Second Thoughts

Wait till you seem some of the rest areas. or some of the truck stops.

Most companies put ya up in a motel during there CDL training. That's about as good as it could get.

But keep in mind. Life on the road ain't bells and whistles. You might have to go a day without showering to make a load. You might have to eat food at a place you wouldn't take your kids into. You might have to sleep on the edge of the road at a rest area, place where every time a car goes by the whole truck shakes.

The driver's you meet will be different. You might meet some 'dirty' individuals as you mentioned. Or you could meet some people that surprise you. One of the guys I roomed with during my training sold his million dollar company. Retired. Then came here because he wanted to get back on the road as he drove in the 70s. There's drivers out there with degrees, myself included.

The job is what you make of it. It ain't a barrel of sunshine, because if it was, everyone would do it.

 

Well, after reading all of your posts marie, I sort of think you might be better off doing something else than trucking. You have a recurring feeling about dealing with certain types of people. Unfortunately, you will be dealing with low life scum bags.

You will have them as the people you deal with on both ends of the loads. You will have them as the people you deal with in the truck stops. You will have them as co-workers, and others in your own company.

Of course there are some wonderful people in the business as well. But from the number of posts I've seen about your concerns, I honestly think you probably won't fit in with trucking.

OTOH, I could be totally misreading what you are saying. But I really do hope you will look long and hard before committing yourself to spending bucks on a driving school.

Go find a truck stop. I know you are remote, but even if you have to drive for a while to get to a few truck stops, just go in and check things out. Go into the restaurants and spend some time lingering over a cup of coffee and keeping your eyes open.

If you feel comfortable doing so, talk to a few of the drivers in person. Obviously you need to use a bit of caution in who you approach, and how you approach them. You don't want to be mistaken for a lot lizard.

Visit a few trucking companies and talk to the folks there. It may mean a trip for you to do this, but remember, it is a part of your research. You need to have some first hand knowledge of what you are getting into.

I don't mean to paint a totally bleak picture here. But I just get the feeling that you won't be happy in this line of work.

And yes, I HAVE been wrong before.

 

Thats all i was saying. ...Sorry my wording and sarcasim wasnt up to your expectations..lol

 

heres the bad thing. if you go to college for cdl etc. and you get your cdl awsome! down side you will have great difficulty obtaining a driving job because you dont have any work experience driving. the only places that would take you would be the mills who will hire recent grads. but you end up getting road experience. put in your years time and then you have work experience. i do not recommend these places at all! if you know some one locally who would take u and help that would be the way to go. as far as being an otr driver its a hard life even if you get home every weekend. and there is alot of scumbags out there.