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Archive of posts tagged Becoming A Truck Driver

Comparing Career Paths: Truck Driving Versus A College Degree

I decided to hypothetically put two people seeking professional careers, one a prospective college student, the other a truck driving school candidate, up against each other in a comparison of job training, annual salary, debt accumulation, and investment capability throughout their careers. The results are quite interesting.

Truck Driving Career Seen As Strong For Next Decade

Truck driving has always been a great career for those of us who were cut out for the lifestyle. If you’re not the right person for the job, you’re really not going to like it much and you’re not going to last long. But if you feel like truck driving might be the right career for you, the outlook for the industry looks to be very solid for many years to come.

Randy’s Phase 1 CDL Training – Part 9 – He’s Done!

I talked to Randy sooo much today.  We discussed EVERYTHING about trucking, the school, our experience so far, every aspect of our future, and how we’ve both been sort of “cracking under the pressure” lately.

Randy’s Phase 1 Training – Part 8

I keep reading that the 2 most important factors for a successful marriage, especially in OTR trucking, are trust and communication…this week, we had neither one.  I suppose the added stress of all this didn’t help, and we both had a major thinking/behavior relapse.  This career truly does test a relationship, and any weakness that existed before WILL be magnified 1000 times. 

Randy’s Phase 1 CDL Training – Part 7

Life on the road is not getting any easier for Randy, and life at home without him is getting even worse. He’s due for home time and we’re hoping it comes real soon. This is getting to be unbearable.

Randy’s Phase 1 CDL Training – Part 6

We’re about half way through with CDL training and Randy is hardly making anything out on the road with his trainer. He can’t wait to get done with training. He’s been through a lot already but unfortunately there’s still a good ways to go.

Randy’s Phase 1 CDL Training – Part 5

Another day stuck at the school, another interesting story…don’t know if it’s true, but it’s interesting. Supposedly, a student took a bottle of liquor on the truck while with an instructor and other students. They got 30 miles away at a truck stop, the safety manager and cops were called, and he got a D.U.I. If it really happened, it’s incredibly stupid! A lot of odd things happen at that school.

Randy’s Phase 1 CDL Training – Part 4

So, Randy has been acting very strangely and I can hardly get him to talk to me at all. Two days ago he was all happy, now he seems really uncomfortable again…something is going on in that truck. I suppose I won’t find out until he has some “alone time” again.

Randy’s Phase 1 CDL Training – Part 3

It’s been a few days for Randy on the road now and I think he’s getting a bit wacky :-) He’s struggling with some things but doing quite well overall. Being apart this long is not getting any easier for us.

My 33rd Anniversary In Transportation

October 27 2009 is a special day for me because it was October 27 1976 when I entered the transportation world. My only experience in this world was riding the school bus for all the years in school. What an amazing journey it’s been.

Randy’s Phase 1 CDL Training – Part 2

Yesterday I forgot to say all the states Randy’s been in, just since the beginning of the week: Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina. Before he went to school, he’d only been in 2 of those states. I know this is super-exciting for him so far!

Randy’s Phase 1 CDL Training – Part 1

Randy just started phase I training out on the road. It’s a lot of pressure but very exciting at the same time.

Advice For Couples Regarding Truck Driving

The reason I’m sharing our personal experiences with this is to help people understand the truly tension-packed environment at truck driving school, and how it may affect your spouse. Everyone’s marriage is different, so everyone’s experience will be unique, but there will be common issues for sure. And things will pop up that you never even considered. I’m being completely, 100% honest here, because I don’t think glossing over the tough stuff would be very helpful!

Advice For Truck Driving School Students

This is a summary of what I’ve learned from many experienced truckers on TruckingTruth, plus the perspective I’ve gained as my husband went through the classroom training during August-September, 2009.

Randy’s Truck Driving School – Days 20 & 21

Randy was SO excited the last time I talked to him because after a change of plans, he and his trainer are now going to Mira Loma, CA first. And they get to drive past Las Vegas at night, which sounds really cool! He knows he’s going to be working really hard and be busy learning new things, but there is a “vacation” element to this, for him.