thinking of driving

Just as good of a chance as anyone else. As for learning to shift, well with a real instructor you will be wondering what the point of the instructor was. It's that easy and when they tell you they prefer someone who has never driven a standard, they mean it. It's better to learn from the ground up because they are nothing alike. Shifting a truck is much easier. Trucking has been real good to me and although I am much better off financially than many of my friends, they only work 40-50 hours a week so it's a trade off. My first two years on the road were the best years of my life. We made good money as recently as 10 years ago starting out. Now it's a job I still enjoy but recently started pulling tanks and have a renewed sense of cluelessness that keeps it interesting. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

You re not the first person and certainly won t be the last to want to drive a truck and never driven a manual and don t know how to back. Its all about the RPM s and proper gear. Before you choose a company sponsored CDL school, compare each one thoroughly and check their safety ratings. As far as your age and being a female, that isn t an issue at all. With the driver shortage and women more and more getting the urge to drive a truck, it won t be a problem. I know some drivers that are 70,80, and 90 yrs old driving a truck. At 57, some people retire at that age and begin trucking as a new career after the 1st retirement. I wish you the best of luck and hope to see you out on the road someday

 

no worrys K age isnt a factor in this industry as long as you dont have any movement restrictions, never driven a stick shift can be better sometimes as you dont have the 4 wheel shifting mindset. im sure you will do fine learning how to drive em. will your husband be helping you learn or has he already found a job? if so gratz to him.
you trying to go with a local company ie knight,swift,etc or with an out side of the state one? just curious

 

All great info already. I'd like to also say that you'll do fine with shifting, backing, & other skills, given the typical practice which every one of us had to go thru when starting out. Backing takes a little longer to gain skill/confidence, because many backing situations are different & can give unique challenges to newer (and even some older, lol) drivers. But the gains in skill/confidence come faster than you'd expect! I'm the same age and what I'd be more concerned with is making sure the school is highly qualified, thorough, & safety conscious. Try not to get "bitten" by the lies & hype, so common with some independent & bottom feeder schools. Check them out till you're comfortable their staff/instructor will train you in a manner to lead you to be a professional skilled driver, unlike some of the hoards of unskilled "speed cowboys" that some bottom feeder schools turn loose on our highways.

 

It would be nice if you and your husband got on with a good company. Some husband and wife teams saves a paycheck and uses the other s paycheck for the bills.

 

My ex-wife is 5' 01" and weights about 90 ponds and she has been doing it for 17 years.

There are no DOT standards or requirements for the training of CDL drivers only testing. You can walk into the DMV in your hometown and pick up the study manual, study the manual, pay the fees, and take the test. You will however need a truck to do the road test in and that's it.

Most companies that hire student drivers have a standard which is normally 150 hours from an accredited school. Every company is different so call around to a few companies you are interested in and see how many hours they require.

Why the short course vs. the long course:

Some students already have their class B and have been driving for sometime.
Some students are laid off or unemployed and need to receive min. required hours to find a job and return to the work force.
Some students have jobs and take the longer course to work it into their schedule
Some students want the full training and practice to have more jobs available to them and feel comfortable with the skills

Company sponsored training vs. non-company sponsored training

Their are far to many reasons to explain here why company sponsored/paid training is a very bad idea, if you really want to know there are a lot threads on this web site alone explaining the down falls and horror stories driver have been thru fulfilling those contracts.

So I will explain some of the benefits of attending a non-company sponsored schooling path.

1. Most accredited schools have FASFA and other financing options. Some state labor agencies even have free money.
2. Most schools offer lifetime job placement and normally know who is hiring locally before it is even advertised.
3. Most schools will have you pre-hired before you even finish schooling
4. If you attend a non-company sponsored training you receive all of the tax credits and deductions and NOT the company. Like tuition, books, maps, clothes, pens & pencils, notebooks, cost of a laptop/computer, cost of a printer, ink, paper, cost of the medical exam, permitting fees, meals, travel expenses, etc..
5. Normally you will start with a higher CPM rate than drivers coming out of their own school.
6. Most companies have tuition reimbursement up to $10,000 which is paid directly to you weekly or monthly with no contract.
7. You can leave the company anytime you want because you owe them ZERO!
8. When you are in school you may find you like hauling something different than what you thought or you may receive better job offers. You are not locked into one company for the next 12-15 months so you can do whatever you want.

 

Stay away from "free "company training . If you can't afford to pay a private school find another career . Company training requires a 1 year employment obligation . The majority of trainees don't complete the year and get billed thousands of dollars for the school . They get no certification of training and usually get a negative DAC report which prevents being hired by other starter companies .
A little research here will confirm all that .

 

hello, The wife and I are starting school on July 8 and we are both 53. We have been planing this career change for about 8 months now, and all I can say is do the research, check out a lot of companies, write them all, talk to other drivers on this site that work for them. Everyone we have talked to on this site have been nothing but great help, very will to take there time to answer your questions and give you good advise. So my advice as a wannabe is to Research,Research, and more research,and get on this board and ask question, you will do fine. Best of luck to you.