How To Start Under 21

I appreciate that, Daniel. That's a good thought, I could try to work it out with him like that because I definitely need to save for some things, and a little work history wouldn't hurt.

There is a power company willing to train for lineman, and includes a CDL , but they may have an employment contract as a condition for the training, which may take a while, so I don't think that's the best for what I want to do.

Hey Sam. Good luck with all of this. I read the start of your thread the other day, I kinda know what it's like to be bitten by the trucking bug.

It happened to me almost 40 years ago, I was 18 and learning how to drive a ten wheeler, dump truck. I got started by being a construction laborer as a summer job. To make extra money I power washed the trucks after hours and over the weekend which allowed me to drive them through the yard and park them. Eventually they agreed to teach me to actually drive the bigger stuff. I think you can see what I am trying to tell you. Things were different back then, not necessarily better, just different.

You got some good advice here. I know it's easier said than done but try to be patient and establish some work history. That will really help you when your age no longer restricts you from applying for school and your first trucking job. Again, best of luck to you.

You could try working for a local company driving a box truck. Something like dairy delivery might just be intrastate. The problem with most local delivery jobs are that they will still be considered interstate driving if whatever you're hauling comes from or goes out of state, even if you never leave your state. I don't know about other states, but in CO you have to be 21 to drive any commercial vehicle in interstate commerce. But if the freight is local, like milk delivery for a local farm maybe, it might be considered just intrastate , which doesn't have the same age requirement.

It's not really the same as driving a big truck, but it's something. I drove 16' and 24' box trucks for 10 months before getting my cdl and going with Swift. I think it really helped me get used to clearance above and around the truck, maneuvering in traffic and tight quarters, handling the extra weight, and backing. I drove for a local thrift store and we drove those trucks everywhere in all traffic and weather conditions. It was also really tough physical work, since we'd go to people's houses and pick up donations all day, then unload our trucks by hand at night or the next morning. I got so used to tight quarters that driving a semi down the interstate felt pretty easy, for the most part, once I got my cdl.