I may be wrong, but it sounds like you have never worked in a factory before. If you think driving a truck sucks(which I don't) try working in a 98 degree factory only allowed to go to the bathroom at specified times and breaks and lunch and......no thanks been there done that. If you think dipatchers are dumb where do you think they come from? they were all floor supervisors in some factory before moving up the food chain to dispatchers.

 

that's the problem with his factory job derelict, given those circumstances, he's not sure how long he'll have it.

now this has me curious. how would you be able to do both the job and the training? and if so, that's a no brainer. stay at the factory, do the classes, and time wise you'll be close to working the hours you'll do as an OTR driver. and believe me you'll need to get used to them.

 

I currently work in a factory that produces cream, cheese, and butter...technically a dairy. In the cheese plant it gets up in the 90`s, but were from central Cali and quite used to excessive heat, many times near 110 ;-) I use my class "a" to shuttle supplies from one side of the plant to the other and I am required to take breaks and lunches at certain times, big deal, thats just working for the man. As far as supervisors I have found that the Golden Rule usually works just fine, I get no trouble from them. Our supervisors make a few tens of thousands of dollars more than the OTR dispatchers around here, so I dont undrstand your point about moving up the food chain. I guess some people really enjoy driving "as I did", some people like the freedom of the open road "as I did", and some people just like sitting on theyre asses all day "which I didnt", so I found something better for me ;-)

 

Hello again, all... Sorry that it's been so long. I had to send my laptop back for a warranty repair and just now got it back.

Now, let's see where I left off... ( Caution --- this might be quite long! )

I heard that on the slow rail service. I didn't know how much it had affected the trucking industry, but it looks minimal, at best. Hopefully it'll stay that way!

Okay, there's so many ways to answer this one... I guess the best thing would be to step into my work boots. I'll do my best to explain the situation without going into a rant... lol.

Last year, we were bought out by an investment company. For those of you that have never seen a company crumble and get bought out by a set of these suckers, you're in for a ride. It's the difference between night and day.

We went from getting good vacation time (which I never used until now since we can't cash in our days anymore; what sense does that make?), profit sharing, 401k match $1-for-$1, good wages with yearly "cost of living" raise, etc. Now, and this has happened since I made my first post, we're without a week of vacation that we had before, we can't cash in the days anymore, no 401k match at all, no more profit sharing... Nothing. And since they just filed bankruptcy earlier this year, they're head-hunting, and they've got the law on their side to do whatever they want. Oh, and by the way partner, no union and we just took a 10% wage cut last Friday!

Before all of that happened, it's still one of the hardest jobs out there. That's not just me saying it; you'd just have to see it to know. It's 80+ degrees even in the dead of winter and 95+ in the summer. Plus, it's nothing but pure 'ol fashioned back-breaking labor.

Now, still and yet, I'm not complaining. I still have a job. GM filed for Chapter 11 Monday, and by Tuesday morning, we were busting at the seams. We've worked the last two Saturdays, and we'll probably be working a lot more.

Everyone I work with is trying to find something else. The people around here, though... They're trying to find a job just to bring home a paycheck. I'm ready to try something that hopefully I can make a career out of. That might be trucking and it might not be.

But, I can tell you this... In the past year, there have been several truckers come off the road to be with their families and tried to hack it with us at the plant. 90% of them didn't last a week. There's still a couple left, but I know of one that's going to be gone by Friday. That speaks volumes. Not to mention, I'm talking about guys who have driven for 10 years and more.

I like to travel, so the time away from home doesn't bother me. I handle stress very well, as I put up with a back-breaking load every night when I walk in that place. Unless I'm unloading a truck myself with a pallet jack, that's the only thing that comes close to crossing the iceberg between trucking and what I do.

Exactly.

I have a good chance at moving up where I am, but all of the bosses where I'm at are good friends of mine and they're under more stress than myself. Plus, for what the pay scale is around here, I could make more in my first year with the right company driving, believe it or not.

It might not be easy, but I can manage. I'll go to school during the day and change over to the afternoon shift and work until midnight. Then start back over the next day. If I pass the school after four weeks and have a pretty good feeling that I'll be happy with it and be able to make it, I'll turn in my notice and do the road training and go from there.

That's my point there, as well.

I've got it in my blood, and I'm going to have to at least try it before I know I'll like it.

If I don't, I'll move on and find something else. ;-) But, I'm honestly looking forward to it being a great experience.

Thanks for all of the posts. The support and comments are great! Keep them coming!