lack of self confindence/want to be a trucker

Good advice above. Condolences as well.

I was 52 when I started. Was in the same industry for +30 years.

Best decision I made. Yes it’s work. Yes it can be difficult. Yes your confidence will grow as you learn. Yes you can do this. Yes it takes me 1000 miles sometimes to clear my head. Focus on being a professional and you can go far. It’s a new career. Cheers.

 

It's perfectly normal to feel intimidated by big trucks. They're big, right?

Hopefully, you'll be able to find a decent trucking school that will train you properly. Just bear in mind that any trucking school is set up to train its students to obtain their cdl's, and not much else. Just don't attend CRST or Cr England. You'll find horror story after horror story about these two clown outfits strewn about this forum if you need the entertainment.

After trucking screwel comes company training with a trainer. This should be a positive learning experience IF you are paired with a trainer who gives a dang about proper instruction. Some trainers are just there to make an extra buck.

Don't be afraid to ask for a different trainer should you encounter one of these knuckleheads. You're there to be trained, not earn someone else a heftier paycheck.

In furtherance, there are several YouTube trucker trainer guys who have helpful and useful information about virtually all aspects of trucking.

Lastly, trucking is the backstabbing-free profession that you imagine it to be. The solitude as comfort you seek does exist.

 

I'm 51 and have been driving for six months now and I love it. Had been thinking about driving every since I was 21 and never did it.

Did it now because i needed a change of jobs. I've been an automotive and boat mechanic for the past thirty plus years. Take the chance and come on aboard, driving a big rig is not as hard as it looks.

Just take your time and everything will be great.

 

Its normal to be nervous about it.. U been in the same routine for 34 years but i t seems ur ready to get out of it and get a new routine... U will do fine out here man , get ur cdl and hammer down, dont look back... U will most definstly regret it if u never take the chance to come out here and be a trucker

 

There are better jobs than being a driver. Multitude of reasons.

Best part, though, is that it’s only you gets the blame. The problems that come up are about adapting to circumstance. Fair or unfair. We all get used to it.

1). The job of driving is the first boost to that confidence. A well-executed trip plan.

2). Dealing with others can be a shock. The way one can be treated (and for no reason). Pulling away those illusions is the second confidence booster.

3). The last is that with a great record, one can go anywhere. Quit today, drive for someone else in a couple more days. Or not.

My off-work hobby is restoring an all-aluminum travel trailer.

I can pull up at the yard in the big truck, unload my gear into my pickup, head home to hook up the trailer and be a couple of states away by morning. All I own is with me.

4). If I so choose.

When one gets to this point, trucking is good. My choice.

The ball & chain is the job. Not the employer.

Matt 10:14. And if anyone will not heed you, knock the dust from your sandals and proceed.

.

 

Butler Transport's Home Page
Recent Graduate Overview

 

I am anxiety-prone also. You cant let it run your life, you just gotta do what you think is best and deal with it until it goes away.

When I was first taking a semi out on the road I was wiping sweat off my forehead and neck with a rag. It didn't help I had a drill seargent driving teacher. Lol.

But I was stubborn and I stuck with it. Over 1 year in now, no accidents or tickets. Nothing special about my driving ability, not the best navigator, or ability to gauge distance. But it improved with time.

Just go slow and keep your head on a swivel.