Young person looking for advice/tips: Is truck driving a good career?

well i know in the states that you have to be 21 to drive otr under that is only intrastate....so if you plan on anything outside of canada...i dont think you can yet....but i might be wrong...of course someone will come long and correct me i am sure..i started when i was 21...single and no kids???

 

I'm no vet, but I'm a young person myself. I would say it should be a case-by-case situation. For me, I'm a college student, full-time, with one more semester (four classes) left before completing my associate degree. However, I also have a son/daughter coming in July and with the weak job market around where I am right now, and my dad had been a truck driver when I was younger, truck driving is naturally my next step.

I will say, it did suck when I went out with my dad because he would be out for a week or two at a time and when you have to sit and wait for a load, or there's nothing moving, it sucks! It's a lot of responsibility, and although I know the risks of not being able to see my son/daughter much and miss a lot of first's, circumstances change all the time.

I'll finish my final classes up and who knows, I may get offered a non-driving position at one of the companies out there now.

Just look at the bigger picture, you still have time since, as mentioned, under 21 can only be driven intrastate, not interstate to the best of my knowledge.

 

in the states most companies require you to be 23 years old, i guess its an insurance thing.

 

There are some folks on hear that are a wealth of resources and information.

Though a decade older than you, I can empathize with the seas of change. So if there is any advice I can give, please consider me a friend.

 

IMO if you have the right attitude, good work ethics and a little bit of smarts, trucking is a great way to make a good living. If OTOH you lack one or more of these traits, you will go into it and end up on here perpetually whining about the job, the employer, the truck, etc.

 

i figured you were cuz of your age....yeah imo thats better cuz leaving a wife and kids at home make it harder!!!!...

 

Heres my test for being a trucker:
Go to a baseball game.
Sit in the most crowded section with the sun in your eyes.
Can you attentively pay attention in the same spot the entire game.
NO LOOKING AT CELL PHONES OR CRAP LIKE THAT
...i mean sit still dude (why can't people not be ocd lolz)
Did you have to get up and pee more than once during the game? <<bad thing.
Does paying 5 bucks for something that would cost you .50 cents anywhere else bother you?
If you enjoyed the game.
Then you have the patience to be a trucker

 

Do you get upset/frustrated when some real tall person sits down in front of you blocking your view, or people constantly making you stand up so they can move past you, going to and from their seats?