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Being turned down by UPT isn't such a bad thing. They're actually doing you a favor. It's like being turned down by CR England. When you look at it that way, is it so bad? Not really. There aren't very many daycab type of operations in your neck of the desert. You're going to need to move to a bigger metropolitan area.
As for your pay, they're trying to push you out. It's what a bunch of companies do nowadays. They don't want drivers sticking around for more than 3 years. Then they turn around and complain about the lack of loyalty in the industry. Most of the owners who run trucking companies are hucksters.
I tried the community college thing while I was living in Amarillo. I couldn't find an alternative source of regular income because one single damn semester would have costed $3200 for the classes alone. WTF?! The cost for books would have been even more expensive. Plus, I'd have to take some stupid Texas-centric courses whose credits aren't transferable outside of Texas. Seriously, what the f--k? Why tie a person up with nontransferable course credits? That is some stupid BS right there. When you're facing serious debt for the CC level, there is something seriously wrong. On top of that, whenever I'd mention I was a soon-to-be community college student looking for full-time work, I'd get laughed at and told "you're either going to work for us or not at all." College has turned into a huge scam. It's easy for them to keep hiking up their tuition rates when they know the government will freely hand out student loans, because they know they'll get that money back, with interest. That symbiotic relationship needs to be cut. College just doesn't seem to be financially worth it anymore.
It's worth it if the student majors in a field with a high ROI. I'm talking about computer science, engineering, medicine, accounting, etc.
Community college is advertised as cheaper than a 4 year college, but even that $3,200 is a lot when you're trying to pay for it with a min wage job.
Truck driving is more lucrative than most colleges degrees are. When that psychology degree only gets you a $13 an hour job with thousands of dollars of debt it probably was not worth it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by s1alker
It's worth it if the student majors in a field with a high ROI. I'm talking about computer science, engineering, medicine, accounting, etc.
Community college is advertised as cheaper than a 4 year college, but even that $3,200 is a lot when you're trying to pay for it with a min wage job.
S1alker, you keep repeating this and you are simply wrong.
Every time somebody surveys income, college graduates beat high school graduates. The story I link above says college graduates, on average, earn 56% more than high school graduates. Furthermore, wages for high school graduates are actually decreasing when compared with inflation.
Sure, some college degrees pay more than others. Undeniably true. But ANY college degree opens doors for people and allows access to jobs with decent pay. Even psychology.
Your $13/hour wage job for psychology grads is a straw man. Sure, some people will wind up with those, and it is unfortunate. With a degree you have the opportunity to get something better. High school graduates often don't.
On to other claims. Yes, college costs money and student debt is a problem. Financial aid reduces this cost a lot for most. A combination of financial aid, PT jobs, family assistance, frugal living and loans gets most people through. If I had anything to say about it college would be less expensive.
You also claim that community colleges raise tuition at whim. That simply isn't true. College tuition in most, maybe all, states is set by state legislatures. These are the same people who decide how much tax money goes to colleges for basic operations. Only private universities can set tuition at any level they choose.
Being turned down by UPT isn't such a bad thing. They're actually doing you a favor. It's like being turned down by CR England. When you look at it that way, is it so bad? Not really. There aren't very many daycab type of operations in your neck of the desert. You're going to need to move to a bigger metropolitan area.
As for your pay, they're trying to push you out. It's what a bunch of companies do nowadays. They don't want drivers sticking around for more than 3 years. Then they turn around and complain about the lack of loyalty in the industry. Most of the owners who run trucking companies are hucksters.
I tried the community college thing while I was living in Amarillo. I couldn't find an alternative source of regular income because one single damn semester would have costed $3200 for the classes alone. WTF?! The cost for books would have been even more expensive. Plus, I'd have to take some stupid Texas-centric courses whose credits aren't transferable outside of Texas. Seriously, what the f--k? Why tie a person up with nontransferable course credits? That is some stupid BS right there. When you're facing serious debt for the CC level, there is something seriously wrong. On top of that, whenever I'd mention I was a soon-to-be community college student looking for full-time work, I'd get laughed at and told "you're either going to work for us or not at all." College has turned into a huge scam. It's easy for them to keep hiking up their tuition rates when they know the government will freely hand out student loans, because they know they'll get that money back, with interest. That symbiotic relationship needs to be cut. College just doesn't seem to be financially worth it anymore.
After being in and out of this industry for the past, twelve years, that's pretty much the truth about them all. Get you in the door with some good money, then find some way to get rid of you either by starving you out, or finding some lame excuse like with Ruan. "Work you to near death and then fire you for dozing off". I still hear that the old terminal manager that did me wrong lives in the area and the beef still runs strong between myself and his southern persona. Last night, there wasn't even anything to pull so I was okay to just stay home and work on the motorcycle a bit.
