What was your previous prior to trucking? (For those with a career change)

35 year custom cabinetmaker,the last 10 in sales/design/layout/ & production management.
24 years at the same company and lost my job in '09 due to the housing market falling apart.

 

I was a pastor, primarily to children, youth and street people.

 

I was a nurse - followed my husband in to trucking. He was an O/O 20+ years ago - went to school and became a drafter - now back to trucking

 

Worked 24 yrs for the OK Department of Transportation, in their communications branch. Dealt mostly with 2 way radios. Also ended up doing most of the tower work for my agency and 3 others. Knees started going bad and the thought of another winter, just hanging around a couple of hundred feet in the air, just didn't thrill me anymore. Love being out here.

 

Warehouse operations

 

Desktop Support Specialist, 2003 tried to get back in 2009. Too much experience = $$$$ for the employer. $13 per hr to start and they want a BS, and multiple certs. I wasn't jumping those hoops.

 

US Army Signal Corps. 36D20 or what Panhandle did. Climbing towers. Got RIfed in 75 just after reenlisting. Came out and worked in a woman's clothing store for a week and couldn't handle that pressure! Then did nothing for several months then a friend who drove filled out thet form we needed to get a chufeers license and I started driving. I did hold several of those little 3x5 cards the Army gave you that had all the vehicles you were certified to driv and I had them all except fo tracked vehicles! All the way up to that AMC General!

I Drove off and on did some carpentry worked for the guy that did the tower work for Ted Turner and have been to the top of WTBS several times and as Pan said winter time clinging to the ladder of a tower isn't all that much fun at $10 an hour in the late 70's!

I did engineering work for Southern Bell then worked at Piper and Lockheed then went into driving almost full time. I've managed a Pizza joint and worked a Wendys carry out grill and bounced at a few bars when I just wanted to get out of a truck and live a little and ride the bike as it's hard to think of your "baby" sitting in a garage or rental storage unit all alone!

In all since May 1975 I have about 32 years of driving time.

 

Construction 11 yrs
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Over 20 years driving, dispatching and managing big Los Angels cab companies. Couple of years day labor staffing management. A year of industrial construction. A few poopie jobs to fill in the gaps.

 

Self-employed for 10 years with an internet business, CNA for about 16 months....was supposed to go to LPN school but WIA had no money so I decided to drive a truck and got my CDL on April 1, 2010