SEE YA!

 

does everyone else agree with that?^^

 

Pretty much. You are an adult right? That doesn't mean ignoring your parents entirely, but you have to do what's right for you.

 

yea, im 25...and we our a tightknit family...you know how most moms want you to leave the house when you become an adult...well my mom would like it if i got married and stayed and lived in the house with her....seriously. :shock:

 

That would be the biggest mistake of your life. Wife and I moved out of town for 3 years. I'm sure it save our marriage. Short time we lived in the same area mother-in-law called 2 or 3 times a day.

kc0iv

 

OMG! Escape now while you're young! Seriously. You don't have to ignore her or hate her, but preserve your manhood! Leave now! But still tell her you love her. Don't ever forget about that.

 

lol :lol:

 

Hi Beef,

In a couple days I will be going to orientation for my trucking school. Like you I have a college degree. BUT?since I have an English degree and my background is in journalism, and the local dailies won't hire me, I'm screwed. Jobs around here pay $8-10 an hour. I can't afford to move somewhere where I might make a living with my writing. Journalism is a crowded field anyway. However, even the ad agencies/PR firms don't want me. The thought of making $600-$800 a week makes me giddy. I've worked 12 hours a day four days a week for maybe $350 a week, if I was lucky. If I'm going to work 12-14 hours a day, fine, but I want better money to show for it.

I am 39 and single; no kids. I figure now is the time to do trucking. If I don't like it, no big deal. But I hope I like it enough to stick with it for several years. If nothing else, I will have some bills paid off and some money set aside. My ultimate goal is to move to Toronto. I'm hoping a trucking salary will enable me to buy a small house in the suburbs, if not the city itself. I also hope that maybe I can use my writing skills for a more 9 to 5 type job in the city. I live in a part of the country where the cost of living is incredibly cheap. I own half a house with my brother, so I don't have rent or mortgage. Even if I buy him out, I'm looking at payments of around $250-$300 a month, so that's not bad at all. Mainly, it's my bills that I want to take care of. After that, I'd be able to survive here on a "podunk" job. But I don't like it here, and I'm hoping to relocate to a city that I'm actually proud to live in.

To be honest, college degrees don't mean squat amymore, unless you are pre-med, accounting, veterinarian, pre-law, or nursing. I was working the same crap jobs AFTER I had my college degree as I did before I had my college degree. If I'd moved out of town right after I graduated college, I might have found work in the "big city," but I didn't have $15K socked away to live on and snag a studio apartment in Chicago or New York before finding a job. I don't know how people just graduate and move to NYC like it's nothing at all.

I think Generation X may be the first generation to prove that a bachelor's degree won't earn you any more money than someone with "just" a high school diploma. I've yet to see any decent jobs/money come my way, and I've been out of college for 14 years now. This has been a sore spot with me for years. As a result, I've felt like a failure. I never moved out of the house, because I never had a job that paid enough to cover rent AND my bills/student loans.

So Beef, I would give it a shot. It's nice that you are close to your parents, even though they don't want you to do it. I think my mother would die if she knew I wanted to go into trucking. Occasionally I have dreams she's still alive, and in my dreams I realize, "I can't go into trucking, she's still alive." Sometimes I think I'm letting my parents down by going into trucking, but I worked three jobs from mid-January to mid-April, and was exhausted and depressed, and I sure as heck wasn't making $600-$800 a week!!! Bottom line, is that I have to survive. If I can't make a decent living doing what I love (writing/photography) I need to learn something PRACTICAL. Since I prefer being alone, love to drive, like traveling, am hardly ever bored and feel like a very responsible, safety-conscious person, I am hoping I can live with trucking long enough to feel like I'm financially secure. I have some goals in mind, and trucking will help towards making them happen.

And STOP obsessing about the physical!!! My goodness, if you were a personal trainer, you've GOT to be in better shape than I am (I'm around 30-40 pounds overweight) and I passed the physical with no problem! My trucking school paid for it and sent me to a doctor in a clinic near the school, so it wasn't my own family doctor who did it.

Lots of good luck with your decision! Seriously, now is the time to do it. I absolutely do not know how married truckers with or without children manage to keep their families intact. I don't want a husband OR children, and my friends have tight/varied schedules, so it's not like I see them on a regular basis anyway. Like I said, I prefer being alone. Time will tell with how well I deal with it, but I plan to write about my experience and take my cameras. I can usually amuse myself, so I don't think that will be a problem. I'm a little worried about being a woman by myself, but I will just have to make sure of my surroundings and leave if I feel threatened. I plan to take my dog with me once I get through training and I'm assigned a truck.

Hope you're still awake! I'm a writer, and I tend to go on and on, like the Energizer Bunny...

 

I currently drive for one of the mega companies. ( Schneider ) I was in the army and spent 12 months in Iraq for about 2200 a month thought that was great money. I came back from Iraq and could not find a job in my old field (mechanic) all wanted Ase certification and i had to own my own tools.

So after looking for a job and doing odd jobs i hated for 6 months i decided to try driving. It was something i had always wanted to do since i was a kid.

I am only 23 and single now. I was due to get engaged but we broke up because i gave her to much attention. That's a first. But in the 2 months that we have been split up. I have saved almost 2500. I only get paid about 27 cents a mile. But i went to Schneider cause i was told the were the best cdl school that would pay u to attend.

Even at 27 cents a mile i bring home around 600-700 a week after taxes
Granted i do live in my truck now i have no apartment or anything. I go back to birming ham every 2 weeks for 3 days. Even if for some reason i dint get miles to make decent pay they have a guaranteed 500 min. per week. But Thais before taxes so weekends i have drill and miss few days i still bring home 430$ and that's with only having 1200-1500 miles that week. So isn't to bad a deal.

For the most part i am happy my truck is a 02 took a bit to get everything fixed. My dispatcher is easy to deal with they don't bother me i may talk to them 1nc a week or if i call them to ask for something. I run a dedicated Procter and gamble account and have 95% drop hook. (This is confirmed i have been on the account 5 months.)

Hmm i am due my first raise this week. Not sure if its 1cent or 2 but at the end of first year i will be at 32 cents . But for now i see the country and meet new people i am happy.
My goals is to set up a account basically like retirement. I place money into savings and never touch it. The interest is paid 80% to checking 20% back into savings account. This way slowly over time as i add more money to savings my monthly income will grow slowly as well.
Granted with my current interest rate of 4% every 3 months that only adds to a extra 30$ a month but that's a guarantee income.
That will only increase over time.


Point being is make long term goals and due something u will enjoy don know until you try. You already invested time in college and didn't like it whats a couple weeks or months learning to drive.


Good luck what ever choice u make.

 

Beef,

It could be worse. I'm in a PhD program (final year) and have been driving school buses to pay for it. The History Dept. has given me no help/guidance at all in finding employment and it looks like another 'Teaching Assistant' position will be offered to someone else. :roll: -- Not to mention the fact that the higher ed. job market is saturated at the moment. My CDL is now my lifeline.