Profile For Ben A.

Thank you all for your very helpful posts. That did pretty much cover the whole spectrum, but was helpful nonetheless.

I think I'm going to go ahead and get the 2 years out of the way. If anything, it should only further prove to myself that if I still want to do trucking in 2 years, it's the right choice for me.

Hey all,

Just looking for some little advice tips on what to do here, as I'm still deciding and it's a pretty major decision I need to make shortly.

My situation is this: I just turned 24, and due to some past circumstances I'm still 2 years away from getting my Bachelor's Degree for Computer Science from NC State. I've just finished the first 2 years at a local community college and am transferring to NC State in the fall. I've already been accepted and am ready to go.

But then I discovered trucking. But I'm going to school for computer science, which I still love. Nothing has changed on my desire to be a programmer, but I also now feel like trucking would suit me so much more. I've read countless articles of Mike and Brett and others who speak so passionately about trucking, and as of right now, I feel like it's a great fit for me. I'm single, plan to remain so, I love the idea of everything being so spontaneous, not knowing where you'll be in a few hours, all the challenges that go along with time management, etc. etc. I don't mind being away from home for weeks or months, as I'm fairly anti-social anyway... I don't really have friends (I don't have social skill problems making friends, I just prefer to be alone), and previously had spent my time with online gaming. Being away from home doesn't mean much for me, since I don't have any real contacts here besides my parents, who I don't live with anyway.

So now I'm discussing with my parents, who are indeed helping me with my schooling by paying for it, what I should do. Should I finish my degree in 2 years just to get it over and done with, then look into trucking? This is the route my parents are leaning on, for obvious reasons. But even though I've never been in a truck yet, just all the things I read on your site on how trucking life is really speaks to me. I am very sure that I could do very well as a trucker.

What do you think I should do? Pursue my new interest in trucking, knowing that I could eventually go back and do the last 2 years someday if I really so desired, or just stick it out for 2 more years and hope I can wait that long to get in a truck?

Thanks for any feedback you have, I greatly appreciate it!

- Ben

But have a look through our truck driving job listings where you can apply for multiple truck driving jobs with one application. Do a search by zip code and you'll find a bunch of companies that hire from your area. Apply to a bunch of em and see what they say.

Just wanted to say, this site gets more and more awesome the more I look around. I didn't even know you guys had a feature like this and it's so handy and useful, LOL! Thanks for this Brett, or whoever came up with it... does Brett run the all of the site around here? Just curious

Phew, not going to lie, while I was reading your replies I was worried my truck driving journey would end before it even started.

Fortunately, after some research, there is still hope.

Source: General Questions About Commercial Driving With Diabetes

Can I drive a commercial motor vehicle if I use insulin?

Yes, if you meet certain safety and medical requirements. For many decades, individuals who used insulin were barred from driving commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce. Young people with type 1 diabetes could not consider a commercial driving career, and drivers with decades of exemplary and safe service were out of jobs once they began to take insulin to manage their type 2 diabetes. While some states offered (and continue to offer) waivers to allow people who use insulin to drive only within the state, many others followed the federal ban even for intrastate driving.

Fortunately, drivers who use insulin and who can meet certain requirements can now drive in interstate commerce. The Federal Diabetes Exemption Program, administered by the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), has eliminated this unjust blanket ban.

So that's good news. I guess I should start the process for getting my DOT Medical Certificate.

Perhaps Brett or someone can make a blog or question on truck driving with diabetes, so that future curious individuals who may wonder about diabetes & truck driving can find an answer as well.

Thanks for the answers to all my questions, I really do wonder how many truck drivers in the world are now truck drivers because of this site and you guys. :)

It's under control to the point where I just live a normal life, I do very very "extra" work outside just living in relation to my diabetes.

Whoops! "I do very little extra work outside"! Forgot a word.

There's no edit function, is there?

Man, I knew you guys rocked. Such great responses and so fast.

Brett & Old School, thanks for the help. Yes, it did echo but that's not bad, only good, because it simply confirms what Brett is saying (not that anyone would think Brett doesn't know what he's talking about.. :P).

For the driving and mechanics, no problem, sounds like I'll learn all I need to along the road, so I'll let that part take care of itself.

For the diabetes, there is a type 1 and a type 2 diabetic, as I'm sure most people know. The type 1 diabetic's pancreas makes no insulin (like mine), and you need either insulin shots or an insulin pump to live. There is no oral medication, or any other medication, for type 1 diabetic, since pancreas makes no insulin + body HAS to have insulin = medication not an option, only insulin will work.

