A good fit for me?

I'll start by saying that I am new to these forums and this will be my first post Either way, I am a 25 year old single male who is located in Pensacola, FL. I was laid off from my IT job in early-mid 2008 and have not had stable employment since then. I have just been picking up odd jobs here and there.

My city has always had a bad job market as it's a military, retirement, and tourism town, but now with the economy, the unemployment rate here is the highest in Florida at over 20% and the city is shrinking and houses are being left Abandoned. Trust me, I know as the only neighbor I have left is across the street... the others around me are just empty and/or boarded up. I've had job offers in my field (IT) in other cities (Columbus, OH, Atlanta, Houston, etc) but can't move simply because I am unemployed and unable to find a job.

Anyway... I'm sorry for being long winded, but this leads me to the possibility of becoming a truck driver. I wouldn't be limited to my local economy and the money is fairly decent (Hey, $9 an hour is average pay in my little town) It would allow me to get back on my feet and eventually move to a larger city while still having a job.

These are the pros for me:
I enjoy driving
I'm single, not married and have no kids
I'm pretty anti-social... I like my alone time and don't even have any friends
I like working indepedently
I like working hands on instead of behind a desk
I love being alone, and love my alone time.

These are the cons for me:
I've never drove a manual tranny
I don't have much experience driving in major cities. I have drove through them, but only passing through.
Major City Traffic makes me nervous. I'm sure this is something I will get over in time as I have more practice, but will be an issue at first.
I've never driven on ice or in snow... lived in Florida my entire life
I've never driven very large. I did drive a 26' box truck once when I was moving, and I did have a mid sized SUV for several years.

Either way, those are my pros and cons. Most of the cons I am sure I can get over in time and with driving school. My biggest question is.... could driving be a good fit for me?

My worry is that 3 or 4 years ago, I was in an accident that was my fault.. I rear ended a delivery truck and totaled my car but didn't do any damage to them. I did get a careless driving ticket. Also, about 5 years ago, I got a speeding ticket. Could these cause problems?

I'm looking to find a company that will pay for my schooling and whatnot... what companies would be best?

Thanks and sorry for being long winded.

 

I should also add that my step dad was (he still is, but they have split up) a truck driver and has worked for at least 8 different companies including Swift, JBHunt, Arrow, and a ton of others that I can't recall. I've went on short trips with him before and enjoyed them. I believe he started off with Swift who paid for his schooling and everything back in the late 90's.

 

I've tried, but can't join the military because of my weight, and trust me, I've tried to drop my weight but it simply doesn't work as simple as that. By the military requirements, I have been overweight since I was in early middle school.

 

I would, but I can't even find that. I've applied for hundreds of jobs over the past year or so and have only ended up with these temp jobs that last for a couple of weeks. Yes, I have tried Wal-Mart and whatnot and was told by them that they were laying off. I sent my resume to some larger companies in other cities and I always get a phone call a few days later with a interview request... but yet this does me no good because I can't move.

I want to move, I hate this city because there never has been any jobs here and never will be. The city also doesn't have any IT job market which is what my career is... I can't stand it here, but I also can't move either because I have no job

I've even gone as far as to thinking about moving to a larger city and just living in my car until I get on my feet there, but what worries me there is my car is an old beater (I lost everything when I was laid off and couldn't/can't find work) and has a fuel pump going out, bad brakes, and engine leaking water. I really don't know what else to do anymore. I am so sick of having family live in my place because I can't even afford my own mortgage.