Widower to truck driver

Making decisions based on fear is a recipe for disaster in my opinion. Changing careers based on the factor of not wanting to sit around your house is asinine in my opinion and it's not my intention to be insulting.

I've been driving OTR for 2 months now and my favorite aspect of the job is how much alone time I get. I prefer to be spend the majority of my time by myself.

If you go OTR to get experience make sure you can hack all the alone time. Me personally I wouldn't change to a career that required me to interact all day even if it was only for a year or two.

The OTR lifestyle seems like a barrier to entry for many people since it seems like the simplest way to get enough experience to be able to get a driving job with more interaction (like a local job).

If you get enough interaction at your current job then why don't you get a hobby that gets you out of the house? Or get remarried.

 

Go to crane operator school if you can afford the time and cost. There's plenty of work on the windfarms in Kansas, oklahoma and Texas. Most will get you a CDL in the process.

 

What, are you nuts? I have a hard time going up on the roof,,,

 

I would work on the home grounds getting the estate and so on taken care of with all loose ends tied up before you commit to trucking. Remember you can always take a trip here and there and return home if it is America you want to see. Lord only knows there is plenty of America to see and then some. But trucking by nature is more lonely of the same. If you are lonely at home now, trucking will not solve that then. I myself disregard it because it's something that I am used to.

Trucking has changed since my time. I don't know how much freedom you have in the factory floor. But in that cab you might feel less free believe it or not.

 

I got my CDL at 52. I spent +30 years in in action sports industry building surfboards. Everyone always asumed I hung out at the beach all day drinking margaritas and surfing. It’s a job, in a room like any other. I’m very happy driving so far. The scenery changes with the weather and time of day, and for the most part I really enjoy the focused solitude of driving. Family is only a call away, and I’ve made some good new friends that drive. 3am when my phone rings I answer it, and it’s a driver / buddy who’s a bit bored or maybe a little tired. 2-3 hours later were still talking and laughing about parking fails or weather issues. It’s got more comradery than I expected. I could’ve done what I did for the rest of my life. Then one day I asked “is this it”? My answer scared me, and so I went looking for Information which led me to this site.

Change can be good. Yes it can be scary, it’s also a lot of fun not knowing stuff and having a thirst to learn. In reality you’ll get to start a new life. Whether it works out is up to you.


Sorry for your loss.

 

Sorry for your loss.

Is there anyone you know that drives and does the kind of trucking you think you might like to do? A ride along to see what it's really like may give you some more insight as to how it really works out here. You can read all you want, but until you at least ride in one it's hard to say if you'll still want to drive one or say heck no. That way you can hopefully get a glimpse of it without having to throw away the 33 year job if you decide trucking isn't for you.