Pro's N Con's of Trucking Part 2

by American Trucker (Carl.S)
(Midwest)

Finally, you’ve all heard or read about the money you can make in trucking. Many

times these figures will be exaggerated. However, overall, the potential to make
good money in trucking is there . . . it does exist . . . so, one more pro to trucking?
The potential to make very good money!
At present, the average earning wage for truck drivers in the U.S. is $35,000 to
$45,000 per year. So let’s just go to the middle and say, $40,000. That would
work out to be $769.23 per week gross . . . not bad. Keep in mind, many drivers
are earning $1000 per week gross . . . the potential is up to you . . . but it is there.
So what do we have? Some of the pros of trucking . . .
/ Never be without a job
/ Travel and get paid doing it
/ Medical/Benefits at a great rate
/ No “boss” over your shoulder
/ Good money potential
OK . . . I hope this helps to alleviate many of the negatives that you may have read
or heard about trucking. In order to make an informative, educated decision on
whether or not trucking is the right choice for you, one must have to follow a plan
for success. This would include investigating both the pros and cons of trucking or
whatever your chosen vocation may be.
Although there are cons to trucking, they can be defeated if you have the right
information and tools to do so. Again, I know you’ve all heard or read many
negative comments by truckers, myself included, on blogs, forums, etc., and this
causes people to tend to dismiss their goals for trucking. The problem for many of
these other drivers who post such things is simple . . . like so many others, they
have not yet figured out the mechanics of trucking. That is to say, they are still
struggling to make trucking work for them and their families. The difference
between these other drivers and myself, by pointing out the negatives of trucking,
is I am not simply venting my frustration and giving up on trucking . . . but rather, I
have a sincere desire to tell others about the negative side of the industry in order to
balance out the positives and negatives so they can have a clear view of the entire
picture which will further help them to succeed in trucking.
Even with the pros I’ve listed, the bottom line is trucking can be a tough life.
Without the proper knowledge and understanding of how the trucking industry
“thinks” and operates, you could end up spending years of wasted time and effort
fighting to make a career in trucking work for you.
Thousands of drivers before you and I have failed, only because they did not
realize that, as in any industry, scams do exist! To really make trucking work you
need to know about these little lies and scams that go on within the trucking
industry. Knowing these will only strengthen your abilities to make trucking work
for you the first time around, and not get burned out before you even give it a
chance.
Wanting to help, I set out several years ago to get this information out to as many students and new
drivers that I possibly could. The reason? Because nobody else was even
attempting to let the “other side of the story” be told. “Newbies” were entering
into the world of trucking and naturally, failing. The biggest reason I hear?
...”Trucking isn’t like I thought it would be.”
Why? Because they had only heard one side of the story. Many of the old pro
truckers would just chuckle and think to themselves, “Well, I could have told you
that!” But that’s my point! They didn’t tell them! I set out to change all that.
If trucking is your goal, then you should be able to have it. You should be able to
at least start off on the right foot and not have to “pay your dues” in such a hard,
cruel manner that so many of us had to do. By knowing the TRUTH about
trucking, you can bypass many of the hardships and struggles that thousands of
truckers go through.
I now have shown you some of the pros of trucking. You need to know the cons
also. Learn them . . . study them . . . and apply my 25 years of experience to your
own life, and you can make trucking work financially for you and your family.
Here’s my main point I want you to understand . . . Do not let your “blind
enthusiasm” allow you to only see the pros! This really is the major cause of
failure by students, new drivers and yes, even drivers who have been at it for years.
You MUST be aware of both the positives and negatives in order to have all the
“ammunition” you will need in order to make trucking work. I know. I’ve been at
it for 25years!

What are some of the cons? You have certainly picked up on some of these by the
reading and research you have done, but here are just a few:
/ Trucking training schools by the Motor Carrier
/ Leasing programs offered by the trucking companies
/ Driver recruiting tactics
/ False advertising
/ Misleading career advise
There are pros and cons to the trucking industry . . . there are pros and cons to any
industry. The reason some fail and others succeed, are because they tackled their
chosen vocation armed with the knowledge and insight they needed in order to
succeed. The career drivers out there know exactly what I’m talking about.
They’ve lived through it and made it through the hard knocks. But why do they
have to go through the hard knocks in the first place.
After spending years of their lives struggling and fighting to make trucking work,
they finally learned the ropes. Even still, many are still struggling and giving up.
Why go through that? Who has the time to waste tackling these hardships and
scams? Do you have the time? Does your family have the time?
Know the pros and cons before signing on with a carrier. And help doesn’t end
with the information. There are plenty of driver’s to talk with as well.
Good Luck
American Trucker