Looking into becoming a trucker.

Welcome to the road Jay. Been out here 15 years, come on out the road is fine
Just be aware that most if not all local companies will want to see 2 years of over the road driving to be considered for a job. So start there, if you are thinking of local driving. Find out from local companies if they hire fresh from school grads. Then look in your area for a school. Road master is a good school. It is expensive to get the schooling necessary but worth it. Option of going with a company like Schneider of others is that the school is free if you drive for them for a given time frame. Oh by the way, no DUI, or drug history is manditory for the position you are looking at, just an FYI to through your way. If you have a family, maybe keep looking. It is hard on the family for the man to be gone for long periods of time, hard on you as well. No family? No problem go for it, life is good out here. Feel free to contact me.

 

Hey there, well as far as being a paid tourist it is not likely to be able to just stop where the cool things are. The reason is there will be parking problem or time problem. I have however been able to stop and see some very amazing sights while out on the road. You will just have to pick your route and do some trip planning to accommodate the stop and look ahead at the location on google earth or such.
I have never regretted my choice to be a truck driver, i hope you will have a similar situation in the years to come. Feel free to contact with any questions you may have.
The pieman

 

Go with a tanker outfit since you don't want city driving. Even with tankers you will get city on occasion, but not too often. Hazmat/tankers most deliveries and pickups will be at chemical plants, which for the most part aren't located right in the city. This isn't true in every case, but the odds are on your side. Several hazmat/tanker companies hire new CDL graduates and sometimes Indian River Transport, which is food grade tanker, hires new CDL graduates. I pulled tankers 48 states and it was the best trucking I've ever done.

There's some cheap CDL schools in Texas, especially at community colleges.

Ask some questions on "Questions From New Drivers" thread.