Is truck driving a legitimate job?

Question

Does truck driving pay well and what are the ups and downs of truck driving?

Answer 1

For now, until the illegal aliens are given driver's licenses.

Answer 2

While not considered very prestigious, truck driving, especially semi trucks for freight companies and delivery services, is a very legitimate, in demand, and important job.

Trucks run North America, its a plain and simple fact.

The biggest problems with truck driving are that the hours away from home are terrible, and that there is a salary and advancement ceiling you will hit quickly -- which will cut your advancement options.

Answer 3

Most trucking company's do pay their drivers well. The upside is that you get to travel the country with some company's, meet new ppl. But i think that there are more downs than ups. The downs are if you have a family than you are always on the road. And you wont have time to hang out or whatever. Also you have to be really careful about if you stop and pick up ppl or when you stop to rest stops. But they do pay well and great benefits.

Answer 4

I think it pays well. If you drive someone else's truck for their company, you dont make as much. But of course, you dont have to pay the insurance on the truck, or repair bills, or fuel, or cough up the dough to buy your own truck and/or trailer. But if you buy your own rig, you will make more. Plus, you can kinda mandate your own hours, haul what you want and go where you want to a certain extent.

All in all, you will get to travel and see the country and get paid for it, but it can be long hours, alot of time away from home, and basicly living your life on the road.

Answer 5

I still see ads in the paper for companies that will train new hires. The training might not be the best, but it beats doing it on your own. Also, if you go through a school, they often can help you get a job, because they have connections with recruiters for over the road companies.

Answer 6

One of my friends and his wife got their commercial licenses and had to take a special class. They said it's fun to do if you have a partner like that because by switching off and on you can stay on the road almost contiunously. Apparently there is a lot of money to be made and you get to see a lot of different places. Sounds like a really cool job. But if your by yourself I bet it is pretty lonely.

Answer 7

the ups to commercial truck driving is the money. the downs side is the long hours/days/weeks spent on the road away from family

Answer 8

Join the prodigious elite of truck drivers that work hard for the interests of the country. Truck drivers are a constant presence on the Nation’s highways and interstates. They deliver everything from automobiles to canned food. Firms of all kinds rely on trucks to pick up and deliver goods because no other form of transportation can deliver goods door-to-door. Even if some goods travel most of the way by ship, train, or airplane, almost everything is carried by trucks at some point in its journey.

Overall employment of truck drivers and driver/sales workers is expected to increase about as fast as the average for all occupations through the year 2014.

Median hourly earnings of heavy truck and tractor-trailer drivers were $16.11 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $12.67 and $20.09 an hour. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $10.18, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $24.07 an hour. Median hourly earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of heavy truck and tractor-trailer drivers in May 2004 were:
General freight trucking $17.56
Grocery and related product wholesalers 17.32
Specialized freight trucking 15.61
Employment services 14.82
Cement and concrete product manufacturing 14.47

Median hourly earnings of light or delivery services truck drivers were $11.80 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $8.96 and $16.00 an hour. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $7.20, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $20.83 an hour. Median hourly earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of light or delivery services truck drivers in May 2004 were:
Couriers $17.94
General freight trucking 14.79
Grocery and related product wholesalers 12.44
Building material and supplies dealers 10.85
Automotive parts, accessories, and tire stores 8.07

Median hourly earnings of driver/sales workers, including commissions, were $9.66 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $6.94 and $14.59 an hour. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $5.96, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $19.81 an hour. Median hourly earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of driver/sales workers in May 2004 were:
Drycleaning and laundry services $14.67
Direct selling establishments 13.55
Grocery and related product wholesalers 12.36
Limited-service eating places 6.77
Full-service restaurants 6.59

Local truck drivers tend to be paid by the hour, with extra pay for working overtime. Employers pay long-distance drivers primarily by the mile. The per-mile rate can vary greatly from employer to employer and may even depend on the type of cargo they are hauling. Some long-distance drivers are paid a percent of each load’s revenue. Typically, earnings increase with mileage driven, seniority, and the size and type of truck driven. Most driver/sales workers receive commissions based on their sales in addition to their hourly wages. http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos246.htm

Answer 9

yes