Do I have a future in the Trucking industry? Brutal honesty please.

Hi crew!

Thank everyone for taking the time to click on his thread. I would greatly appreciate any thoughts and/or advice by trucking old hands as well as new truckers who have found jobs in the last few years.

I have been bouncing around reading a number of articles and posts on various boards. I have huge concerns about entering the trucking industry in 2016. Yup... 2016.


WHY DO I WANT TO DRIVE??!!

> I want to drive trucks because it still affords independence that office jobs simply do not have.
> I have come to the conclusion I do not like offices/schools and their politics.
> I can train for it and jump in; I do not see additional endorsements as a huge barrier.
> I am willing to bust my #####
> I need a job that will carry me with "decent" wages for ten years and I am out. This is perfect.
> My education might be noticed and I might get a better gig, but I am happy to keep on truckin' and keep on collecting a paycheck.
> Drive shuttles and school buses, etc... Another possibility, especially as I age.
> Wife and I will definitely in time get an RV. We love camping and US National Parks
* I think if someone were to view my package with an open mind, I make a great entry level driver.

My main concern is getting a job, especially in Florida

We will be relocating to Jacksonville/Orlando (live in St. Augustine?), but it could be anywhere. Trouble is my wife needs to be in an area that she can do nails. She has a BA, but her degree is from outside the US. Her spoken English is good, but written/reading skills weak. Nails will be great for her.

Worried about Florida in general. Jacksonville 13% unemployment. But, I have a free condo for six months in S. Florida. The state is somewhat near my elderly parents. We are not in love with Florida (we both find Utah beautiful and love her parks) but I sure do not want to drive or be in snow. We can't go back to CA. It's too crowded, too expensive. Too far from parents. We will adjust well in FL. It has a lot to offer us.

I am originally from CA but have lived in Washington, DC many years back. Traveled and driven all over the US. 40 states. Lived decades abroad. I already know many metro areas but not going OTR so it matters not. haha.


My next major concern is jobs requiring experience which is to say - everyone.

Often a minimum of a year and is asking for six mos to two years OTR.

I do not want to do any OTR trucking because I am recently married and want time with my wife. She will also need my assistance driving her about and adjusting to the US as we are coming from abroad. We can't a second car and afford the move to US, move to FL, renting a place and money while hooking up jobs. It is just not a good fit.

Ironically, OTR is a perfect life for me (us) as I have literally been stumbling around Asia for over twenty years. But, we need to get settled. I will need local work. I am not opposed to the OTR lifestyle, but need to stay with my wife. My wife needs to work for SS 40 quarters (10yrs) otherwise we would go OTR. It would be a blast. We are born hobos.

I understand a lot of companies want you to go thru their training so they get additional Federal monies. They might not even live up to the promise of hiring you and if they do, it might be a horrible job and/or at awful wages.


So, if I might break it all down for you, the positives and negatives.


The Positive Side:

1. Move to FL from MD and have a CDL in hand on arrival.
2. Pass tests/endorsements (after arrival in FL seems best). Perhaps all but doubles/triples - which I really do not want. I do OK with book learning, take tests and classes seriously.
3. Enroll in community college CDL course in MD (I understand the quality of CC is often better and costs lower). This may be thought of more highly than for-profit schools, certainly some of them surely.
4. I'm hands on and understand the basics of auto mechanics. I rebuilt and maintained a few old cars as a kid. Hey, it's something.
5. I am 53, older, mature and more steady. My health is great. I am soft, but not overweight and look younger.
6. Screened thru Livescan for teaching jobs in Los Angeles (2001). Held teaching certificate 2001-05 (addresses background checks).
8. Bachelor's degree (from a pretty good school). Useless HAHAa
9. No convictions of anything other than traffic 4 years ago from this date.
10. No drugs. Drinking will never get in the way of my job. I quit smoking years ago.
11. I have been abroad many years but can get personal references from friends here in US surely.
12. Organized and good record keeper. I take these things seriously.
13. Very good with electronics. Worked in IT for ten years.
15. Drivers license is clean. One speed trap ticket in Utah, 2010. It was low MPH (going 40 in a 25, that sort of BS). I had a sort of DUI thing thirty years ago, cops wrote me up and told me to park my car. I went to court, to a class. The police have no record of me, I wrote to them five+ years ago about it.
16. I can still take a beating on the road, While not driving - I do 13 hour bus rides often.
17. I am very good about finding answers and solutions to problems quickly.
18. Present myself well. Resume + cover in hand, on time, company research, properly dressed, well spoken.
19. OH, I can drive a stick really well.


