole thing might be taken over by robots, but everything has a drawback.

Am I missing anything?

Interesting you mention this. I have a friend who was a high school teacher, then realized he could make more money as a truck driver. He has done this for the entire 12 years I have known him. He recently decided enough is enough, and has been taking online classes to get into computer and network support. His reasons for leaving trucking are:

• hard to find an employer who didn't try to screw the drivers over in how and how much they were paid
• too much time away from home and family (he has young kids)
• physical demands of all that sitting, punctuated by having to unload the truck contents at various stops
• no future in it, either to improve his earnings further, or learn/experience new things

 

[Jonny]

I think, with a degree in hand, truck driving sounds like an OK thing for you to do as long as you enjoy it. I assume you're young, so really anything you choose to do will just be another unique experience you'll look back upon fondly one day (assuming something terrible doesn't happen). Plus, you'll have ample opportunity to listen to books on tape, travel the country, and meet new and interesting people.

 

[Avocado]

I think, with a degree in hand, truck driving sounds like an OK thing for you to do as long as you enjoy it. I assume you're young, so really anything you choose to do will just be another unique experience you'll look back upon fondly one day (assuming something terrible doesn't happen). Plus, you'll have ample opportunity to listen to books on tape, travel the country, and meet new and interesting people.

I might just try it a while.

 

[Totenkindly]

I guess it depends on whether you're doing local or national trucking.

I had a friend who did it for a few years (cross-country trucking). The big issues were getting his own truck, maintaining it (because the costs could be extremely high out of pocket until he was reimbursed / compensated) and filling the tank, and being on the road a lot away from his family although if you don't own a house or have a family than that's not a concern. The cool part would be being on the road in all parts of the country, especially if you aren't on a tight trip schedule.

It was just a bitch for him when gas prices shot up and he'd have to be paying out of pocket for fuel until he could get the money.

And yeah, health concerns -- potentially bad diet since you're buying food on the road, not much chance for exercise since you're sitting all day. etc.

 

[Blackout]

If you become a truck driver, know that many of them are foul creatures and are notorious for being as such.