So you want to be a truck driver—silly you. First of all, in my case, I paid over $4,000 to attend what I thought was a reputable school only to find out the only school worth attending is a PTDIA CERTIFIED school if you want any kind of good paying job. To be hired right out of school you get to go to work for companies like SWIFT—hooray! First I spent 4 weeks not learning from my trainer but listening to him talk about everything except trucking the entire time. When I finished my training and was tested at my terminal, a fella got in a truck with me and asked "can you drive this?" to which I replied "yes", and "can you back up?" to which I replied "yes". I was told to wait in the truck for a few minutes so it looked good. I was astonished—I never even put the key in the ignition and was passed and given my own 18 wheeler to drive!
That's when it all started. To be an OTR truck driver, you sacrifice family and friends, income, leisure time and a life. You spend months in the mountains in the snow going nowhere, not to mention making no money. You sit in traffic for hours counting all the quarters you're not being paid for sitting. You dole out cash from your pocket for tolls, showers, faxes, and copies you don't get reimbursed for because your little receipts don't make it to the payroll department. You hire lumpers who make far more money than you do. You wait endless hours or days for a load, a dispatch, or to be emptied. And, the best part is that no one cares. I won't even get into the food part! But...
In order to be qualified to get a decent job you must have EXPERIENCE. Anywhere from 6 months to 4 years. So, if you really want to be a truck driver, be prepared. Living in that little cubicle you call home is no fun. It's lonely, small, cold or hot, noisey and sometimes smelly. Swift is just too darn big to care about you. They had strict requirements about paperwork but forgot to tell the customer. If you have a problem with pay or the likes, it's almost impossible to get it straightened out. Figuring the hours you are legally able to drive (ha ha) and the pay you get (ha ha) you are making about $5.79/hr. Now keep in mind, that's only if your drive 2,500 mi/wk. If you want to make money in the trucking industry, get a job with DOT, start your own company, or better yet, marry a Moyes!
Sara
Can't remember what city I'm in! Alaska
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