Don't do it. I just came off the road after nearly a decade. It's not going to be what you think. You wake up, fight to get out of a full truck stop, deal with suicidal assholes and weigh stations for 11 hours, then fight to park in a full truck stop so you can go to bed. You will drive right by a lot of really cool shit that you'll never actually go check out. You'll gain 100lbs because all you'll have time or energy to do is eat and drive. You will not have a social life at all.
Stay home. Train for another job or something but don't hit the road. I can't tell you how much you're taking for granted right now.
This is what I've heard and seen myself, the worst part is you'll be laid off or put out to pasture in less than 10 years, probably half of American truckers will be replaced by self driving rigs in 5 years.
Automation revolution is about to finish off the american job market, try to think what you can do that can't be replaced by software and robots and what isn't dependant on the existence of a middle class.
Wish I had better answers for this shit myself.
The most we'll see in 10 years MIGHT be automated yard dogs jockeying trailers around private property from dock doors to yards. Final mile service is a long way off. Interstate driving is still a massive issue and it's the simplest thing we do. You can't teach an algorithm when it's ok to break the rules and when it's not. Machine learning is not there yet.
They automate trains and road trains in Australia already, the barrier to entry is corporate liability during real world exercises.
Iv takes to enough truck drivers to know you’re right. Cause I thought it would be a cool job but it sounds like they took all the fun out of it. I wanted to do a lot of speed and fuck lot lizards.
I concur.
What about the pay. I have heard that OTR drivers can easily clear 100k a year.
Nope, only if you own the tractor, and if you own the tractor half will go to your loan each month. Most company drivers make .30-.35 cents a mile. A driver can only drive 11 hours, and wait 4 hours per 24 hour period. Drivers must also rest one day per week. It's regulated by the gov. That puts you at $55-65k per year to work 70 hours a week. Some drivers get sweet deals with companies like Coke or Busch, those drivers are exceptions, and they have experience. Starting out, the insurance for new drivers is too high for most companies, so that will limit where you can work to companies like Swift.
You'll always be fighting for a back haul, you'll never be home, you'll live in that cab. No back haul, no worries, just wait days (sometimes) for something to come up. That wait time, it's unpaid. Most guys I know that have done it for 20+ years end up with something similar to parkinsons, they shake. I think it has something to do with constant stress from driving. These guys struggle to sign their name.
And you'll work for some of the shittiest people alive. You'll hate them within two months.
Don't do it bro...
thanks for the detailed reply. that was awesome
The truck will clear 100k a year. You might pocket 35-40. You're (presumably) still paying bills at a house you don't see but once or twice a month as well during.
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