Profile For JB

I'm 45, a military veteran, 18 years of experience in Information Technology. Solid work history from age 18 to 39, but with a large employment gap the last 6 1/2 years. I am trying to get into trucking as a new career path, but I guess I am un-hirable?

In 2014 my father was hospitalized for almost a month. The first week while he was critical I took unplanned time off from work to be with him in the hospital. I had worked at my then-current job for over 6 years, with no attendance issues. I used my PTO(vacation/sick time), which I had plenty of, to facilitate this time off. Two weeks after I was let go from the company for "reasons" which don't matter since Nevada is a right-to-work state and they didn't need a reason, but none the less they made up some. I'm guessing so I couldn't try to sue them for wrongful termination? I don't know, not that familiar with the law in that regard. Was the last thing on my mind at that time anyhow.

My father was going to need a lot of rehab and was going to be temporarily unable to take care of himself. I hit the parent lottery when I came into this world. My parents divorced when I left home, but they are both great people and raised me with much love and even more patience. I decided not to seek employment right away and do what a good son would do, take care of the man who raised me. In addition, I was burnt out from the high stress of the healthcare tech industry and had just been let go. There were multiple factors at play, it wasn't just the one thing.

Fast forward two years. My father is able to take care of himself in most regards. I still did his grocery shopping, took out his trash, etc, but he could be by himself for the most part. Time to get back to work. I hooked up with a tech headhunter and started seeking employment. My last job title was Senior System Administrator, and I have a ton of experience. I was getting 1 to 2 interviews per week in the beginning. So I'm thinking I should be able to get right back into it should the right job present itself. Wrong, 2 years unemployed in the tech industry is a lifetime apparently. Potential bosses didn't really care for my reasons of unemployment and acted as if I forgot everything I ever knew about tech. I did have a couple of "offers" at this point, that would have devalued me as an employee. I turned those down. Two years turned into three and then four, the three-year mark was about when I stopped getting interviews. Year 5 rolled around and I gave up on trying to get back into tech. I knew my heart wasn't in it anymore, and that probably showed.

So what to do. I dabbled with a couple of ideas on a new career path. I thought about getting certified as a welder since I possessed the skill and had been welding for years as a hobby. Ultimately decided not to go that route. Then I circled back to the idea of getting my CDL. Something I had wanted to do since I was a teen, but I joined the Navy then life happened.

Long post I know. Thanks for reading if you got this far. Many of life's situations are rarely simple and sometimes require explanation so you know the point of view someone is coming from.

I know I can do this job and do it well. 12 hours a day 7 days a week for months on end, been there done that, got the t-shirt. Attention to detail, check. Love to drive, check. Like going new places, check.

So here is the question. How do I get into this industry? I've talked to several recruiters already and gotten the same answer each time. 6 1/2 year employment gap is a "no go" for paid CDL training + employment.

I could probably get the CDL on my own, with the real probability it will leave me $3k-$4k poorer and in the same situation. So what to do? Are there any companies that you know of, given my current situation, that I can get started in this new life?