Where I live in central KY I saw a billboard seeking truck drivers. It advertized $60k a year plus benefits. That is huge in a land where if you make $10 an hour you are doing pretty good.
The cost of living is so low here I’ve thought about it. It’s sure easier than my current job, and I love driving. Still, it would be a huge cut.
I thought (briefly) about this too, but I bet what truckers have to go through on a normal basis would be enough to quash any romanticism about the occupation. Driving a big rig is not like "setting cruise control and heading down Route 66..."
Think about lugging a tandem trailer through 18 miles of a bumper-to-bumper construction zone, or navigating said tandem trailer through winter conditions in Utah, Colorado, Tennessee, or eastern Pennsylvania, for example. Even the same route, several times per week--even in good weather-- through the Great Plains would bore me to tears after a short while.
I remember that Karl Malone, shortly after he retired from basketball, moved to a truck-driving career. IIRC, he chose very selective routes (those in which he had an interest in driving), and then added a premium for his name recognition. That'd be the way to go.