As for moving out, I've already taken that under consideration and like we've discussed before, I'm willing to give Denver and such a chance. I at least have been up there and am willing to put up with the winters of the near-mountains as opposed to the part of the Northeast you're in. I run into plenty of transplants from there that move down to the Southwest, but not so much the other way around.
And knowing me, if I had to do a Northeast move, it would probably end up being a temporary thing as well. Live up there and deal with it long enough to get this $800/mo pickup truck payment off my tail and then once those and a few other debts are paid off, bone out like a thief in the night back to the desert again.
Just nod your head and crack a fake smile to the temporary neighbors and work people, and go home when you're done. So far, I haven't really developed any tight bonds with people here in eastern NM or where I was raised in CA, so I'm practically a ghost anyway.
On to other claims. Yes, college costs money and student debt is a problem. Financial aid reduces this cost a lot for most. A combination of financial aid, PT jobs, family assistance, frugal living and loans gets most people through. If I had anything to say about it college would be less expensive.
I'm not denying the feasibility of a lucrative degree like engineering or nursing. Yeah, there's plenty of ways for one to get a nice job/career with a liberal arts degree like English lit, or history. But the jobs that are available for those degree paths just don't interest me at all and would therefore lead me down that low salary path due to lack-of-interest/motivation for the given fields entailed.
Again, the reason I'm sticking to the trucking thing myself is because at my age, I've got no real family assistance to count on. And after failing countless times not too long ago with courses, the financial aid option has been pretty much burned.
Loans, I just don't do them, end of story.
So in order to keep paying the bills and getting classes done on a part-time manner, working hard in a somewhat, shyster industry like this is the only way to get it done until I got what I need.
I'm not denying the feasibility of a lucrative degree like engineering or nursing. Yeah, there's plenty of ways for one to get a nice job/career with a liberal arts degree like English lit, or history. But the jobs that are available for those degree paths just don't interest me at all and would therefore lead me down that low salary path due to lack-of-interest/motivation for the given fields entailed.
Again, the reason I'm sticking to the trucking thing myself is because at my age, I've got no real family assistance to count on. And after failing countless times not too long ago with courses, the financial aid option has been pretty much burned.
Loans, I just don't do them, end of story.
So in order to keep paying the bills and getting classes done on a part-time manner, working hard in a somewhat, shyster industry like this is the only way to get it done until I got what I need.
Understood, and your decision makes sense given your circumstances.
College is definitely easier for people to undertake before they have adult responsibilities like house, children and the like. Ideally it would be just as accessible for older adults as it is younger, but that simply isn't the case.
Understood, and your decision makes sense given your circumstances.
College is definitely easier for people to undertake before they have adult responsibilities like house, children and the like. Ideally it would be just as accessible for older adults as it is younger, but that simply isn't the case.
I've got the knowledge to excel at any classes that don't involve math. But since tinkering and taking things apart, and repairing them is an interest of mine, the engineering path seems the right way to go. However, I've struggled with the algebraic levels of instruction since high school. After various bouts of "fail/repeat" of math courses, some colleges will allow you to keep repeating until you get that "C" grade. While some limit you to four tries until they tell you to eff off.
Either way, there comes a time where they'll no longer pay for ones ineptitude and it's all on you to continue the personified, "White Whale" journey.
Besides, I've got to have something to fall back on for later in life. Like I've mentioned in other threads, I believe retirement is quickly becoming a myth and I intend to pretty much keep working in any capacity for the forseable future. That and I don't have a wife or kids of my own to really hold me back/away from additional pursuits.
34 now and if it's like that at this point, I'm pretty much dead-set on being a soloist from here on out.
It's worth it if the student majors in a field with a high ROI. I'm talking about computer science, engineering, medicine, accounting, etc.
Community college is advertised as cheaper than a 4 year college, but even that $3,200 is a lot when you're trying to pay for it with a min wage job.
The field I was looking into was Atmospheric Science. However, going into major debt is never worth the trouble. I have debt right now. It's manageable. Going into student loan debt will become unmanageable and a big source of stress. I don't need more stress and uncertainty in my life. I had a good chance for the college thing in the early 00's and blew it due to wanting to party and blowing my money on stupid crap.
Well, two consecutive interviews with some LTL companies in the Albuquerque area and no dice. I'm probably just going to stick it out with Indian River for some time longer and do their NM-to-TX regional hauls. That'll at least keep me a steady paycheck and not having to deal with the drama associated with barns over-flowing.
I'll probably have to keep this up until I get this $800/mo pickup truck payment taken care of. Lessons learned here, know when to steer clear of dealerships, or tell a salesperson to take the flying leap.
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