Status Clarification

[Dreamer]

After reading a "few" posts over the last 10 years, I'm still confused about a few things.

At what point do you go from Newbie, to being recognized as Veteran. Is it 2 years? 5 years? 15? Do you have to own your own truck to be a veteran? How many years do you have to survive to be considered a success?

If I make money in a van, but you think you can only make money in a D unit...are we both wrong?

Let's see. I think I got it right..

Wannabe...
Newbie...
Tweener (not newbie... but not recognized as Vet)
Veteran
Grouchy ol Fart (note.. some of us skip directly to this one as it is attitude based, not years of experience!)


Did I miss some levels? Feel free to correct me, sorry..


Dale

 

[greg334]

Dale,
What's confusing?

Everyone has their own way of looking at things, the people who never drove a truck before look at things different than the people who have been doing the OTR thing for 10 years.

I say that 5 years is a good learning curve, if one is moving a round a bit or is contracted to one of those companies that are not helicopter companies (also independent). If someone sticks to the same company (one of those helicopter companies), then it can be as short as a year or as long as 4 years, like some of the experts we have.

But again it also depends on how you look at what we do - expediters or part of the trucking industry?

I am not an expediter, I am a trucker in a small truck because I been hauling a lot of LTL stuff and making good money.

 

[Dreamer]

Sorry Greg, this was mostly tongue in cheek of course, but I've noticed that some act like vets at a year, then some are still considered dumb newbies at 6 or 7 years... LOL.

Maybe it's all in the tires you use

Dale

 

[greg334]

Well it don't matter anyway because I am very very bored tonight and so worn out from this week but you didn't get the jab I threw in there.. so you must be bored too and tired too.

Hey I did meet a FedEx expert today, after 18 months on with FedEx, he is fulfilling the purple promise and tells me that he has a grip ion the company and they are under his command..... interesting that he is still there....

 

[pjjjjj]

...... I've noticed that some act like vets at a year, then some are still considered dumb newbies at 6 or 7 years...

A year?? Jeez some act like vets before one month, or come to think of it, before they even actuallly start! <snicker>

As for your list.. don't forget about..
Retired Mentor..
Paid Hobbyist..
Outcast Failure due to One's Own Shortcomings..
Outcast Victim due to any Various Misfortune(s)..
Armchair Critic..
Retarded..

There could be some skipping or complete bypassing of some of those too.

Maybe there could be a secret test, a list of Qs, which would tell the tester what category one falls into. Maybe the tester could have a secret decoder ring to do the scoring.

I don't think it is necessarily length-of-service based, and further, I don't think the category one is in, is necessarily able to be self-assessed.. ie someone may believe they are a veteran level, when a real veteran may believe that someone is at the retarded level.. you see what I'm sayin?? It's always something.

 

[dabluzman1]

As the blind Kung Fu Master told Kane: It is not how long you you try or do but when you succeed grasshopper.

So try Zen trucking this week. Close your eyes, hum your mantra, then dock your truck. Then surley you will experience the next level, the out of truck experience.

 

[pjjjjj]

So try Zen trucking this week. Close your eyes, hum your mantra,

Is that anything like the mantra you do with TM?

Then surley you will experience the next level, the out of truck experience.

And will that give an experience similar to the tao that IRT seems to enjoy?

 

[LDB]

Wannabe...
Newbie...
Tweener (not newbie... but not recognized as Vet)
Veteran
Grouchy ol Fart (note.. some of us skip directly to this one as it is attitude based, not years of experience!)

Dale

I count 5 but thought there were 6, the sixth being sort of a 5+ or 5 on steroids....

curmudgeon

 

[BillChaffey]

Since I am so far away from being a "Veteran". I would think it would be best to park your rig first, then close your eyes.

