How to know if I’m too old/unfit for food service?

I’m making about $50-55k annually depending on OT driving a dump trailer for a paving company. It’s a comfortable job in that it’s pretty easy and I’m home everyday, and I could definitely seem myself retiring from there if I could gross $75-80k. But it’s pretty much a dead-end job, as there are drivers who have been there several years longer than me only earning $1 hourly more than I am, and I’ve been there for 5 years now. It’s been great for gaining driving experience without going OTR, and it can be good for older drivers coming off the road and want to earn a little income until they can draw SS.

I’m 38 years old and while I’m in decent shape, I can already fill some stiffness in my knees. I also recently created a thread where I was having lower back pain, but that was from the seat in a particular truck I was driving, and by sliding my seat up and sitting up higher, the situation has improved greatly. But again, it shows that age is creeping up on me. For those of you with experience in food service, what advice would you give to someone doubting whether or not they’re fit enough? I’ve thought about getting a box and weighting it to around 25-50 lbs. and practice picking it up & setting it down repeatedly to help condition myself and practice proper lifting technique.

I’d like to get into fuel hauling or perhaps drive in the oilfield for 2-3 years, but the job market isn’t exactly booming for drivers with no experience in that area. Nevertheless, it’s time for me to think about something that pays better. I live in a low CoL area, so $50k isn’t as abominable as it would be for a lot of other areas, but it’s still not good. That being said, I’ll work this $50k job until I retire before I ever go OTR. I don’t mind working nights & holidays, but I’m staying local.

 

South Ga area.

 

I would probably never work for Sysco, as they’re said to be the worst of all the food service companies despite paying good.

 

Outside the Valdosta and Tifton areas. Albany would be a bit too far unless I relocated.

Edit: Pilot has an opening in the Tifton area. I plan to take my hazmat test to get reinstated this week, and will be applying as soon as everything goes through.

 

Yes, and I would actually prefer nights. Some on here have stated that drivers willing to work nights get preferential treatment over day drivers in that some companies pay slightly more, give night drivers more hours & better routes, and it’s been suggested to even request nightshift in an interview, as that can boost your chances of getting hired on.

Also I don’t mind working holidays and weekends. Some jobs will have some drivers take their days off during the week, which sounds good to me. The banks, doctors offices, etc. aren’t closed, and places like restaurants, movie theaters and the like are typically much less crowded.