College On the Road? (OTR Drivers)

I earned a Masters while driving. Hard to do, but can be done. One skill is not enough these days. Mine wa in computers. If I went for a doctors, people would stop getting sick.

 

How is it possible if you work up to 14 hours a day? When arriving at the truck stop, I would want to shower, eat, and then go to bed. There's like very little free time at all.

 

It's called sleep depravation, or a matter of what you want. You have a short term loss or flip burgers for a lifetime. The choice is yours.

 

Lol what is a library...dedication will take you a long way. If it isn't impossible it must be possible. Good luck!

 

I have never felt the need to waste a day. Except for fishin' You are who you are, but that can be changed, if you want it bad enough. I chose to drive, to help others. Knowing something else is always a plus.

 

Online classes have really took off the past couple years. Even on campus students are using these classes. I'm working on an Associates right now at IADT. It's a 18 month accelerated program. You can attend live classes which you can interact via chat or they have video archives where I can work at my own pace which I normally do. There's even an online library and study groups. Trucking it would be easy to use the archives and work an hour or two as you can. I get more done in the middle of the night when everyone is sleeping. You can never get enough education. I might go for my bachelors if everything works out well.

 

I am cursed, I love trucks so much, I love computers so much. I knew some day I would not be able to drive them anymore. But I can do a keyboard. So I learned both. Took 5 1/2 years for a 4 year degree, but I got it. Have a 99 Freightliner with a 160" sleeper, kind of beat up, but I got it. Get up every morning, learn something new. Never felt the need to stop learning. The only thing I have learned, Is I can't learn enough. Saddletramp 2/26/13

 

You can't work 14 hours every day. It's illegal. You find time, you run out of hours, you're sitting in dock doors, fuel islands, traffic, etc... It's just how bad you want it. I look at drivers sitting at truck stops staring out their windsheild or playing with phone for hours, they have time.

 

I think it's definitely doable. I have had the same question myself, I am currently finishing up a degree that I've done entirely on line. I used to drive over the road during the 90s and I'm seriously thinking about going back on the road and finish up my last few courses in the truck. I always had three or four hours of downtime usually every day. If you have your own hotspot you shouldn't have a problem. One of the replies says you have to go to a library to do a paper. Nowadays all the libraries are online, and you can do your research on the computer and download the material. I have a voice response software called Dragon that allows me to dictate to the computer to write a paper, and you really don't have to type anymore for paper.

 

Knowledge is power my friends. Self-improvement is always a wise and commendable venture. Online education is entirely possible when driving OTR, especially these days. OTR driving can make it difficult to actually take college coursework due to the time constraints that are placed on a person. But that depends on the company you’re working for and the demand they have on your time.

The best thing is to not take college classes in the conventional method, but rather do it in a more unconventional method. For example, there are such options as using the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), Advanced Placement (AP), or ALEKS. Each of these is an academic means of testing out of certain subject matter, generally lower division general education requirement that most college degrees will require. Most university and lower colleges will accept between 30 and 45 credit-hours from either CLEP or AP; however, ALEKS I am not as certain about. These tests can be taken at many different locations throughout the United States and Canada. Just check the websites for listings. Download the free PDF outlines for the subject matter. Purchase the practice exams and study guides online too.

In addition to the aforementioned, there is a unique and somewhat newer approach to learning named Alison (Advanced Learning Systems Online). It is a great way to obtain tons of knowledge useful in business or general studies. Best of all it is free…The price is right! They have certificates and diplomas which one can purchase, but why? This site is best used to gain strong insight prior to taking a class, or to enhance the CLEP and AP examinations prior to taking them at a local college. Moreover, if one desires just to have knowledge without the degree it is a good path to follow.

One can also use P2P software to down load free textbooks lectures of specific subjects or simply go to YouTube where thousands of subject passionate professors, some from very prestigious institutions (Harvard, MIT, Stanford etc…), allow others to learn the materials for free.

These methods of given are indeed viable options that do tow important things. First, it allows a person to self-study at their own pace without the stress of midterms and final exams and writing academic papers. Driving OTR is stress enough as most of us in the business know, so why add to it? Driving a rig is serious business and it is best not to be distracted or stressed. Second is the tremendous cost savings of taking a few exams for the cost of about $80.00 average taking three exams is $240.00; compared to paying both tuition and fees often around $1000.00 at a community college and upward of $3000.00 at a state university every four months if taking nine credit hours. Most of the fees and tuition has nothing to do with what you are actually paying them for. So, it can be done in a rational way. It is how I do my education and I am almost done with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, but I have also taken several business classes in accounting, management, and engineering which have proven useful in the business of OTR driving. Yeah, I do intend to continue tacking on degrees in this fashion and leave to open road for an office job as a DM or broker very soon. God bless.