IYO, is trucking for us? And tips for applying?

Truck driving school will also take you away from your family. It may be as short as 4 weeks or several months depending on the course you get into.

Family may be the answer for helping out with child care. If family isn't an option then there are church groups and even government programs that may be able to help you out.

Don't give up on nursing school. MAKE it work. It may be difficult but believe me in the long run you will be far better off.

We are trying to help you avoid a costly mistake. A mistake that will take you AWAY from the family you care so much about. Forget about trucking and focus on being around for your family (your mvr wont allow you to drive now anyway).

 

uRabbit, with the downturn in the economy my area of the construction industry simply dissappeared. I live in the greater Seattle area and have found there are 3 industries that have nearly endless help wanted adds.

1) Manufacturing - Boeing and it's suppliers are hiring. Some experienced jobs, some entry level. This industry should be in such a position as to be stable for long enough for you to get seniority and not get laid off (there is ALWAYS a round of layoffs somewhere in Boeings future).

2) Medical - The medical field is in dire need of qualified people. If you have the credentials it's pretty much an employees market here in the NW.

3) Transportation - According to others on TTR you are disqualified due to your driving record so I won't go there.

The first two categories require some skills and/or education but are excellent, family wage jobs. Both have great potential for long term careers and retirement potential. The downside for both is the politics. If you were in the service (Thank You very much!) you are familiar with what is required. If you have a strong work ethic you will either need to lower your standards to work at the big B or learn to go with the flow. If you're looking for work, are WILLING to work and don't mind relocating (sounds like that's not a problem) there are vast job opportunities in the greater Seattle area.

Also, if you have a desire for nursing there are some excellent schools here that offer a combination of online and in class learning. My neighbors daughter just got her nursing degree and went to work for one of the big trauma centers while she is studying to be an anesthesiologist.

Best wishes and Merry Christmas!

 

This isn't true. You actually can not do all of your prereqs from the house and if you see a school offering such a thing you better hope you get accepted into the clinical program at that school because you are not going to be able to transfer those credits to another school. Nursing is not an easy profession to get in to. Trust me I know it is my future profession. The schooling is tough for most and the standards will crush the uncommitted.

 

Most general education requirements can be done ONLINE from an accredited school. Those credits WILL transfer. But it is ON YOU to make sure from your receiving institution what will transfer AND FROM WHAT SCHOOL.

For example: The University of Tulsa has a BSN program. You have to apply to the nursing program. They will not accept you if you don't already have some credits OR are an incoming freshman. TU will xfer up to 60ish credits from another accredited institution, such as Tulsa Community College (most if not all gen. ed. classes available as online) and the OSU/OU online programs. All of which can be funded w/ Pell Grants and Stafford loans.

It takes due diligence. I never said nursing was easy. But I do know that Gen. Ed. reqs are the same at 90% of the 4 year schools out there.

Please note: I said he can do his GENERAL EDUCATION requirements for the B.S.N. at home. I said absolutely NOTHING about his nursing program requirements. Which is why I also said he WILL need child care at some point and he needed to look into that.

 

uRabbit, the FACT that you have the insight to see the correlation between higher education and economic security tells me you're NOT going to be happy as a trucker. Go to any truck stop and look at the truckers sitting on the table or just loitering around. Observe very few of them are reading a book or newspaper. I once caught the guy who refilled the USA Today newspaper rack by the truck stop diner and asked why he only left 10 copies, and he claims the truck stop is his most slowest selling news rack to refill on his route. The lack of reading among truckers is a clue to their intelligence. Career truckers never excelled beyond a high school education, and they're probably a 2.0 "C" average student in their high school years. These people are looking for short cuts in life, believing you can live the American Dream by putting an honest day's work. Unfortunately, this is the same philosophy illegal aliens exist on. Much like illegal aliens are exploited to work long hours for low pay, so too are OTR truckers being exploited, but under the strategy of mileage pay. The more they drive, the more $$ they earn, with no consideration for overtime pay. While the rest of America are paid overtime for hours worked beyond 8 hours a day (or 40 hours a week), OTR truckers don't recognize they're being exploited like illegal aliens

 

Stereotype much?

Just to clarify; Drivers today come from all walks of life. Many are displaced computer programmers, middle management, and even business owners. Having a college education and driving a truck is becoming more prevalent now a days.

Outsourcing good paying jobs to other countries (thanks to Nafta) has left thousands of educated workers without work. They have entered the trucking industry in droves.

The Truck Stops have become Travel Centers and the drivers section in many of the sit down restaurants have been replaced with fast food courts that cater to the "on the go" crowd.

Todays truckers spend more time surfing the net rather than reading a newspaper. Todays truckers get up to the minute news and weather reports via in cab satellite radio. Papers and magazines are actually becoming obsolete thanks to online content.

Truckers today are some of the best educated, capable, and resourceful people working today.

 

Would you get 401k, medical, etc. at the apartment job? I bet with Nintendo or Boeing that is a given. One thing to be on the lookout for with Nintendo is the market for video games did not grow last year for the first time ever. Video games may be the next music industry. Just something to think about. Don't know how the nursing schools are set up in your area, but maybe you could work a day job and go to school at night? If you work, then your wife could stay home and take care of the kids and you could make everything click.