You may have heard that you can become a truck driver and make a lot of money. You will find trucking companies putting out ads for truck drivers all over the place, and you just have to look at the magazines. As an owner operator, a lot of companies advertise that you are able to make as much as USD 100,000 a year.
You can indeed make a good living by trucking. Why is this? To begin with, there exists an increasing shortage of truck drivers here in the USA. There is an added demand for getting items to and from ports due to the increasing number of shipments from overseas. This increases the demands on domestic manufacturers to be more efficient in shipping their goods to their customers at a faster rate. There's also a decrease in the number of individuals entering the trucking field because of the reality that more people are entering college than actually going directly into the job market. This has produced an environment where you can find a good job and still make a good living.
There is a totally different lifestyle than working in an office or at a factory, when you drive a truck. Depending on the job that you get, you can travel as much or as little as you want. You are in charge of recording your own schedule and keeping track of your expenses, and with many businesses you can even take your dog with you on the road. That is exactly why many people choose to make a living by trucking.
There are three distinct categories in which trucking jobs are divided.
1. Owner-Operators: An owner-operator is a trucker who has or leases his tractor (Semi truck) and is compensated to haul items for a single company for which he has a contract for just a set price per mile. This is the most well known and highest paying truck driving job since the driver has some control over the profits and builds equity in his truck. The owner of a truck usually pays for all of the fuel used and repairs.
2. Company Drivers: A company driver happens to be a trucker who is employed by the trucking company for which he drives. A company driver might be compensated by the hour, a flat fee each week, and by the mile, but will usually not have the same degree of influence over his earnings that an owner operator has, nonetheless, he's generally not accountable for buying and repairing his truck.
3. Independent truckers: An independent trucker owns his or her own truck usually uses load board web sites where they're able to search and offer on load's themselves. They are usually not contracted to any specific company and therefore carries the risks and responsibilities of owning and driving their truck. A lot of truckers would rather be in the role of Owner operator, because they would have a constant supply of loads and would need the support of a trucking company.
What do you need to do to get started?
The state will issue you a Commercial Drivers License (CDL) and this is the only document you will need to be able to operate a Commercial semi truck. The federal government sets the standards for a CDL, but your state license bureau issues the standards. Just like the written exam, the CDL exam has a skill component as well as a written component. The majority of truckers are going to attend a truck driving school where they'll be taught the written part of the examination as well as how to operate a Semi. After you finish driving school you ought to be able to receive your CDL. You will find that many trucking companies have driver training programs that are designed to give you an idea of what to expect in a job application, so you can finish your search and get some training while you are still searching for work.
How To Find A Trucking Job
When looking to apply for a driver position, you will find numerous steps you can take. While you are able to depend on your driving school to provide you with a trucking job, you are going to have much more flexibility in terms of schedule, pay and benefits if you find your own job. You can get a hold of a trucking magazine at your local truck stop, and they will have ads for companies with work that's looking for drivers. You can look up truck driving jobs on the internet or call a few local trucking businesses in your town.
One of the greatest ways to find trucking jobs today is to turn to the internet.
Emotionally as well as financially, trucking is a rewarding career choice.
Having the flexibility to travel the nation, while earning much more cash than you can with the majority of college degrees makes truck driving an extremely lucrative career option for the new millenium.
