Too old to be a newbie?

I'm 62 years old and two days ago got my CDL A, hazmat, doubles, and tanker endorsements from a local school in Washington state. I've had 6 job offers so far--two from so-called "bottom feeders". You are definitely not too old to get hired in the industry.

I'd suggest researching any school or employer thoroughly before signing on the dotted highway. And try and avoid leases for the first year or two. Read everything on this forum and you'll do fine.

Go for it, guy !

 

COOL!!! I'm excited for ya, dude!! Congratulations! I hope to be just where you are soon!

 

Ditto for you, quatto! Right on, man!

 

Your profile sounds very similar to mine. Last July I finished a successful 28+ year career as a software engineer with a large IT firm, making well into six figures, but like you the stress of all the BS creeping in was starting to get to me. And I was in poor physical shape due to the sedentary nature of the job and the job demands leaving little time for anything else except sitting in front of a darn computer screen all day and night.

I got my CDL (with hazmat, double/triple, tanker, etc. endorsements) this past February and have been doing flatbedding for one of the national carriers since then. I've lost weight and gained a lot of muscle and stamina. I haven't felt this good in 20 years and am thoroughly enjoying the work.

I'm 52.

 

Man, I get so fired up reading posts like this! I'm proud of you! Some might say "how could you humble yourself to the point to decide to become a trucker??" Hey, I commend you! There is just something about truckin, and it has provided obvious benefits to you already...

 

(oh - I'm female --- so IT wall was hit twice as hard for me)

 

Sorry bout that, BlueSparrow! I should have referred to you as "dudette!" You are doin great to go into truckin from IT! I admire that.

 

I agree with you on that. But the reality is that not everyone prepares like that. I stay outt over 3 weeks at a a time. Go home for four days. I do take food with me. About a weeks worth. Then I have to replenish. I like to cook. But my four days off don't give me much time to do everything I have to do. And to be honest there isn't a single meal I like enough to eat more than twice in a month. I guess I wish I was more organized and less picky.

 

I'm hearin ya, Sabine in MO! It does take time to prepare food for weeks out. Really, about half a day. When you only have four days off, I can see why you wouldn't want to do that. As for me, I eat oatmeal EVERY morning! I should be more picky!

 

I have 16 years of IT experience, with 10 of those as a software engineer in the telecommunications field. It was outsourcing that killed my and many other IT professionals' careers. I looked into trucking, but decided against it. If I had been single then maybe I would've given it a shot, but I knew my wife wouldn't have been able to handle it. I still hang around the boards though.