Truck Driving Industry is it the worst for retention in the U.S. ?

HANSEG4

Member
I am currently unemployed and I have been researching the industry since the summer of 2009 ! and i have never seen so many complaints about this industry, one after another. I am starting to rethink my consideration in becoming a truck driver, can anyone in this forum explain to me why i would want to be a driver, besides the obvious reason of just having a job ? Also i live in Texas and i only found two schools that are certified by the pdti, and who or what is the pdti ? are they the j.d. power and associates of the truck driving school industry ? Any comments would be helpful.
 
If you need us to explain to you why to become a truck driver then do yourself a favor and don't even consider it anymore! You won't make it! This job takes a lot from a person and if you don't want it you'll never make it!
 
Ok that's a fair statement, i guess i am concerned with all the bad stuff i have read on the internet and some of the conversations i had with drivers that just got into this industry recently
 
Opinions are like...well you know that old saying!

Everyone has their opinion. All the information is available before hand by just reading or talking to drivers. Most that don't make it are the ones who went in with a chip on the shoulder to begin with. They thought they were going to make the industry work for them their way or something like that. They didn't take the time to learn and go along with the way things work!
 
I will agree that there are serious problems with the truck driving industry, however I enjoy driving a truck, and if you find the right set of circumstances that make you happy, it is a wonderful and fulfilling industry.

Now to answer your question, I think the US military probably has the highest turn over of any industry, and for the same reason trucking does. It is the way new people are recruited. Both of these industries recruit with promises of education, high pay, and job fulfillment. Both industries can provide everything they promise, but only if the applicant is physically, and emotionally prepared.

If your perfect job is working 8 to 5 and going home every night, trucking is probably not for you. There are jobs like that in this industry, but not many, and mostly held by people who have many years experience. If you enjoy minimal supervision, can survive with little or no contact with other people, and love to drive, you can really earn a good living.
 
I think a better way to ask this is to ask yourself why you'd want to be a driver. For each of us, it's different reasons, so all you're going to get is a million different ideas. Which is a good thing, don't get me wrong...
 
Oh ya, I meant to respond on that too...I think fast food probably has the highest turnover. That and telemarketers are a revolving door worse than trucking. I worked in both!

Did the telemarketing for about a week. They had about 100 employees at the place and were putting 20 through training each week. You didn't even have to "apply" just tell them you wanted to work and you would fill out your app during the first day of the next class. No drug test and no background check!

Fast food wasn't much different...
 
Alot of what u heard is true but alot of it is also because the drivers brought it on themselves as to either why they quit a company or got fired.Some drivers are'nt happy no matter what.I run into that type all the time.It's all what u make of it.If u come into the industry all sour and can't find anything good about it,you won't last.But if u come into the industry with a possitive attitude then u can go far believe me.There is no perfect job out there where it's the trucking industry some 9 to 5 job sitting behind a desk or a factory job.You're going to find something about it that u don't like.I've been driving a few yrs and I love it.But then again I don't see the negativity in it like so many do.There's many possitve things like u get to travel,u meet alot of nice folks and alot of nice trk drivers my all time favorite is there are many super walmarts that are trucker friendly and I stop whenever I get the chance which is quite often.Yes the industry is especially hard for the new drivers.But again u have to look on the possitve side and throw all that negativity out the window.
 
Truck driving isn't just a job, it is a life style, it suits some better then others, but even people like me who love driving and want to do nothing else for a living will complain about it to no end, I even bitch about it when no one is around to listen. If you think you hear complaining now, wait until you spend the weekend in a drivers lounge or a truckstop t.v. room, you'll think the world is ending
 
Easy solution for that is stay out of them dam rooms,LOL.I know what u mean though.When I do laundry as u know most are right next to the tv room,so whether I want to or not,i'm forced to listen to the complaining while im doing laundry.
Truck driving isn't just a job, it is a life style, it suits some better then others, but even people like me who love driving and want to do nothing else for a living will complain about it to no end, I even bitch about it when no one is around to listen. If you think you hear complaining now, wait until you spend the weekend in a drivers lounge or a truckstop t.v. room, you'll think the world is ending
 
Wow I did not expect so many responses for my questions, but it is reassuring to know that a lot of drivers are positive about their career choice, as for me i definitely love to drive
in fact my last job was a courier with over 30 stops per day which doesn't come close to 2 or 3 thousand miles per week that truck drivers average, but i think that very few americans
can say they have traveled by road in all 50 states in this great country. When i was a teenager and i kinda hate to admit this, but i used to watch a tv show called BJ AND THE BEAR
and i was always fascinated by all the different places this man and his pet monkey would travel, ok enuff this is getting cheesy :) But seriously even though im not yet a bonafide
truck driver i respect the skill level it takes to handle a big rig and at the same time avoid bad drivers in automobiles and the like. Question number two, what strategy do drivers use to
avoid all the bad food that's so readily available when u are on strict time schedule ? What about diabetes and obesity is it a serious problem in the trucking industry ?
 
All the bad food?That's putting it mildly.Most is downright HORRIBLE.That's why i'm thin and getting thinner.The food out here tastes like something they picked off the hwy.I try to find the most expensive restraurant with trk parking.Many drivers out here gain wait from truckstops.I guess i'm just spoiled by the olive garden.
 
Yep! Can be a pain in the butt!, though it does beat being stuck in a factory,or worse,a office,Yuk!!,being a retired old horse shoer and floorcover, drivin' aint workin',its a paid vacation to me,aint gettin kicked or bit,but U do get pissed on from time to time.I started in 2006,w/CRST,really thought this was my next home!,but returning from the OTR thing,for 28 days,which was cut short by 18 days,cause they needed guys rite now,got to my RV,to leave out for 5 days off,but ,they put dieselin my gas tanks,hoping I'd do like most of there new guys,and just leave it for them to fight over,they refused to help pay for the repairs,so I,refused to work for them any further,sent documents to cedar rapids,but nothing,So,Screw'em,there are 3 more horror stories I could write about,but then this would qualify for a novel!!,wanna here the rest,leave me a note!,Glad to be of assistance,Love to slap'em around in Public!!,DangerousDan/Winnemucca,NV.---PS, Got my CDL out of that one!!
 

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