Want To Become A Trucker

Hi Everyone,

I’ve been lurking on here for a few weeks now and got some questions.

1. I’m about to become 46 years old. Am I too old to pursue this career?

2. Work history - the only documented work history I really have is when I was in the Marines from 94-98. After the Marines I went to college but dropped out my 2nd year and was doing freelance web design and 3D Visual Effects until 2009. Then in 2010-2019 I moved to China and opened up my own visual effects studio in Shanghai. I do have a show reel of work I’ve done. Beginning of 2020 I moved back to the states right before Covid hit luckily and basically been doing nothing except trading stocks. Will this be a problem if I go to trucking academy/company?

3. Criminal History - I was arrested 25 years ago when I was 19. I was selling a turbo and got passed a forged check. Deposited it in my bank and a few days later when I went to go get some cash out, the bank called the cops and I got arrested. My Gunnery Sgt had to bail me out and I got the ass chewing of my life. After I went to court I got exonerated. 2 years ago I wanted to buy a rifle but got denied because of this because they said I had a warrant. Went straight to the police station and the cops laughed and said if they wanted me they would have grabbed me each time I flew into or took off from LAX or SFO airports and told me not to worry about it. I did end up getting my rifle and a Glock. Will this also affect me going to one of these trucking academies/companies?

Anyways I’ve always thought trucking is such a cool job but had promised my parents I’d become a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or computer guy. After 20 years of being in front of a computer I think it’s very similar. Long hours, crazy deadlines, and solitude.

Thanks in Advance,

Johnny

Apply everywhere you choose, but the no work history and being in communist China for a decade could be a large obstacle.

Apply everywhere you choose, but the no work history and being in communist China for a decade could be a large obstacle.

Since I know they actually can’t dig into my work history especially from when I was in China, would a list of references of my past clients count? Most of my clients when I had my studio were mainly American companies and American expats that did business in China.

You only have to worry about the past 3 years. So work on that by getting notarized statements that show where you worked in that time frame. Once you become a driver, if you change companies, then you need to have 10 years. So you will need to choose your beginning company wisely. Having 10 years worth of notarized statements won't hurt you at all, but you will need to make sure you don't have any gaps in your time frame.

As for your age, if you have been lurking on here, you would know that you are a youngster! The average age of experienced truck drivers is 57. Most people that come here wanting to get into driving have one retirement and sometimes to retirements from other companies before they get into driving.

So, is that warrant still out there or has it been totally removed? It needs to be gone before you can get hired.

Laura

Hi Johnny G,

IDK what effects your work hx may have on you but your work hx is unique. What was your DD214 disposition?

JG - you're not even close to being too old to get into trucking. I'm in my mid-50s, and I just started trucking this year. I think someone else here on TT started this year too, and he is over 60 years old.

Be sure to watch all of the podcasts here in TT. These will answer almost any question about trucking, especially what it will take to become a truck driver and life on the road. Listen closely to the amount of "time" you must put into trucking. The time commitment to trucking is enormous, and it took me a while to get used to it. If you decide you're ready to be a professional truck driver, apply anywhere that offers company-paid training and job placement.

BTW - TT is highly populated with well-educated drivers and former drivers who have decades of truck driving experience. They're a treasure trove of information. We even have some non-drivers in here who know more about some of the drivers out there. You may hear from one or two of them - Mrs Anne? Anyway, I've found them to be extremely helpful to me and others on just about any topic you can think of. They are direct and honest - sometimes their approach to helping is misread as mean-spirited by inquisitive aspiring drivers. That's not what they're doing, they just want people to know what to expect - just like the military did for us!

Anyway, good luck on your quest.

You only have to worry about the past 3 years. So work on that by getting notarized statements that show where you worked in that time frame. Once you become a driver, if you change companies, then you need to have 10 years. So you will need to choose your beginning company wisely. Having 10 years worth of notarized statements won't hurt you at all, but you will need to make sure you don't have any gaps in your time frame.

As for your age, if you have been lurking on here, you would know that you are a youngster! The average age of experienced truck drivers is 57. Most people that come here wanting to get into driving have one retirement and sometimes to retirements from other companies before they get into driving.

So, is that warrant still out there or has it been totally removed? It needs to be gone before you can get hired.

Laura

Thanks Laura I’ll try to figure out how to get these notorized statements.

As for the warrants I have no idea because when I went to the police station, the cops laughed and said California just wants to prevent people from getting guns so they leave everything in their records to prevent people from owning a firearm. After I spent $300 on different websites to scan myself and nothing showed up. Then I hired a lawyer to go look and erase that and he ended handing my money back and said he couldn’t find anything.

Hi Johnny G,

IDK what effects your work hx may have on you but your work hx is unique. What was your DD214 disposition?

JG - you're not even close to being too old to get into trucking. I'm in my mid-50s, and I just started trucking this year. I think someone else here on TT started this year too, and he is over 60 years old.

Be sure to watch all of the podcasts here in TT. These will answer almost any question about trucking, especially what it will take to become a truck driver and life on the road. Listen closely to the amount of "time" you must put into trucking. The time commitment to trucking is enormous, and it took me a while to get used to it. If you decide you're ready to be a professional truck driver, apply anywhere that offers company-paid training and job placement.