The Type 2 (the far more common type of diabetes) is when the pancreas doesn't make enough insulin. It's a slight difference in the definition of the disease, but it makes all the difference. Type 2's can take medication to help them out, in addition to insulin if they need it.

With that said, I obviously have to have insulin, but I have an insulin pump (which I've had for almost 10 years now) which makes controlling my diabetes easy, as long as I watch it. I don't take any insulin shots, I only insert a new pump site every 3-4 days (= 1 needle needed every 3-4 days), so it's alot better than insulin shots. I also have a CGM (Continuous glucose monitor) which checks my sugar levels and graphs it out on a device for me in real-time, 24/7.

The question is whether that's going to be enough for the DOT physical? If that's where the holdup, I'll call my doctor and if he does DOT physicals like Brett said, I can just ask him if I'll be ok or not.

All the definitions and medical talk aside, you wouldn't know I was diabetic unless I told you, even if you spent 24 hours with me. It's under control to the point where I just live a normal life, I do very very "extra" work outside just living in relation to my diabetes. If you asked me, my diabetes will never be a problem while trucking. I've had Diabetes for 14 years, in that entire time (starting at age 10), I've only had 2 incidents ever where I didn't know where I was (1 was while on bus going to school, other while walking in town with my sister). Obviously, nothing major, and I've never once had any issue while driving. I know my word that "I'll be fine" isn't exactly what the DOT will rely on, but I hope the doctors will say I'm ok.

Thanks for the help.

@Brett: I did buy your online copy of your book last night, and entered my e-mail for it, but never received it. Should I shoot you a quick e-mail with more details? I bought it at 5:13 AM on July 4th, if you need to check your records. E-mail is same one as I used to register this account. Thanks in advance.

Hey guys,

This site is awesome, and I don't know any of you guys, but you are all awesome as well. The information you provide to everyone is invaluable (and I've been reading this entire site for 3 days now, so I've read alot!).

Anyway, I am interested in getting into trucking myself, after having learned (from this site, mainly) that it does seem to be an awesome fit for my personality.

Just a few newbie questions, though: 1) I've never driven anything bigger than a mini-van. I know I will learn what I need to learn from trucking school, but is it a huge adjustment? Is it comparable to "knowing how to walk and run, then learning to iceskate" kind of thing? Ice skating isn't hard, but it is different than walking and takes some getting used to.

2) Mechanical knowledge. I know next to nothing about cars, how they work, or anything. I'm a computer guy, and therefore am not real mechanically inclined. Once you become a truck driver, how much knowledge do you need to drive your truck safely? Do you need to be a guru, or is it like with a car where I can call someone if something happens? What if I'm in a sticky spot and need to fix my truck NOW to deliver on-time, is that a big deal? Something I can learn from the school?

Again, I'm mainly worried about my lack of mechanical knowledge being in the way. I did watch some videos from TruckerMike (great guy, btw, love his attitude and videos) and I heard in one spot where he mentioned he didn't have much mechanical knowledge, but knew something was up with his truck, and he was just gonna stop by the shop to check it out. That sounded like me, since when a vehicle breaks, I shrug my arms and have no clue what's wrong, so I just take it somewhere.

3) I'm a type 1 diabetic. I've google'd and saw that I'm still able to be a truck driver, but does anyone know in more detail what I need to do with regards to medical issues? I think I need to provide records from my doctor/endocrinologist that say "I have my diabetes under control and I know what I'm doing" ... does anyone know of anything else? If you don't know, can you point me to a resource that would help me out?

4) After reading this article: Choosing A Truck Driving Job: Talking With The Right People... I was wondering, where can I find company drivers to talk to? The article is great on who I should talk to, but where can I find them? Should I go to a terminal of whichever company I'm interested in and approach random people (I haven't even looked where one is around me, lol) ? The article mentions calling a company mechanic if I can't find one to talk to, but where can I find a number to call? I don't think they exactly have "Mechanic for Schneider" on their front doors for anyone to find, right?

That's about all I got for now. Sorry for the long text, but I look forward to hearing from all of you.

Regardless what happens and whether I become a trucker or not, please do know that I appreciate all of you guys time and effort into a site like this. I would probably be quite lost right now if I was doing what I'm doing now in 2008, when this site wasn't around. I'm sure you all have helped out a great many truckers, and are directly responsible for more than a hand-full of truckers out on the road as we speak. Thanks to you all for your help, now and in future to come.

- Ben