New guy is vegas

Hey everbody, My Name is Russ and from Vegas. Trying to start class at Southwest in Vegas on 4/23, and been reading the heck out of the board and watching videos from truckers on Youtube.

I'm 42, recently unemployed and spent the last month sitting at home, dreading getting another job. Saw an ad for trucking school, and thought, I always wanted to live on the road at some point in my life, so I figured, why not now. My lifestyle is pretty much portable as it is, studio apartment, minimal stuff, no real social life. Most of my entertainment is on the internet, so a decent laptop and my Kindle should keep me entertained while I am out. I don't cook in my apartment, so I don't think I will miss it on the road.

My goal is to get on the road and start getting some experience so I can make more informed choices about where I want to go onto... local, stay on the road, oilfield, ect. I hope to like it enough to go 24/7 in the truck, staying with relatives or in a motel every couple of months to take a break. Will keep my address at my mom's house in Vegas (no state taxes). Quit smoking, cause I know I will be chainsmoking if I get into the habit of smoking in the truck.

I read lots of good info on this board, so I think my mindset is such that I won't be too put off by anything I see starting out. Also read enough to recognize the bad posters: the newbies who whine because they aren't making 50k and home every night, and the bitter experienced drivers who think everyone coming into trucking never did a minute of real work in their life. You got to remember, what is not said is usually more important than what is said.

My starting company will probably be one of the starter companies ( Werner, Swift, or USexpress). I see people put them all down, and I see other people say they are okay. So it seems to me whether you succeed or not is based on your mindset, if you go in with unreasonable expectations then you will be disappointed.


Anyway, Thanks for the board and all the great people who are on it. I will definitely be keeping on, learning and sharing my experience for anyone who wants to hear it

 

I like Vegas, just kinda hard here 'cause of the economy. Our main industry is tourism, so we gotta wait for the rest of the world gets back on it's feet to start prospering again. Gotta like hot weather and wind, cause those are the main weather conditions here.

Just hope you gotta job lined up, cause it is hard to get work living here right now.

Funny you are in Jax, I was thinking of moving there cause I have family in San Ferdandido Beach before I decided I wanted to start CDL school.

Good luck and hope everything works out for ya.

 

Trucking might be different, as I haven't really started putting out apps and have no experience. But "normal" jobs are hard to get now.

 

Just got approved for grant for training, so CDL school is gonna cost me nothing. Start class on 4/23 and I am happy as can be.

Got prehires from the Swift, Werner, and USexpress, but I'm gonna try to get into Watkins Shepard or Gordon. Any other suggestions?