"I want to drive a truck, but cant figure out how to pay for school"

I hear this from so many people, on a weekly basis, and tell each and every one of them the following. Another thing people like to say is "Well I want to drive a truck but don't want to be gone all the time/do this, do that, etc...



For you wannabe drivers out there, where there's a will, there's a way, take it from me.

I made the mistake of going to TDI out of Murfreesboro, TN and signing on with Werner for the tuition reimbursement when I turned 21. Worked there a few months and said screw it, and quit. Fast forward a few years (2011), I was living in a pill house in Georgia with my druggie ex and her parents, no car, no money, no way to get a job without walking 20 miles a day. I finally had enough and called a friend back in TN and asked if I could stay with him and try to go back to driving. Had another friend, who is now my wife-to-be, come pick me up and bring me back to TN. I hadn't drove in almost 4 years, so I had to go back to school again, but I had learned from my past mistake. I called up Swift and had them put me through their school in Memphis and signed on as an indentured servant until I had my tuition paid off. When it was paid off a year and a half later, I told them where they could shove their truck, and found a temp service for drivers near where I live. In the past 2 years I've yard jockeyed for Nissan and Amazon, ran relay for AAA Cooper, hauled groceries for Howard Baer, and for the last 10 months or so have had the great joy of driving local in a monstrous Peterbilt for a small company who happens to have a terminal here. These little temp agencies are a great way to find your niche in the driving world, unfortunately they have lousy pay (13.50 an hour).

Now I'm at a crossroads, to try and find a better local job that won't break my back (only 150lbs lol), go run 1 week on, 1 week off for Knight, or attempt to find the ever elusive small OTR company that pays well and only runs dedicated out west and back. Here's hoping for the latter.

 

If you enjoy debt, yes, you can leave at any time.
I stayed a year and a half so I could get back some of the money I paid. Their repayment period is one year where you pay half and "they pay half" (hmm, their school, not sure exactly who they are paying). If you stay for 2 full years, you get all of your money back. Was going to do the entire 2 years but couldn't stand sitting at terminals and truck stops every other day after a back-breaking load. Ever had to pick up and drive to a customer 300 miles away and you only have two days to get it there? Yeah, it's kind of like that.

Thanks for the replies everyone, there are several guys at my temp agency that are former Big G drivers, not very many complaints either. I'll keep SEC in mind as well.