Newby Wanna be drive needs advice for training

Hey all,
Well long story short, I had some physical problems that put me on disability starting June of 02. I've since had surgery and am at about 85 or 90% back to being able to do most things without problems. I saw the "Schnider pre-application physical test" thing, on their website and was able to do all the stuff on it, fine.

I am intending to find a career and come compleetly back off of disability all together. My previous employment I had a lot of management and computers training, and I'm sick of it. The cube farms, the shirt and tie and political non-sense, as well as the fact that being gone from the work force as long as I have its really hard to break back into that racket.

So I want to drive tuck. My brother is CDL certified and does day-haul out of Covengton, Indiana and does ok. I am not looking for a $100,000 a year or anything, I'm just hopeing to have about $28-$35 k a year to start.

I live in Lafayette, Indiana. Is there any company anyone would reccomend me hiring on with? I looked ar P.A.M., and Schnider, and others. I had though about PAM, but it seems their reputation is truely Penny A Mile, and a sever lack of miles, and in the pennies and and cents game, miles are going to be my meat, so to speak.

I had thought Schnider, but I read something about them not taking anyone who's not worked in the last year, and obviously I haven't. Me doing this will after 9 months, loose my disability altogether. I had to fight for 4 years to get onto it, and it does scare me that if the trucking choice I make fails, I may very well be out on my ear, and in dire straights.

That said, fear will kill ya, and I'm not laying on my rear the rest of my life because its comfortable. I want honest work and honest pay, and for me to feel that way means me working a good job, and I really like the idea of being a professional driver.

I don't mind 7 days out and 2 days home or something like that. even longer with more home time afterwords is fine. But I need help and advice from people in the know.

Thanks for any assistance,
Irish

 

Hey Fozzy, thanks for the input. For the record as it were, I am not now on med, or were on med. It was a weight issue. I had been in an accident in 1992 that snaped both bones in my right ankle and disintergrated my hip socket (right side). I got fixed up after, and went back to working on the floor in retail working 60+ hrs a week. 2 years later another idiot cut me off and aggrivated all the arthuritus <sp?> in the hip and ankle. My doc wouldn't release me from doctors care untill I had gone onto disability. I had gained a lot of weight (526 lbs) and in 97 had surgery to help me loose it. I was off diability all together by June 98. I was working full time, even went to Japan to teach English, but in 1999-2002 my weight started comming back and it was due to the surgery failing. I had gotten dow to 250 by then. Well I needed a revision to fix the surgery from before, and I had to fight with Indiana to get back onto disability. I got the revision last August 06, and was 536 at the time. I am now at 380 and want off disability and working. so thats the whole back story. Just thought I'ld post that in case anyone wanted to respond and needed any details.

Thanks
Irish