Negativities. People trying to talk me out of driving a truck.

What are they saying is so bad about it?

 

I'm wondering if those around you feel as though you're making an effort to better your lot in life threatens them.

If so, then it's time to make new friends.

 

Tell all those people there are 3.5 million truckers in the USA, so it can't be that bad.
Tell them there's no way in hades you'll spend the rest of your working life punching a time clock or sitting in an office cubicle and listening to the same old stale jokes in the lunch room every day.
You'll probably make more money than all those trying to discourage you; even those will university degrees.
I heard some of that garbage too and that made me even more determined and sure I'd made the right decision. Loving the open road, night driving, listening to XM radio over a hot cup of coffee in the quiet solitude of a truck running from coast to coast.
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YouTube video > OGT- Las Vegas
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I have 2 college degrees and found out they were useless. My wife and I drive team and make more than we ever have in any other job. We don’t get to shower every day but you don’t need to anyway. When the stench becomes noticeable we make time for one. If you have a wife and kids I wouldn’t advise the OTR life but if have wanderlust and no encumbrances it can be a great job. I like being in a different state every day and it sure beats the view in a cubicle.

 

I would have probably experience the ultimate discrimination (One step beyond negative etc) from approx a few hundred of family in my time. I decided to go to trucking school one day, enough of detailing new cars. two sets of parents supported my situation and how.

Background, I am deaf. In the 60's and 70's deaf people did not have what you know as CDL's today. In fact they were banned from driving big rigs and other really important stuff until the 70's as explained to me. I am one of a few hundred in Maryland within our State school system in all grades who managed to escape into trucking along with a couple of other deaf who went into construction trucking, a variant of Class B.

Anyway, in school instructors asked me what do I do with the 21 classmates who don't know what to do with me. I told instructor I am not there to be too social, too many people to meet and know in a short time and teachers needed to be direct with instructions and get out of the way. Ultimately the trucking school was a success.

When I got my class A and the family found out, then there was a storm of essentially omfg deafie in a big truck, I'll be ###### etc .... And that day was literally the day family with 6 exceptions died to me.

I had too much fun getting into the rigs and doing what I knew I was going to be doing at 6 years old in the back of a friends B61 mack dump going to the quarry and being introduced to the tracked cat dozer that day. The state school had parked a LaFrance Airport pump truck as playground, and I would be up there learned the transmission high low ranges off the metal plate at the doghouse and the cummins etc You could say I spent days up there for it being a quiet place away from the chaos of daytime dorm. They had to do some work because little kids kept getting stuck inside the pump area confined spaces. (*Because we could)

Long story short. I got this far. Everything was as expected, particularly the physical toll on the body from the wear and tear of the old iron through the early computer engines back then. I am with a group of doctors doing surgery when I must and otherwise fixing what is possible against a future living quietly at home. But who knows? Medical advances have gotten almost to where it might be possible to get that CDL going again. We will see. The doctors talk about installing as if you were putting a part into the body a form of cushion into joints to essentially stop the arthritis which is the big problem right now. The heart will just have to look after itself among other things.

Sad? I did not have time for that. It rains some days just like sunshine other days we don't have time to be sad. Much. Too busy getting loaded and rolling as they say. I was away from family up to a year straight and would come home for winters off sometimes. They could never understand how unemployment backed by the employer and my savings allowed me to essentially enjoy life while the poor rats raced to DC or Baltimore fighting snow, ice and everything else. All that stress.

HA.

 

Not necessarily. There will be quite a few drivers around you who will not be bothered for anything, maybe even hit your 18 wheeler if you don't watch out for it. The old culture out there died in my lifetime about the 1990 time period. After 1994 as many old ones said eff that CDL crap (Drug testing etc) and went home, then things really got changing. 9-11 sealed it.

 

Your first year will be hell getting used to the job and dealing with frustration and sleep deprivation. Specialties like flatbed, heavy haul, hazmat, and tanker pay better. Choose one to specialize in and get really good at all facets of the job. Also learn the business and plan on getting your own truck. Thats when the real fun starts and the money gets much better.