Approved for truck driving academy. Getting cold feet

Go for it, its not like you are giving up a job you can never go back to. You may just find, like I did, a career you can't imagine ever changing.

 

You will have life at risk, including your own in ways you can never imagine or dream up. Even the best hollywood screen writers cannot plot the story of your possible last day on this earth.

I think you need to resolve your mortality and get right spiritually before proceeding. Once you are not wasting energy and concentration thinking about bad things, you will be able to accept training.

Frankly I was almost killed a number of times, my ex a few times and quite a few strangers were saved one way or another that I know of by my own actions. I don't worry about all that. We did not save everyone though, we lost many. When it's time it's time. I don't lose sleep over it.

You will enter into situations as a driver being told to do this by this hour on that day (Appointment) and you will have to go do it. It's not up to you to say no. But you will have to learn how to say no in effective ways that do not get you fired, resolves the HOS challenges that come up or fix equiptment that requires fixing to be safe. And you will have to do it across a great big nation in this USA in all season 24/7 etc.

What you will do is try to build a savings before you get into this, you will have feast and famine weeks. And you will learn not to over spend in retail. And you will learn about nutrition and health to take care of yourself out there on the road. That includes even sexual health as some STD's can hurt or kill you early in life. What a waste that will be. There are a awful lot of dirty people out there.

You will also have to consider very carefully what you apply to your body or ingest. For example mouthwash of the listerine kind in the morning has alcohol sufficient to make you not legal for driving. Zero tolerance.

Trucking is a way of life. It is not something everyone can do, however we are ... in a race to the bottom seeking to push one button and away we go. No manuals, no thinking, no nothing. Just mindless hold the wheel etc. NOT. You want to be actively involved in your own work out there on the big road.

One of the greatest challenges will be all the stupid people around you in the cars. Some of the things they will try to do will put you into a bad situation if you do not watch it. Price of failure includes injury, death, prison or worse maybe 2000 miles from home.

My post is somewhat heavy on the gloom and doom. But I tell you this. Trucking has provided me with a rich life one worth living. And because of it, not too much bothers me anymore and that's a good thing. I was such (To use a modern term...) snowflake when I was still in high school, well that's been burnt off in the crucible of trucking.

At the same time you will get to see much if not all the United States. There is so much good in our land. You would be glad some days you managed to escape the 9-5 grind and if you thrive doing this despite your fears, you are going to not want to do anything else ever again.

 

It's all about WANT TO.

If you want to... you WILL DO

It won't be easy. There will be days you'll second guess yourself.
The school will probably be easy (I guess.. I never went to one), the trainer could get on your ### for mistakes that endanger lives and equipment. It all means something out here.
Things happen FAST in the road in a rig. You'll get lulled to sleep from inactivity, then WHAM, there's an idiot.
Weather. Shippers. Receivers. Delays. Dispatchers. Long weekends with no pay close to home and you can't go.
It'll happen. You'll be MAD.
It'll be the best money you've ever made ... eventually... if you make it.

 

Driving is like an adventure and your along for the ride since you don't control much. You control just the truck and go were and when they tell you.

If you like driving and seeing new places it can be a good job. Driving to the Notheast sucks. It like driving a big car around but you go from truck stop to truck stop. I'm park in a McDonald's parking lot tonight because the 14 hour rule.

I liked driving cross country that was the fun part. Loading and unloading is the bad part. Your looking at driving about 115,000-120,000 miles a year. I've driven by lots of great places but never had time to stop and see them. I got to drive across the Hoover Dam in a truck before the closed it off after 9/11. That was an adventure.

 

Hoover was fun. I understand some of the concrete is still curing to this day inside that thing.

Most people don't understand that Dam provided the power to build B-29's in sufficient numbers to overwhelm Japan regardless of losses among other things. (I am such a history nut...) Although someone got the idea to build the high bridge (4 workers lost their lives there building it below the dam) so that no matter what happens to that thing, there will be a way to connect that region. There is a awful lot of Uranium mined in that area that surrounds the Grand Canyon so the roads are important.

If you are careful in your employer selection and type of trucking you are doing, you can minimize the waste sitting around in the grocery warehouses. You can lose a awful lot of time and money live loading or unloading in this kind of work. Not to mention your back, moving 48000 pounds of.. butter in a few hours from the trailer floor onto many pallets. Not only unload, but also count and verify against the manifest against Overs Short and Damage.

Once in a while if you are fortunate, you get to participate in loads in trucking that are either part of a pending war effort or perhaps of a important and vital nature to the Nation in some way.

I second the North East being very difficult in trucking, you are trying to drive something bigger than some houses into Boston that has no parking or room for you. Everything has to be done correct so you don't get stuck and become a laughing stock or unemployed and still a laughing stock. he he.

Or come down Cabbage in a roaring winter storm wondering how in the hell you got yourself into this mess... (Eastern Oregon I-84 downgrade...) with Wyoming later on in your shift. Wyoming is special in trucking. Just you wait till you get it to see it first hand. mmm mmm mm...

But it's not all bad. Armarillo has the 5pound steak in one hour. Can you do it? (I wont recommend it... because if you are not used to taking in that kind of feasting you can get hurt temporarily as you lay there sick for a day...) In tennessee there was a truckstop long ago that fixed me a steak dinner with all trimmins on a wood stove. They tried the best to get it well done like i usually asked, but that particular meal is something I wont forget. Strange how that works. The people there were family. Even though they have a awful lot of overmountain in them.

 

I got my cdl in May did OTR for 3 months and I loved it, but I have kids and a wife and some of the things my kids would say (they weren’t big fans of not having dad around) made me look for a local job...
But if you have no kids or wife if I was you I would go for it get that CDL and live out of my truck for a couple of years or for as long as you could handle it lol
Stack some money and buy that RV you want save some money and complete your goals of traveling you only live once my friend do what you have to do and enjoy life!
Best of luck on what ever you decide to do...

 

Just have to say this.

If drivers were in demand, then we would see a huge increase in wages and a better life.

We have a real glut of drivers.

 

It's like young girls that dream of being a star in Hollywood and ending up in porn. What's your talent?

 

I know that Prime is upping their training pay on Jan. 1st to $800/wk.
Also...

 

I see it as "good safe drivers" are in demand.

Because a good safe driver is what makes better money than one that's fresh into the industry.