Profile For Mike S.

The stamina part you'll adapt to. Everyone is utterly exhausted pretty much all the time the first few months of their career. After a while you'll adapt to the long days and it won't be a big deal.

Back pain really isn't something you hear much about in trucking. The trucks have several layers of air suspension between you and the road. You have airbags in the suspension, the cab sits on airbags, and the seat itself has an air suspension. You'll still be bouncing around somewhat but it isn't bone-rattling awful unless you're on an exceptionally bad road. If you take care of your back by do some stretching everyday and get a little exercise you should be fine. If you can sit in a regular chair for a few hours at a time you should be fine in a truck.

As far as home time, there are indeed jobs that can get you home at least every weekend straight out of school. There are people that have landed jobs that get you home every night straight out of school but those are pretty rare. You'll normally need at least a few months of OTR experience before a local company will give you a shot. But your long term plan sounds perfectly reasonable.

Go through our Truck Driver's Career Guide from beginning to end and follow all of the links you come across. That will give you a ton of information about what it takes to get your career off to a great start.

Some of these giant OTR company's have drivers out there that could qualify for food stamps. Many will steer you to company paid schooling sign a contract and say you must stay with them for a year, (there are other ways i would do it ). There are drivers landing local jobs right out of Community college driving schools. Now when the big company guys jump in here , remember, if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.

Gary, you're free to dislike working for the large companies and you can do things however you like. But spare us the snarky B.S., the ridiculous exaggerations, and the insinuation that you're somehow smarter or more honest than the "big company guys" or any guys for that matter, ok? We're trying to help people get their careers underway and understand how the trucking industry works. You're not helping. You say you would do it differently. If you were hurting for money and couldn't get a loan, how do you propose someone should go about getting their career underway? The company schools exist to help people get started in the industry that don't have $3,000-$6,000 lying around that they can use on private tuition. And in case it hadn't dawned on you, most people switch careers because they're in a tough position financially and they're looking to make things better.

HuntinDoug, you'll be doing yourself a great service by ignoring that kind of baloney.

Thank you Brett