The Negative Side: - I am a ghost

1. I am returning from abroad and my work record is spotty at best. Truth is, I have enough money to live here until I hit 62 easy. *Returning for the wife. She really wants to be a US citizen. I want her to get 40Q in for Social Security. So, living abroad for fifteen years. Difficult to verify with schools and freelance work here.
2. Prior jobs: Worst luck. Most of the jobs I had held from 92-2002 (maybe not even belong on my resume so old?) - almost all the companies went under or bought out. These are not small mom and pop storefront shops, many were publicly traded. The positive is that in most if not all cases, I was able to obtain written job verification and dates on company letterhead. Some are refs others are dates of employment. All are really old. Very sketchy work record post 2001.
3. Job References: Printed employment verification pre 2000, but overseas work is spotty and not 100% verifiable.
4. I have only been freelancing for the last four years. The money has never been over US9,600 so no need to even file. No taxes either. So they won't see that if they tap that background.
5. I used to have excellent credit. I have only bounced one check in my life and that was BofA's fault. I had small loans on two cars which I paid off quickly. I HATE credit. Last year I applied online at the three major credit agencies. It appears they do not even have a record of me anymore. I am a ghost.
6. Bachelor's degree - I am worried this will be held against me for whatever reason.
7. I am 53 at present (55 perhaps when I would even start to drive). OLD / too OLD to start?
8. Perhaps I present myself TOO well and thought of as too this or that. In essence - "not a trucker".


**I worry some will think I have been sitting in prison as well. I'd read this about gaping holes in work. I do have all my six passports, hundreds of pages, tons of visas...I can show my time abroad, my wife's visa processing, 7500 Facebook photos, 4000 of me/us in Asia.


QUESTIONS:

Can I get a job driving locally? How difficult do you think it will be for me, what problems do you think I might encounter?




I am hungry for work, I do not care if I have to drive a garbage truck on graveyard shift for a year to get a start. I want to get back and get to work!





Thank you for your attention.

 

Oh wow! I was editing my post to clean it up and you followed up so quickly. Thank you.

No, she is Thai about as tiny though I've been living in Bangkok for four years with her and bouncing around East Asia, India and Nepal prior to that for about twenty years.

-Well, thanks. That is some good news to read.
-Could you comment on the gaping holes in my life How that might play out please. I will be investing 4K for a class A license. I am so worried.

Will they just lok at my experience and that my background checks out, that I am a good fit for the company or is there a ton of drama like every job now?



I see you live in Henderson. LAS was also a consideration although hot as Hades in Summer. Would be a great base for us as we just love the Zion-Bryce-Goblin-Arches-Canyonlands-Monument-Page-GCanyon circuit. Not so far from Yellowstone and GTNP AND Yosemite. We did them all and just need to come back. We love the parks and camping.

Sorry, my post is not at all about trucking.

 

Hi again and thanks - wee hours for you folks.

Well, I certainly can provide family affadavits but it is nothing that six passports and 150 visas would not prove anyway.

Whether related to 911 or 7-11. If I am going to be passed on because of my time out here, this is not worth persuing. If I cannot even get calls, get a chance to present myself.

If you are talking about 3 years trucking, great. If you are talking about three years and then entering, that would make me about 59. I think it would simply be better to carry on with whatever I was doing until 62. So I am baffled a bit there.

My blood pressure is high but is controlled by small amnt of medication. I'm less than 20lbs + my weight in high school. I don't snore. In American terms, I am very fit for 53. These are all the least of my problems honestly.