Anyone else a late bloomer, 40 and above just getting into driving?

Nah, USA, USA, while there may be some places worth seeing abroad, the good old USA can provide everything you'd ever want to see, and then some. Live forever? Man, the way it's going, I just don't know.
I get a kick out of "later in life", it sure is a relative point. 40s has always been considered as "middle aged", and probably the best time to make a change, BEFORE old age and health concerns kick in. I guess I'm wondering if the 17 years had anything to do with trucking, and if not, why would they send you to school, unless we're missing something here. If the company wants you to haul their goods, you couldn't ask for a sweeter deal. If the company is sending you to school as part of a severance thing, keep in mind, upon completion of school, you'll start at the bottom, which may or may not work for you. Good luck.

 

I was around 30. The average age of working truck drivers is 56, so I would maybe start having doubts about entering trucking if I was 70 or not healthy/mobile. Younger than that, have no fear. Older and younger, dumber and smarter, more and less talented people have completed school, gotten good jobs and done well. I expect you will also, IF YOU DO GOOD RESEARCH AND PICK AN EMPLOYER THAT FITS YOU. Trucking turned my life around. Many people used trucking for that purpose.

ONLY YOU CAN PROTECT YOUR LICENSE. Everyone in trucking will be happy to watch you set fire to your CDL to get them out of some minor jam. Your job is to protect your license. You can get another employer if it is necessary.

 

You're probably a country-mile ahead of most people in CDL school just by having SOME discipline.
NEVER PARK AT FUEL PUMPS, pull-ahead or park in a parking spot. NEVER PARK AT FUEL PUMPS.

 

Knowing the company you will work for before CDL school ends is like winning the lottery, especially with slow economy.
There is no truck driver shortage, despite what media says every time they talk about trucking.

 

Yep I’m a newbie and in my 50’s

 

13yrs in now, started at 45.

 

That's great.

I'm assuming you like your current employer well enough after 17yrs, to be considering this. Benifits & retirement continue to accrue, rather than starting anew from scratch.

Big, big plus......... no job hunt with no experience in this long time extended down market!

Your in a good spot & age at this point. Do it to it, brother.

Best of luck & hope the best for you.

 

That is definitely not always the case.

 

I got my CDL-B a few months before I turned 40, after burning out as a brewmaster for what later became known as craft breweries (we called them microbreweries and brewpubs). I needed a job and the local school district needed school bus drivers. I did that for a few years and then started driving charter coach buses.

After 20 years of buses, I belatedly discovered that truck drivers make more money than bus drivers, so I got a CDL-A and have been enjoying the quiet ever since! I’ll be 66 in July, and am hoping to work until I’m 75 (I didn’t pay attention when advised to save for retirement, I’m trying to catch up now). Of course, now my 401k is evaporating and my Social Security might, too, but let’s not talk about that…

 

Not to derail my own thread, but if this is the case, why is there so many companies advertising CDL jobs? My own company struggles to hire from the outside... we just hired two in the past month and one is gone already (he was a bonehead).

We used to recruit guys from the warehouse that wanted to get their CDL. Five years ago they would have five guys apply and they'd send one or two to school. This time around, it was me and another that applied, and they are sending both of us.

I get it, I'm a rank newbie and maybe this should be a thread all in its own.