 

[TJ959]

I decided to go directly to grouchy old fart or what I call "GOF" right away and skip all the stuff in the middle. Actually I call it grouchy old chubby fart or "GOCF". Now I'm a grouchy old chubby retired fart, "GORF", as of last week but the boredom is setting in and the wife is getting tired of me. I guess the next step is "GORFIE" or grumpy old retired fart in exile.

 

[copdsux]

TJ959, if I may, I would like to add "ff" to the end of what we old farts are: fault finders!

Mike

 

[Yesteryear]

I plan to never be a 'veteran' truck driver since I am not a 'truck driver'. I'm just a mom (heeheehee notice I said MOM not Mother ), wife, grandma that happens to drive a truck.

 

[iceroadtrucker]

Greg who was that masked man that you met? Who said that?

Dreamer:
If you knew of a company that would pay a person 850.00 check a week and that's after all taxes and Benefits taken out. To do runs 5 days a week, and only two days a week you have to be gone from home. Would you give up this OTR Job and Take it? One of the other Bennie's is you take the Tractor home with you.


You all have too much fun.

I plan on being home by 15Th of May - 18Th May.

Greg I sure would like to know who that person was.

 

[Slo-Ride]

Maybe it's all in the tires you use

The whole time I tought it was Post count,,

 

[chefdennis]

According to my ex wifes lawyer, I have Status..........and what i dod have, she took......along with the house 2 cars and a few other toyes.........but that was over 2 yrs ago and another marriage ago... but still believe i have "no status".........

 

[ATeam]

Whether you are a newbie or veteran in this business depends on the meaning you attribute to the terms and how significant the meaning is. Do you want to consider yourself a veteran after a month or year in the business? Go ahead. There is nothing to say you can't.

Diane and I did not enter this business to achieve status goals (veteran or newbie). We entered the business to achieve specific income and lifestyle goals we set for ourselves.

There are those in the business who hold their time and experience as expediters to be very dear. We are not among them. For us, it's not about being veterans. It's about the money and fun.

Having been in this business nearly six years now, we are no better at it than we were our first year. Our carrier and customers get the same service now as they did then. We saved good money in our first year and are doing so now.

The circumstances with truck ownership, the economy, freight types, compensation arrangements, and other such things change, but as expediters in the marketplace, we have nothing to offer customers that a one-month newbie cannot also offer. We don't get paid more because we have more experience. We are not getting better loads because we have more experience. Our in-service, acceptance and safety numbers are no better now than when we were brand new. Some newbies we know rival our "experienced" numbers today. The opportunity to make and save money as we have over the years has not changed because we have experience.

Sure, there are some lessons learned along the way, but they are not so significant that they make a real difference. So what if we know where the good RV parks are that we did not know before? So what if we are owner-operators now instead of fleet drivers? So what if we can drive from New York City to Memphis without looking at a map? So what if we are veterans? The opportunity is the same regardless of the time you have in.

If anything, our experience is a liability because when you think you know something about something, you blind yourself to things you would otherwise see if you looked with an open mind. To me, the most interesting people to talk to in this business are not the veterans but the newbies. Newbies see the business through fresh eyes. They are the ones who can teach me the most.

 

[TeamCaffee]

I think we are always in the newbie category as we can never know it all as the rules change daily and we are constantly evolving.

 

[nightcreacher]

The day you stop learning is the day you die,so therefore we are all newbies,or maybe, now that I collect a social security check every month,I'm a veteran.
Has anyone noticed about the time you figure this game out,the rules change?

 

[davekc]

Yep....that experience doesn't really matter until you actually need it. But, it is a ever changing business that one has to keep up with.

 

[Jefferson3000]

Sorry Greg, this was mostly tongue in cheek of course, but I've noticed that some act like vets at a year, then some are still considered dumb newbies at 6 or 7 years... LOL.

Maybe it's all in the tires you use

Dale

Are you kidding. Some have considered themselves vets after 2 months of driving for an owner.

I think I must be skipping to Ol' Fart rather quickly, mostly based on my recent lack of patience for some foolishness I've witnessed lately.