A New Newbie

Pushing real hard on 50 it feels odd being a newbie, but I guess that's what I am. I'm new to this board, and new to truck driving. Technically, I haven't even started driving yet, and won't until the 21st of next month, when I will be finished pushing, and actually be 50. This is due to, what else, government intervention: I have jury duty the week of the 14th.

In any case, I'll be starting my new career officially then. In reality, truck driving is, in a way at least, the family business. Well, that and law enforcement. Pretty much every adult male member of family, except me, has been in one or the other, and some of them both. Me, I went to computer school. After over 20 years in the IT industry I can safely say the only worthwhile thing I got at that school is my wife. The rest was a waste of time and effort.

Now I'm ready to start what I probably should have done 20 or 30 years ago. While waiting for the jury duty to be done so I can get started I've been studying everything I can think of. I've probably spent more time on manufacturer pages, especially Peterbilt, than they guys that designed them. I've got a serious case of trucks on the brain!

 

That's amazing. I hadn't expected to find a mess of guys going from IT to trucking, but I guess it makes sense. IT is over rated and over manned, and trucking is just the opposite. Also, jobs I used to get back in the 80's and 90's that paid in the 50-60K range now don't pay past about 35K or so. In any case, I'd much rather be out driving across the country than sitting in someone else's office trying to explain as delicately as possible that the reason it doesn't work is because they keep doing exactly what I asked them not to do for this very reason. It used to be worth the trouble, now it's not even close, at least not when there actually is work.

I'm also encouraged to see other guys about the same age just getting started in this as well. I guess I shouldn't be surprised though, my dad drove trucks until he was 65. Then he went to the SB county sheriffs academy, passed it, and got a job for a school district as a cop. He did that for another five years or so. I intend to do this until someone makes me stop, then I'm going hunting.