16 year old wanting to be a trucker

Can I thank this post 1000 times?

The above is GREAT advice!

 

What the others said; also if you can take a defensive driving class within the next couple years, it will help you develop good driving habits that will pay off later...it's a whole lot easier to start developing good habits now rather than having to unlearn bad habits later. And that knowledge is great to have even if you end up not driving a big rig.

 

How ironic you've posted your desire to be a truck driver! My almost 16 year old son has been interested in big trucks for as long as I can remember and has a strong desire to learn diesel mechanics and truck driving.

His high school works with many businesses in the area that award scholarships, internships and training programs to the students. Schneider National and Walmart offer driving programs to the students interested in pursuing a career in logistics, truck driving and diesel mechanics. Have you checked with your school to see if such programs exist and/or are available in your area? If you're really passionate about this endeavor, talk with your school's guidance department to see about scholarships and the like.

Good luck and best wishes, young man!

 

Apply for summer employment thru companies like ups and fedex there internal loaders and dock hands have access to driving positions before the general public and with time and grade can lead to a very good position within a regional or local driving job where the big bucks are..

 

Stay in school. If you get into this at 21 you'll be burned out by 30 and realize now you're stuck in this. This is not a career I would recommend to any young person unless they're a real screw up and too lazy to go to college. I don't think you're that type.

 

I have been in it since I was 18 now at 44 im like a burnt piece of toast..lol

 

Check with your school's guidance department regarding scholarships - they would know if any are available. Do you have a community college or tech center close by? We have a few and they have scholarships available at my son's high school.

I will say this, as others here have posted, truck driving is a tough job - it's hard on your body and mind - and you can get burned out quickly. I've encouraged my son to pursue diesel mechanics over truck driving for now. It's not that truck driving is a bad career choice, but having a solid education with a degree and/or certification is a great fall back just in case.

 

well guess what sparky, you need to think about it. At 16 everthing seems to be a 1000 years away. . People 35 seem to be old people and anyone over 50 is a dinosaurs.... You graduate high school and twenty years go smokin by, and you turn around an look back and it all seemed like it was yesterday or 10 mins ago....


Before you know it your 50 years old....... And ....... There is a young person trapped inside your body, the body of an old person, looking out thru the trifocals you have to wear now and thinking wtf happened?????????

It might have seemed like a great idea at the time and you had a heck of alot of fun, but now you and your best bud are in a holding cell at the county lockup awaiting booking and you just destroyed your future for a few laughs. A good friend will bail ya out , a true friend will be sitting there next to you saying " #### , that was fun"

think before you step in dog #### , cause it ain't always easy to clean off your shoes. Look before you leap, you might be leaping out in front of a moving freight train....

If you can go to school, do it!!!!!!!

Get a degree in something thats gonna provide you a good living for years to come, if you still wanna drive truck, you, at least have something to fall back on later on.

All this advice is from that old guy looking out , thinking wtf????? Been there done that and got 6 dressers full of the t-shirts.... LOL, All except the jail part.....

 

Well I make much more than most of my friends with day jobs . That being said I work harder to but I don't want to sit behind a desk or in a factory been there and done that they both suck to me . I also have been lucky enough to work with some guys that trucked into their eighties and one his nineties they were part time at that point but in great shape for their age. They also did not smoke . Here is my advice do not get traffic tickets do not drink or do drugs do not do anything that could end up giving you a criminal record also you can't drive till your 21 so go to an affordable state collage and get a business degree a large portion of management in my company are former drivers that got promoted so the book learning is still very important it can be more important in trucking than most people realize . Learn how to do math in your head when your dispatcher calls and asks if you can do a load he will want an answer then if you don't have an answer someone else will get the load