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  • #1

    The Next Step...

    Well, being the doom and gloom kind of guy I am I am always prepping for the worst. I very well may be out of the USAF come October of this year so I need to come up with a game plan.

    I have decided that I am not a "go to school full time" kind of guy. That wont pay the bills either. The jobs in the bone yard have dried up right now but there are a few jobs out there that I qualify for. Getting them is a different story.

    I have decided to get my CDL. Not ideal but its a paycheck. I can get the license at no cost to me so I will only have to invest some time.

    This way I can be employed, pay the bills until someone hires me local or I find something better elswhere in the US or overseas in my area of expertise...


    If none of it pans out, I still got a job...

    Looking forward to gettins started. I am filling out the applications and such and working with the folks at the education office to pay for it with my GI Bill certification money....
    Last edited by JOES66FURY; January 15, 2014, 10:38 AM.
    If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue
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  • #2
    Hmmmm...interesting. I hope all goes well
    My fabulous web page

    "If it don't go, chrome it!" --Stroker McGurk

    Comment

    • #3
      Can you sit for hours and stay awake?
      How is your back? If memory serves, it was iffy?
      Yes they have air bagged everything nowadays..
      Dad retired after trucking all his adult life and went back after 2 years to get a little extra $$ with his SS, and could not "do it anymore" (his words)
      No matter what you drive...DUI level is lower for truckers.. Normally you "can" drink a beer an hour then not fail a normal DUI, but if you have a CDL, it is less than most states' 0.08..
      You also need physicals more often.. But you might be used to that being in the military..
      Just something to think about

      Comment

      • #4
        Consider tech schools.....get out quicker and on someone's payroll.
        You got survival skills......you'll do ok.
        Thom

        "The object is to keep your balls on the table and knock everybody else's off..."

        Comment

        • #5
          Truck driving = weird hours. I was either getting out of bed at 2 am or getting into bed at 4 am. I did enjoy it for the 10 out of 15 years I did it, good luck.
          Just groovin' to my own tune.

          Comment

          • #6
            This is just short term until things improve or until I can find something else. I am open to moving so relocating isnt an issue for me.

            There were a TON of quality assurance jobs within the DoD that I was more than qualified for but the time to submit resumes is over in March. Due to the type of position I cannot apply until after I am fully retired. Late this year.

            There are two companies local that hire guys with resumes like mine. I know guys who work there and I have as good a chance at getting in there as anyone BUT the position has to be availible to apply.

            My buddy in San Antonia is going to let me know when jobs open up where he is. DoD contract work, and I have another in with a company in Waco Texas that may hire me.

            The bone yard is a long shot right now, the contracts have expiered and they are not renewing any of them. The Civil Service jobs out there are few and far between. I know people so I have an in, but again...the work just isnt there right now...

            I could take some bull shit 10 dollar an hour job and go to school full time and live off of student loans...not a road I want to travel.

            This, to me, seems like a viable option for short term emplyment that will help pay the bills while I am looking for other work
            If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

            Comment

            • #7
              Look into school grants. Those are keepers.
              My hobby is needing a hobby.

              Comment

              • #8
                Hmmmm, think carefully. Trucking is hard on relationships and fitness. Decided 35+ years ago I couldn't hack it...and then joined the navy. One things for sure, something has to pay the bills.
                Michael from Hampton Roads

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                • #9
                  My cousin is applying at Boeing to make helicopter wiring harnesses. Maybe you could check into companies like that.
                  The Green Machine.
                  http://s1.postimg.org/40t9i583j/mytruck.jpg

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    I would suggest you look real hard at what you can make as a rookie driver because it usually isn't much. Most companies want experience except companies like Swift and Werner. I know a driver who started with Werner and as a rookie he was only making something like .20 to .23 a mile. Go to a truck stop and talk to drivers to find out if anyone pays enough to make sense for you.

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      I've been researching pay, depending on the company I can expect between .25 and 36 cents a mile.

                      I will have resumes out at Boeing, Lockheed, Rolls Royce, the DoD, Reytheon, Honeywell and others but I dont have enough money saved to sit around on my ass and not collect a paycheck.

                      There are jobs, and I will land one...but I have to be prepared for worst case.
                      If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Deaf Bob View Post
                        Can you sit for hours and stay awake?
                        How is your back? If memory serves, it was iffy?
                        Yes they have air bagged everything nowadays..
                        Dad retired after trucking all his adult life and went back after 2 years to get a little extra $$ with his SS, and could not "do it anymore" (his words)
                        No matter what you drive...DUI level is lower for truckers.. Normally you "can" drink a beer an hour then not fail a normal DUI, but if you have a CDL, it is less than most states' 0.08..
                        You also need physicals more often.. But you might be used to that being in the military..
                        Just something to think about
                        .04%.
                        BS'er formally known as Rebeldryver

                        Resident Instigator

                        sigpic

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          I'm assuming you are retiring. I thought several times about getting out of the Army before retirement time. Thank the Lord I didn't. I retired in 1980, that's 34 years of retirement payments.
                          Anyway if you are retiring. Im not sure how your GI Bill is but between my retirement and GI Bill and a little part time work I went to college full time while my wife went to college as well. She became a nurse. I became an over-educated flunky. We had planned the rerirement thing so our bills weren't to bad. The GI Bill paid for my under grad work and my masters (both in business)

                          I was very lucky because during the time we were doing this, I went to work for the Saudian Arabian Nat'l Guard for a year. Then, becasue I had recieved some specialized training in the Army, they called me back to do some training development work on a term basis. Just as with you, once I was working there I came to know people. A job came open being a flunky for the CG. Very tedious and not a good place to make mistakes or become complacent but it paid well. I worked another 23 years for the Amy as a cl servant. Now retired I draw full social security, full Army retirement and an adjusted civil service retirement. I'm not wealthy but it keeps the wolfs from the door. Oh yeah my wife retired as a nurse as well.

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                          • #14
                            Yes Sir, I will be retiring. Ive done the math and there is no way I can live off of my pension and GI bill housing money. If I rate for VA disability (which I should) I could pull in an additional 1000 a month but that wont be for at least another year because of the backlogs at the VA. I have about 10K in savings. Thats enought to get me by maybe 6 months If I go to school full time.

                            I've looked at jobs in the UAE but the money isnt as good as it was 15 years ago. I could contract there as well, provided they offer the right money. I am not going over there for 50 to 60K, not worth it to me.
                            If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              so how's your welding coming? take a welding class, get a great job as a welder (okay, maybe not great but the money's good)
                              or take a machining class(es)
                              every company I know that does machine work needs operators - every last one.
                              Doing it all wrong since 1966

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