Profile For Ian R.

Hey there Joe-

Thanks for posting this. I am a resident of Columbus, OH and will be monitoring this thread for info. I'm a 19 year old college kid looking for something to do, so trucking in Ohio might be the ticket if I can find CDL training for college kid pricing! lol

I'll try and do some research to see if I can offer any assistance.

Cheers,

-Ian

Hey Larry - I'm in the exact same situation as you! Hopefully someone has some thoughts on this cause I'd be interested to hear them too.

Should have been more clear on that point - I'm failing because I'm honestly disinterested and generally unchallenged by what my school has to offer. The only thing that's really difficult for me is mathematics, advanced stuff like trig. I've always been more of a doer than someone who sits around pontificating and over-thinking stuff. Hopefully that makes sense.

The biggest draw to trucking, for me, is the opportunity to see America. I have always been infected by the desire to see my country, having been an avid reader of Jack Kerouac and Charles Bukowski. I also just so happen to really love driving and the freedom that it entails.

Brett - I can certainly put away about a grand. I was thinking more in the ballpark of $5000+ for school. One or two thousand would not be an issue.

Has anyone ever heard about truckers getting spine and kidney damage from the bouncing around in the cab? I heard someone say this the other day, but wasn't sure if there was any truth to it.

Hey there Brett - thanks for the info, I've checked out some of that guide already but I'm gonna read through the whole darn thing later today.

Thank you also for letting me know about the 21 age limit; I suspected that may be the case. I don't blame the companies for not hiring teenagers! Haha

One last question for ya - does it cost money to be trained? I wasn't sure if the job training required a monetary investment, because as a dirt-poor student, I'd have to save up for some time to be able to swing that cost. I've heard conflicting reports regarding training... some have said it costs several thousand to go to trucker school, others have said they got paid to be trained. So I'm not sure.

Cheers,

-Ian

I'm not a truck driver, but looking to get started... I'm only 20.

I'm looking for some advice... I'm a failing college student, looking around for a career with decent pay and a reliable demand. I've known too many friends who graduate with two Master's degrees and $100,000 worth of student debt only to end up working something dead-end. I want something different.

Some background about me: I love driving. I love cars, I love the road, I love America and the freedom that the American highways represent.

I know that I'm definitely not cut out for the white-collar paper work desk jobs out there. My parents want me to be a teacher... but that is their dream, not mine, and I can't stand the social politics of the teaching world, much less the endless papers.

So I decided to look into trucking. Stumbled across this site. But I'm not sure where to start... I'm only 20 years old... can I still get trained? How does one even find training? What about having experience?

I suppose what I'm really looking for is just anyone who can advise me on what the lifestyle of truck driving is actually like, and how/where/when to get started in the career field.

Thank you all for any insights or advice you might be willing to share!

Cheers,

-Ian