Comments By Little Debby

Oh man! HAHAHAHA!!

Hey Steven, Starcar is right; if you've got a healthy sense of humor, you will be the survivor! I've got a huge sense of humor spiced with sarcastic wit. And a good work ethic. Last August at age 56, I went through a driving school in Oregon and came out with the top scores of the entire class. I wasn't surprised that happened. There were a lot of younger guys there whom, I observed, were already whining and expecting entitlements and they weren't even job hunting yet. I used to drive in my 20's so I knew what lay ahead but I guess these babies had no clue. Once class began to wrap up I started calling leads. Within a week I had a job. We were told whatever job we landed, we should hang in there for at least ONE year; it made total sense. Most outfits expect a year experience to hire you, so to get ANY decent gig right out the gate is a gift. My gift was a local (NW) job as a dry bulk hauler pulling doubles. Score! I totally latched onto it. I've been with then 6 weeks so far. I am so tired after long days that I sometimes fall asleep at home with type 1-2 dry cement in my hair, and/or lime hydrate all over my face. Eww! But I work very hard and try to take notes on everything. I don't whine. I laugh and joke!! The dispatchers say I'm a keeper, and now I hear they're going to try to find me work through the winter season. That's not a normal response to a new driver. There have been younger newbies who've come on board and quit in as short a time as 48 hrs; things like that are keeping me on the bottom rung - meaning there is no one for me to be senior over. But I'm hanging in there wearing all my OSHA & MSHA gear, setting the fall protection, climbing all over the tank trailers, doing the hatches, blowing the product thru hoses at the right psi, etc etc etc; no stopping. It's an 85 ft rig with a GVW of 105,500, doing city delivery to cement companies. To make this long story short; I have my 57th birthday coming up on the 30th. Today the dispatchers gave me a 2005 Peterbilt to run with instead of my little Mack. That is my BDay gift from them. So, good things come to those who WORK. Your age makes no difference. :)

Congratulations Steve! I went the private school route, starting on Aug 5. I'll be watching your posts to see how you like your set-up. Good luck to you.

Well guys, I'm 2 days away from the start of private schooling at IITR/Clackamas,OR. Hoo-RAYY!

Noticed at the fingerprint station, that the women-driver comments are still out there. They were commenting how they rarely see 'real ladies' come in for trucking. Must be my graying hair?

Thank you Brett for the fabulous High Road CDL Training Course. I've been ripping right through it while waiting for school to begin. It's amazing how much knowledge and good/bad/ugly memories came flooding back to me while studying your chapters. I don't think anyone should gripe about having to study or attend school to get the CDL. You can never gain enough knowledge these days. And specialized knowledge is even better!

Note for the guys pondering private vs co-sponsored; My sons are in OR so I wanted to stay close to Portland for starters so I chose IITR. IITR is accredited and in Oregon. They listed on their site many companies that hired straight from the school. You can be sure I phoned a few of them. They confirmed. One of them wants to pick me up as soon as school ends. So, there you go.

Tracy I appreciate your story! It's really uplifting to hear about other women fleeing the cubicle screaming and jumping in the cab! LOL. I'm happy to hear you're out there. I'm going to get on this in August I've decided. Why wait. There is only one nationally accredited school in the PNW called IITR and they've got a facility near Portland OR. They've got a class starting up at that facility August 5th and I'm going over next week to check it out. Starcar was right when she told me the purpose is to get the CDL so why go far away to do it? I'd rather pay up front and take my chances than be enslaved. Amazingly, there is a company in Central Oregon already looking at me for October. ;) But even if I eventually chose to go OTR with one of the big dogs; Swift, for example, told me they'd reimburse me the cost of my 'outside training' for 1 year of driving, since I'm a Vet. It's nice to know discounts and other marketing goodies are out there but I'm not that much of a 'joiner'. Anyhow, I'll keep you, Starcar, and Roadkill updated. Ciao!

Hey I'm right there with you on that one Starcar. It was my next question. Because of the season, I was thinking about schools in SoCal, but there's no telling where the forthcoming loads are going to take you. I doubt any company lets rookies stay down South all winter. haha I've got income from many sources so I'm good for now. Thanks again for the study tools and come Spring I'm sure I'll have a school picked out. And yeah; what do we know?? ;D Will keep you updated!

OMG You guys are just The Best! Yes Starcar, I'm thinking we could share a lot of amazing stories and marvel at the changes over the decades huh?! I'll start my Co. Sponsored School research next week; glad everyone agrees that's a win-win concept. I've been on intentional hiatus from serious decision making for 9 mo. now but I think by Oct 1 it'll be time to fish or cut bait. Stay tuned!!

All good information and thank you Roadkill. Yes I recall lumpers from my Market Transport runs to pick up bananas at the LA docks. I'm in great physical shape; still 135 lbs so I should be fine. Just don't want to make any foolish decisions out there, because like you say the schools are a bit spendy. (And banana boxes are 40 lbs ea. I think)lol! Thank you again, and I will check out the Co. sponsored as well...

OK LOL! Thanks Brett and Roadkill. Yeah I did hear a lot of crickets after I posted this. I swear I won't say "back in the day" ever again. Won't mention The Gipper or the other R word ever. LOL. Well Roadkill nailed it. 'No Touch Freight' was the verbage I was searching for. I think that would be my preference at this point in life.I'm really ready to explore this more. There is a school in Longview WA I'm going to have a chat with; only an hour from my home area. Thanks so much guys for keepin' it real. That is a precious commodity these days. Cheers!

I just retired early from a 20 yr career with the Feds and am considering returning to the trucking world. When I drove in my 20's I had no trouble tying down flatbed loads and such but now it might be different as I'm 56 not 22! Do these new company sponsored trucking schools consider brawn a factor or is there enough work going on that a female like me can find alternative freight to hook up to? Back in my day there were no company sponsored schools! I had to join the Army to get my flatbed time in! ;D