Too Smart To Go For My CDL?

Lisa suggests...

Driving doesn't mean you can't keep thinking. You might explain to your interlocutors that while driving you can listen to books and lectures. You can also have a voice-activated recorder handy and write as you drive. If anything, it's an opportunity to get away from the lure of computers and the distraction of phone calls, and focus on your thoughts. (This assumes, of course, that such activities would be of interest to you.) That time to do nothing but think can produce amazing results. Dr. Kary Mullis, for example, was seeking a way to detect mutations in human genes. Only when he was driving his Honda down a long and winding road in Mendocino County did the idea for PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) occur to him. In his case, knowledge, a problem to solve, and space to think led to a Nobel Prize. Just sayin'.

To be honest Lisa, overall your perception of this job is a bit skewed, dangerous. We are not driving little Hondas. I sit at the head-end of a modest size 73' long, 8.5' wide, 13' 6" tall building capable of "pancaking" the Professor's Honda.

Safe and efficient operation definitely requires you to focus on thought...but primarily on driving; understanding the variable real-time situation you are in, managing your space, constantly adjusting, scanning, and always prepared to safely handle the unexpected. Defensive driving on steroids.

I mean seriously...do you honestly believe driving a truck requires no conscience thought?

That it's mindless?

That it's 11 hours of contiguous mental downtime that safely enables total immersion in deep intellectual thought, at a level capable of curing cancer or solving world peace?

Sorry but it's none of the above.

We do much more than babysit these behemoths...figuratively they have a mind of their own, quick tempered and will physically make a collosal mess of things in the blink of an eye. Capable of inflicting unthinkable damage if in the hands of a distracted, unfocused, "intellectually drifting" driver.

There is a time and a place for everything. Listening to books and lectures might be okay to a point, but creating meaningful content using a voice recorder for hours on end? At the intensity level you described? Sorry no, I don't agree with that.

Our primary focus, especially in the first few critical months, must be total concentration on driving. By intent and design, your mind just cannot be on lots of other things... Just sayin'

Perfectly put as ever, G-town. 👍

I just wish I could get somebody sitting not too far from me to think this way!! 😜

The struggle is real........and continues!!

Lol

I just went through this very recently. Most of the people in my life were very supportive of the change, but there were a few with their nose in the clouds that felt differently. Nothing said could change their minds. Hopefully, over the course of time, they will see that the move was positive from my continued improved disposition and patience. To those that won't let it go I generally say: I did the corporate thing a long time and it was time for a change; this is something I just want to try; and my degrees are always there for me if it doesn't work out. That usually will get them off my back (not without the occasional disapproving look though). This career is unconventional, and moving away from their comfort zones. We're no longer part of the world in which they've known us for so long and extra effort may be needed to keep those relationships from drifting away (Brett might have talked in one of his podcasts about this type of thing(?) but I'm having a hard time remembering (after 6 weeks of orientation, cdl school and securement training my mind is a little mushy)). Regardless, the sayings about making everyone happy and opinions will always be true. You may need to do a little ignoring for a while because if there is one thing I learned over the last 6 weeks mentioned above, if you want to make this work you'll need to stay focused and positive. Good luck!

I was 41. My mother and i argued over it. I won.

I was a high school AP honors student, a college honors grad, a Lieutenant Governor for an international community service organization during which I had lunch with POTUS, and i was given an award by the Post Master General of the US while working at the USPS for 18 years. I have written and published six books, 5 audiobooks (on audible.com), and co founded a very successful online magazine. I toured a large part of the country with my books and have sold books in most of the Barnes n Nobles and Amazon markets including: UK, Austrailia, Canada, India, Germany, Spain, France, Italy and Japan. Three different people offered me.large sums of.money for the movie rights of one of my novels. i have traveled the world....swam with dolphins, snorkeled with sea lions, played with a tiger, bungee jumped over the Grand Canyon, parasailed, walked on glaciers, and so much more. I spent weeks caring for victims of hurricane Katrina, saved someones life via CPR, attacked a mugger, and tackled a possible terrorist in an airport. I also faught off two armed assailants. I ordered and loved my dream car, a Mustang GT...of which i have owned 3.

After all that... .I became a truck driver.

