Trucking – Should You Quit?
It may surprise you that about 35% of truck drivers quit their jobs within the first three months in service. Well, that is a fact and the bitter truth. If you have never been there before, you may query their judgment. Trucking seems easy, cool cash, opportunity to choose your route, and just engage yourself on a free trip. But if you have experienced it, you may think otherwise.
Drivers quit their jobs for many reasons. In fact, there are more reasons to quit than to stay. It’s no secret, many drivers are contemplating going to companies with better turnover rates. Does that sound right?
Well, it depends on you and what you want. The turnover rate of a company does not define it. It doesn’t make it good or bad.
Some Days Are Like That
We all know how difficult it is to be a trucker. We can list the challenges non-stop. You will leave family and friends and be alone for days on roads that seem endless. No one to talk to. Sometimes, when things go wrong, they are really terrible. Many times, the bad situation will appear as if it will never get better. But remember, some days are like that. Every profession has its bad days.
Love It The Way It Is
To remain on your job, you’ve got to love it. To be a trucker, you must love trucking. You must say to yourself: “I really want to do this.”
Yeah! It’s cool to love the pay, but that is not the motivational factor for most of us. We love the truck, we love the road, we love traveling on it. We love our jobs the way it is and that keeps us moving.
But not all jobs suit everybody. So, consider it carefully. Is what you are doing the kind of what you love doing? How do you want it? Long-distance or short distance? Day traveling or night journey? Do you prefer being given notice long before the trip?
It Doesn’t Always Get Better
So if the condition in your present company doesn’t suit you, should you consider switching to another one? Before you do that, feel free to tell yourself the other place could be worse. It doesn’t always get better. Sometimes, it gets more terrible.
I know quite a number of guys who work with big companies. From the outside, you think they have it perfect, but ask them and they will tell you stories. Big companies are far from being perfect, in fact, that have more troubles.
Little things like late delivery or wrong paperwork can cost you your job. Worse still, these companies always insist on things being done on their own. They don’t listen to other opinions. Before you join, you may have little knowledge f their expectation. Many things you were not told before will come up after you have left your old job. And they won’t care how much it’s gonna cost you. Whatever they want, they want it.
But They Need You
According to the information from the American Trucking Association, the United States needs additional 110,000 truck drivers every year. The demand is higher than the supply. So they need you. If you are really good at what you do, you should be the one deciding where to work and where not to work. I’ve done that several times. But that doesn’t mean you should be jumping from one company to another. It will hurt your reputation.
