47 And Thinking About Going Into Trucking

Hi Everyone, So I,m 47 single with grown kids I just lost my job at Honda making 14.00 and hour as a temp. My thoughts now are at midlife I cant go back to working a 9.00 and hour factory job trying to bust my butt with some young kids and losing most of what i own from the pay cut I would take. I have a decent background in electronics and computers but very little social skills are social appearance to meet today's job market criteria. Was always fascinated with being a trucker the life is hard but im use to being alone and eating very little. Not sure how I handle the sleep part of it but time will tell. what could you tell me to get over my fears of spending all this money on training aka failing in the first six months. And how do you know 100% this is the right thing for you?

Thx David Robinson

Hi David. You never really know until you just try it. There are options for you if you're concerned about laying out the dough upfront. Companies like Prime Inc have Company-Sponsored Training . What you need to do is familiarize yourself with the industry and life as a trucker. You can do that by reading Truck Driver's Career Guide. If you wanna make the move, start immediately on High Road Training Program.

You're single. You don't have kids to take care of. Good, because that's a general prerequisite to getting off on a good foot in trucking, i.e. being able to be away from home. Of course there are local jobs to be had, but that largely depends on your location.

Do you love to drive? That's a biggie. You said you're fascinated with trucks, so you've got that going. If you're worried about the upfront cost, you can do the company-sponsored training. You don't seem to have anything tying you down so you can afford to be away for a few months in the beginning. Most of the company-sponsored programs will then require some form of a commitment, generally a 1 year contract. A lot of us on here will recommend you stick with it for at least a year anyhow, just because of how volatile trucking can be. You'll have rough days, and fabulous ones. You need to give it time to see if you like it.

In short, you gotta just jump into the ocean. You seem to be in a good space to roll with it by not having a young family. Educate yourself using the resources on this website. Think of it like this, if you don't like it, and you did the company-sponsored route, at least you tried and earned some great life experiences along with a paycheck.

David, welcome to TT. To answer your last question first, the "know 100% this is the right thing for you?" is for you to answer. Read through the forums here. Ask any other question you have. There's no BS in these posts. It's all straight stuff.

Do not be concerned about money up front. Both company sponsored training and private trucking school costs money, and you will be on the hook for that at first. But usually the companies will pick up your training tab if you promise to work for them for a minimum commitment, usually 1 year.

The best deal, if you take the trucking road is to take the High Road Training Program (free). Your up front cash is your physical and CDL permit. DOT physicals run $70-$100 usually.

Also, schools may offer only training, some get you a hotel room, or put you into a hotel and feed you, and the lucky ones get paid for training. As 6 String offered, check out this links.

In addition to what the others said; Don't expect to make the equivalent of $12-14/hr in the first year. But it does increase. Also, unless you're independently wealthy & gonna buy your own truck, forget the romantic thoughts of putting the hammer down, screamin' down the wide open road without a care in the world. You'll drive whatever they give you. It won't be new, but hopefully it'll be clean & in good mechanical condition. That said most trucks are much nicer than years ago & you can have a fair amount of control over your schedule. I'll bet you wouldn't know if most jobs are THE job. This guy enjoys it (53 yrs old rookie) & it's an honest living. So your research & trust your instincts. You'll be okay.

I had the same problem back in 2009 2010 is was 40 and when the housing market crashed I framed houses I went to Nettts truck driving school took out loans after getting my class A I went to prime did 40000 miles with a trailer made money learned the trade Had an awesome trainer went company driver got a 2010 pete loved it had a great fleet manager made alright money they paid for some of my loans i paid the rest off. then after the first year I had to stay home because of personal problems got a local driver job I really don't care for local driving and I make must less money So now I am heading back out otr. problems at home are fixed and kids are gone in college.

Thanks everyone for the comments. I have been watching some of the Big Mike Videos on trucking your first year, and life as a trucker. I will start on the truckers truth training today. working with recruiters schneider sounds good central hub right here in Indiana, lot of Midwest runs which is what im interested in. My biggest fear of failure is all the story's you hear about docks being to small or tight and getting into a accident and being out of a job before school is even paid for. But i did like the comment about jumping in, reading it made me think of cliff diving with my son last summer didn't know at my age if I could do a 30 foot cliff or not till I tired.

In addition to what the others said; Don't expect to make the equivalent of $12-14/hr in the first year. But it does increase. Also, unless you're independently wealthy & gonna buy your own truck, forget the romantic thoughts of putting the hammer down, screamin' down the wide open road without a care in the world. You'll drive whatever they give you. It won't be new, but hopefully it'll be clean & in good mechanical condition. That said most trucks are much nicer than years ago & you can have a fair amount of control over your schedule. I'll bet you wouldn't know if most jobs are THE job. This guy enjoys it (53 yrs old rookie) & it's an honest living. So your research & trust your instincts. You'll be okay.

thank you hearing your story cuts some of the fear