I wish i had the time to continue writing my novels, but i am not afforded such.

My point....never let anyone or anything stop you from doing whatever you want. LIVE your life.

My mother always tells me of bungee cords being cut or people dying in adventurous ways. I told her "do no feel bad if i die in a tropical paradise doing something i enjoy...while most people cant afford to do so, or have responsibilities that prevent them. Just remember that i lived my life to the fullest."

People have this crazy notion that your degree is equivalent to your personality, desires, sense of adventure, etc. Not only that, a pathological need to shove their opinions onto other people seem to accompany that. You are responsible for you own happiness, so go with what you believe is best for you. If you're a single guy or otherwise not obligated to much financial responsibility then trucking can be a great way to pay off loans and set yourself up for success. I find it hilarious that someone would tell another person how to live their life, as though they are absolutely sure. A young person stands to gain a lot of knowledge and life experience pretty quickly from trucking, much like a reasonable stint in the military or something that gets you out and about in the world meeting interesting people and seeing things you could not otherwise experience from a humdrum life in the same workplace day in and day out, just a steady drone of monotony like a lawn mower outside your window at the crack of dawn on your only day off in months.

Lisa suggests...

Driving doesn't mean you can't keep thinking. You might explain to your interlocutors that while driving you can listen to books and lectures. You can also have a voice-activated recorder handy and write as you drive. If anything, it's an opportunity to get away from the lure of computers and the distraction of phone calls, and focus on your thoughts. (This assumes, of course, that such activities would be of interest to you.) That time to do nothing but think can produce amazing results. Dr. Kary Mullis, for example, was seeking a way to detect mutations in human genes. Only when he was driving his Honda down a long and winding road in Mendocino County did the idea for PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) occur to him. In his case, knowledge, a problem to solve, and space to think led to a Nobel Prize. Just sayin'.

To be honest Lisa, overall your perception of this job is a bit skewed, dangerous. We are not driving little Hondas. I sit at the head-end of a modest size 73' long, 8.5' wide, 13' 6" tall building capable of "pancaking" the Professor's Honda.

Safe and efficient operation definitely requires you to focus on thought...but primarily on driving; understanding the variable real-time situation you are in, managing your space, constantly adjusting, scanning, and always prepared to safely handle the unexpected. Defensive driving on steroids.

I mean seriously...do you honestly believe driving a truck requires no conscience thought?

That it's mindless?

That it's 11 hours of contiguous mental downtime that safely enables total immersion in deep intellectual thought, at a level capable of curing cancer or solving world peace?

Sorry but it's none of the above.

We do much more than babysit these behemoths...figuratively they have a mind of their own, quick tempered and will physically make a collosal mess of things in the blink of an eye. Capable of inflicting unthinkable damage if in the hands of a distracted, unfocused, "intellectually drifting" driver.

There is a time and a place for everything. Listening to books and lectures might be okay to a point, but creating meaningful content using a voice recorder for hours on end? At the intensity level you described? Sorry no, I don't agree with that.

Our primary focus, especially in the first few critical months, must be total concentration on driving. By intent and design, your mind just cannot be on lots of other things... Just sayin'

I agree with this response. I'd like to think that a lot of us have pulled over for a cat nap or a stretch of the legs to get the brain back on track.

I got the exact same responses from just about everyone in my life. "Ohh you are going to hate it, I know so and so, and they tried it and hated it." I even got "I did it, I hated it, definitely do something else." In the end it was the best paying job available to me at the time. I made the plunge and I'm glad that I did. I'm just two years into the adventure and I'm already in a dedicated position making 70k a year with the ability to make more if I want to put in the miles. It's the perfect profession for me. I've been a nuclear engineer, a medic, a small business owner, bartender, short order cook, loss prevention agent, and now truck driver. I also have a wife and two children. It's been awesome for my family. I get home every weekend and sometimes during the week.

If you think you've got what it takes than do it. You might find it's the best thing you've ever done. If it doesn't work out you'll likely be sitting there just as you are now. The only difference is that your bank account will likely be a bot fatter.

My friends and family have been very supportive of my choice to change careers. Even if they didn't, I'd still pursue it. You do what makes you happy.