BTW - TT is highly populated with well-educated drivers and former drivers who have decades of truck driving experience. They're a treasure trove of information. We even have some non-drivers in here who know more about some of the drivers out there. You may hear from one or two of them - Mrs Anne? Anyway, I've found them to be extremely helpful to me and others on just about any topic you can think of. They are direct and honest - sometimes their approach to helping is misread as mean-spirited by inquisitive aspiring drivers. That's not what they're doing, they just want people to know what to expect - just like the military did for us!

Anyway, good luck on your quest.

Thanks Bill. I agree my work history is unique. Having been a webmaster and vfx artist/supervisor is a little different than other careers. When companies came to me for websites, my designs were our references and what computer language and drawing software I knew. Then when I owned a studio regardless if it was a movie, tv show, or commercial everyone only cared about our show reel. If selected then I’d go to a interview and that lasts anywhere from 2 hours to 3 days where it’s with their in-house artists or tech guys and talk about their projects, software, storyline, etc. In fact I never even talked to anyone in HR in my past 20 years and I got to work on commercials and movies for Mazda, Heineken, Warner Bros, Disney, LG, Budweiser, etc.

Great to hear I’m not too old for trucking. Been watching too much YouTube and been seeing guys 21 years old starting. Roger that on the podcasts, I’ll listen to those as I study the DMV manual to get my permit.

I’m happy to hear when people are direct and honest. I’ll definitely go read Mrs Anne’s posts.

Thank you for your service.

Great to hear I’m not too old for trucking. Been watching too much YouTube and been seeing guys 21 years old starting. Roger that on the podcasts, I’ll listen to those as I study the DMV manual to get my permit.

Actually companies like us older people. I got my chauffeur's license back in 88 (37 yrs old) after doing 14 yrs active duty in the Air Force....stable and good work ethic. Drove to 93 and couldn't get it upgraded to a CDL. So I was 63 when I got my CDL in 2014. Last month I turned 71 and in 2021 I ran 139,000 mi. Even being off 5 weeks in between jobs this year, I'm on track to run over 125,000 mi unless I sell some acreage and I slow down in winter....don't want to give the government all my money in taxes.😁

Study our High Road CDL material. It's very thorough and honestly, it's all you need to study to pass your CDL.

High Road CDL Training Program

Laura

Great to hear I’m not too old for trucking. Been watching too much YouTube and been seeing guys 21 years old starting. Roger that on the podcasts, I’ll listen to those as I study the DMV manual to get my permit.

Actually companies like us older people. I got my chauffeur's license back in 88 (37 yrs old) after doing 14 yrs active duty in the Air Force....stable and good work ethic. Drove to 93 and couldn't get it upgraded to a CDL. So I was 63 when I got my CDL in 2014. Last month I turned 71 and in 2021 I ran 139,000 mi. Even being off 5 weeks in between jobs this year, I'm on track to run over 125,000 mi unless I sell some acreage and I slow down in winter....don't want to give the government all my money in taxes.😁

Study our High Road CDL material. It's very thorough and honestly, it's all you need to study to pass your CDL.

High Road CDL Training Program

Laura

Hi Laura, that’s awesome to hear how companies like us older people. I’m mainly just looking for experience and to really hit the road.

Since I was a kid I’ve always thought truckers and trucking is so cool. I mean who doesn’t want to drive Optimus Prime everyday?

Hi Laura, that’s awesome to hear how companies like us older people. I’m mainly just looking for experience and to really hit the road.

Since I was a kid I’ve always thought truckers and trucking is so cool. I mean who doesn’t want to drive Optimus Prime everyday?

Welcome to Trucking Truth, Johnny G. !!

Optimus Prime; that's funny! Apply for the REAL Prime here: Apply For Paid CDL Training

As the above posters have mentioned, if you can get credible letters (preferably notarized) regarding anything stateside, that's a huge step in the right direction. Ha! You don't EVEN compete w/ some of us 50 plus'ers on here; I just posted a meme the other day (its in my photo gallery!) that 60 is the new 40. Without calling 'discrimination,' many companies will often choose the 'mature breed' over the gen x/y/z .. etc.(or so it seems, because indeed that would BE discrimination!) LoL..... StevoReno can add to that; I'll see if I can get him to join the thread, from the Phillipines.

Indeed, thank you for your service! That's a HUGE plus, for many (if not all) trucking/training companies. We've MANY vets on Trucking Truth, that's for sure! PapaPig has some REALLY good reads, as to how HE got into the industry; if you can search 'comments by members' on the previous page of blue tabs.

Irony abides, as usual. The owner/creator of this site, actually went from trucking (beginning in his teens?) and 15 years in, went into his OWN iT world of programming and web creation; ergo, this site!

I'm better at PodCasts than writing, but have none to attach; Brett on the other hand does, right on this site....check some out!

Some of the BEST links (and Brett's book) can be found here:

• Truck Driver's Career Guide
• Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
• High Road CDL Training Program
• CDL Practice Tests

Best wishes; this group is here to help!~

~ Anne ~

ps: Re; Prime videos >>>Truckin' Along w/Kearsey!