90's Driver, considering a comeback

Hello Drivers,

Long story short:

I used to be a OTR driver back in the mid 1990's; first for PST then about 6 months for C.R. England, (feel free to laugh) before going local for about another year. I liked driving a lot, but wasn't getting OTR miles, so no paycheck really. Being young and without patience, I quit driving etc, the story's been told here 1,000 times I'm sure.

17 years later, I find myself in the middle of a desert with few job prospects. I have some education, but it's not worth much in this economy and place. Air Force Vet, An A.A. in General Studies, 2 computer certifications too, but no recent job experience because I've been wasting money, er spending time in college. (I used to live on a sailboat I fixed up, sold it, lived off the money for years) Now the money is gone and I find myself thinking about getting my CDL A again. However, I'd have to be out and back, LTL etc because I'm the sole caregiver for a terminally ill relative. I can't do OTR at this time.

I don't know if this is feasible or not, but I do know being a driver is a recession proof job; especially as age is beginning to catch up with me. Make a comeback, but stay more or less, local? I can pay for "school" (again) out of pocket. Opinions?

Anyway, thank you for listening to my short story and I'll post up more specific questions in the other forum areas.

 

Chinatown, excellent idea about dry bulk tankers; I didn't think about that "angle" at all. Assuming of course they would take someone with no recent experience. Still, thank you very much.

I already feel like joining this forum was a good idea.

 

Aye, good point about age. Companies don't want a 40 year old computer tech who does things the "old fashioned way," and hasn't worked in the field professionally in about 5 years.

Being 40 in trucking without any accidents or tickets going back over 10 years is a great boon to have on your application.

I do worry about not having a recent job. Of course, I can account for most of my time with college credits, being a full time student. Hopefully, there is a local company here who is looking for someone like me. Well, January next year anyway, as that's the time table I'm working on. (back to CDL school in early December probably)

Nope, I'm tired of "the college life" at the moment, the way academics/professors can act/be etc. Let's just say things are changing in "college," and not for the better.

Besides, heh, I need to make some money.