Industrial Design Student turned Trucker

I've been lurking on this forum for a few weeks now and I finally decided to join and introduce myself.

I grew up in trucking- my father built a small fleet, then downsized to a one truck owner-operator and I have many uncle and cousin truckers. It was my childhood dream to be a truck driver, but I was advised by each of my family members in trucking to stay away from that business. "Go to school instead, kid!" was the most frequent response.

So I embarked on the path toward a college degree, studying Industrial Design- intending to design, guess what......... 18 wheel trucks. Now, due to the bad economy, and high cost of tuition, it looks like I'm going to plan b, which is to follow in my father's footsteps and drive a truck.

As part of the design game, I got used to (as much as one can) high stress levels and staying up all night working, which I understand are assets in this business. I also understand that I most likely won't get rich doing this, but enjoying my work is more important to me as long as I can survive.

Since my father died when I was a kid, he didn't finish teaching me to drive- he started me at age 10 in a 1958 Mack B-95 though. My other relatives in the business are too busy for teaching. As a result, I'm investigating the local community college CDL-A program as well as the "starter fleets" (Swift, Roehl, etc). This site has been extremely informative in this area so far. I'm strongly leaning toward the C.C. if I can come up with the funding.

I do have a slight advantage over other rookies in that I own a ten wheel rig- a 1952 Mack LTL with a 290 Cummins and twin stick trans.
I can't work with her, but she'll be good for bobtail maneuvers and shifting practice. Also a fun show toy. Provided I can get her running again.

Kinda long winded, but I am a trucker's son.

-Ken

 

Update:

After reading more I have concluded that now really is not a good time to get in the trucking industry. As a result, I am looking into more affordable colleges/better financial aid packages. However, I will still get a CDL so I can play around with my old Mack and trucking will remain my back-up plan, just a little more "last-ditch effort" than before. Thanks for the information.