Hello truckers,
I’m a 27 year old office worker who had been considering trucking for several months. I’m someone who has always loved driving, traveling, and being out and about, and I’ve always had a fascination with freight, big vehicles, and logistical operations. I’m extremely introverted and thrive on working alone and being independent, so I thought this career could’ve potentially been a great match for me. I would have been pursuing the local route rather than OTR since I have a long term girlfriend, friends, family, and my band that I play in, hobbies, etc that I wouldn’t want to sacrifice for the job.
However, after months of research, browsing threads and forums, watching videos, and asking questions to working drivers, I’ve become discouraged from looking into this career change any further. It sounds like there are many downsides to the job, and that it’s often romanticized by people who have never dipped their toes in. Extremely long hours, hit-or-miss management depending on the company you work for, stressful schedule, working on holidays, low pay to hours worked ratio, etc. There seems to be a shortage of drivers as well, and I can’t help but feel that it’s at least partially due to potential new drivers like me being deterred from the lifestyle of truck driving.
The takeaway is that trucking is a lifestyle, not just a job, and it seemingly takes a specific kind of person that can handle that kind of lifestyle. I just can’t see myself working more than 40 hours a week without my mental health deteriorating.
I suppose this post is one last effort to see if there are any drivers who can talk me back into considering the job, or if there are certain ways to work around the downsides of the job. Either way, just wanted to let everyone know that I respect and appreciate your commitment to this career and lifestyle and for directly taking part in something critical to keeping our country supplied and moving.
