Age of drivers, is 60 too old to start?

Don't leave us hanging, what is it?

 

Trucking isn't for people with no other options. It's a good career, especially for people that prefer more solitude in their life. I could have been a crewmember & mechanic on Bell Helicopters that service oil rigs, but turned that down to be a long distance trucker. No regrets. Couple of my buddies went to the helicopter job and said, "It's ok, but not what it's cracked up to be."
Hundreds, maybe thousands, of drivers chose trucking over their previous career which was in the computer field, as you are now.

 

Fixed that for you.

 

Understandable....but not entirely true.

Trucking is a good fit for people who:

• Have an introverted personality
• Like working alone &/or being alone (rehash of the above)
• Disgusted with/tired of the office politics, backstabbing, double standards, nepotism, etc
• Have a sense of adventure -- & don't want/need the predictability that other jobs provide
• Can solve problems/think/act independently -- without feedback or approval
• Don't mind -- or even thrive -- with working in adverse weather (or other) conditions
• Can sleep in the truck ever day (or night) for weeks -- not just a few days
• Don't want/need to be micromanaged
• Have a strong work ethic (workdays are more than 8 - 9 hours, usually)
• Have the patience of a grandfather clock
• Are not easily intimidated or discouraged ("he who dares -- wins")
• Possess a "get 'er done" attitude
• Are safe, careful & courteous drivers

It's not necessarily JUST for people who don't have other options -- or feel that they have no other options.

-- L

 

If you do OTR or regional driving on any level -- many times you will be parked in a truckstop (or rest area) next to one or more trucks with their engines or apu running.

Consider using ear plugs and/or ear buds.

Despite all the talk to the contrary -- driving a truck & trailer safely for several hours each day is real work. It will tire you out.

Some of the best sleep I've gotten has been at the end of the workday....in a truck.

-- L

 

I'd rather drive a GD truck than swing a GD golf club or hold a GD fishing pole. To each their own. I drive because I enjoy it, and I'll stop when I no longer enjoy it.

 

I was an Army medic and back in the early 80s (before I got my CDL but after I got off active duty) I was offered a job in the medical dept on an oil rig. 6 months out at a time, $60k a year (which was D4MN good money back then). I too passed.

And I too was in the computer field (programmer). Thats what I was doing when I was offered the job on the rig.

 

Not a problem, we don't have FAA age limits yet.

 

Well, by all means, keep on truckin' . See, for me, I liked trucking until I HAD to do it. Family, kids, house, minivans, it became a job and I couldn't wait until it was over. I don't fish or golf either, but I spent enough time in a truck, I wanted to do something else in my retirement. Haven't found that yet, came pretty close moving to the Rocky Mountains, but same thing, seen one vista, you've seen them all, but when applying for my Colorado DL, the guy said, "do you want to transfer the CDL? $8 bucks". I said, look pal, I'd stock soup cans at Walmart before I drove a truck again, just push the button, and with that he ended 40 years of trucking, and I was a happy dude.