New career for a middle aged lady ..truckin?

I understand completely! You'd be amazed at the number of people who are in your exact same situation. So, keep your chin up and your dignity intact!!

If you've made up your mind and are happy with your decision, I'm happy for you and wish you great success!

I just felt the need to try to encourage you not to settle for a company school or for profit driving school unless you absolutely had to!

Nothing against Swift specifically from me, all company schools tie you to that company for some period of time and I was trying to encourage you to select a school that gives you the most options and good quality training.

Hope to see you out on the road sometime. Start a new thread when you start your training and keep us all posted with your progress so that others may benefit from your first hand experience!

Hope you have a great Thanksgiving!!

 

I hope you're stronger than the average lady because there's some things that'll be tough for you. I'm 6'5 250 lbs and I sometimes struggle to close doors, slide tandems, and crank up stiff landing gear. I always wonder how the ladies do it. Just something to think about, I'm sure you'd be a great driver, but it's not always just driving.

 

You aren't going to have a problem getting a job, you are going to have a problem picking the right one!

As for schools and training they are all comparable as long as you are comparing accredited ones. Most of your learning is going to come after school when you are with your company trainer. School just gets you prepared to go with a trainer.

There is nothing wrong with a company like Swift if that is what you think will be best for you. They are in the business of training newbies and using their inexperience as a way to move cheap freight. Its a job! They are the Disney World of the truck industry and are constantly hiring new cast members! I promise you though, the harder it is to get on with a company the more worth it they are going to be to work for! There are over 450,000 trucking companies in the US and there are lots of cool unique driving jobs that nobody takes the time to check out or go for. Stuff like hauling the Clydesdales for Budweiser! Not many people would think of that but they have a lot of custom trucks and a lot of expensive horses that need to be moved around from show to show all over the country! Hell, Kenny Chesney alone has 7-10 trucks that follow him around the country! Then there's NASCAR, CBS Sports, Tradeshows, Heavy Haul, there is even a company out of Colorado called Western that has armored Semi trucks for hauling around very, very valuable stuff(money, bombs, missiles, artifacts etc...)

Anyway the sky's the limit and everything has to be hauled on a truck from one point to another! Pick your poison!

 

My wife is 5'3" and 105lbs and never had a problem. You will do just fine. If for any reason you do need a hand there will most likely be a line of truckers to help you. I wouldn't suggest becoming a mover but most of the other stuff you won't have a problem with.

 

Call a few recruiters and get a couple of pre-hire letters. Your case worker would be hard pressed to decline that.

 

I partly see Gryphon's point but realistically if you go to a community college it could take a long time to get your CDL. Had you just gone straight to a company sponsored school you would be a full fledged driver by now making money. Not to mention you won't have to fork over a dime in doing so and are guaranteed a job.

Not sure why everyone is so pressed about signing a contract with a company. I would rather be on the hook from a company contract than a bank or government loan! Plus the company contract doesn't charge interest and is about half the cost of a normal school.

To each is to own though and everyone has different reasons for which they prefer.

As far as the reefer thing goes, hauling reefer is probably one of the easiest fields of trucking as far as manual labor. I guess if your trailer is from the 50's then you should be concerned about breakdowns but for the most part these are very high tech reefers and pretty much take care of themselves. If you have a problem you call your DM and they send you to the nearest shop. Its not like you have to find a glacier and chip ice to keep your load from thawing! I have driven reefer for 16 years and have had very minimal problems. Way more reliable then any truck I have ever driven!

Flatbedding isn't too bad but keep in mind you have to constantly monitor your load and re-tighten straps and chain-binders etc... Tarps are very heavy, upwards of a couple hundred pounds but can be lifted by a forklift or such if necessary. It depends what company you work for as to what you will be doing. A lot of them go to construction sites and new structures etc... Just a little FYI I almost learned the hard way; when tarping or securing your load and you are walking around on top of the load, first off be careful not to step in any holes and most important WATCH OUT FOR POWERLINES!!!

Anyway back to the babble, if you were an owner operator I would say definitely reefer. That's a no brainer! You have way more options with a reefer trailer for loads then a dry van. Since you aren't an owner operator go with what you think will best fit you or you will be the most comfortable with. Like I posted up top, there are so many different options out there, you just have to take the time to do the research.

 

Gryphon is right, you should press the folks at WIA. It's better to go in not owing any money to a company just in case you find out you don't like working for them for whatever reason and want to go elsewhere. You could be stuck financially for the cost of training if you left Swift, for example, for whatever reason before their training was considered paid off. If you lost a job in IT you could be classified as a "displaced worker" under WIA and get approval that way. I'm a vet too with a BA in History, hence why I was working in construction (ha!), and after being laid off for months have been approved for WIA funding.