Profile For Atraeu R.

Hi Atraeu.

I wrote a book that's free to read here on the website - Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Truck Driving. It has a lot of stories and insights about life on the road. There are aspects of over the road trucking that do indeed fit into the romantic view of this industry - the adventures, the scenery, the time you get to spend alone with your thoughts, every day is completely different than the last, etc. But of course the job is incredibly difficult and dangerous, the hours are incredibly long, you're alone an awful lot, and you're away from your home and family for extended periods of time.

What it really comes down to is whether or not trucking suits your personality and life goals or not. But the reality is it's going to be at least 8 years before you're old enough to take a shot at this. You can get your CDL when you're 18 but no one is going to hire anyone under the age of 21. So we always recommend waiting until you're 21 to get started in trucking.

So do a lot of reading and talk to people from all walks of life. Talk to truckers and scientists and television producers and accountants and computer programmers. Learn all you can about your options later in life and pursue those that really get you excited, regardless of what others think.

Best of luck to ya!

I'm reading the book now, a few pages in, and I just want to spread some Buffalove for our home city!

Hello there! My name's Atraeu, I'm a freshman at a Performing Arts school as a theatre major, and I've just discovered the wonders of trucking.

Now 2 hours ago, my eyes were dead set on becoming either a video game designer or an actor, depending on how high school goes. My dad fully supported me of this, didn't want me to end up where he was, wants me to go to college and be wall off unlike him. And that's what I was going to do. That was up until I was reading an article on a man's journey across America afoot, and he talked about how his father was a truck driver and his passing inspired the man to walk the miles his father never did. In the comments of the article a guy talked about his 35 years of trucking, and of course that got me curious. So I made the fateful google search "is trucking fun". And then I read an article on this site, absorbing every word and wonder, mystified at this prospect I'd always blindly ignored or shrugged off. And suddenly my whole view on my life had a big hole in it. Should I really go to college? Is being an actor or a game designer really worth it? What will my Dad think? So I thought about it.

A little about me; I have always loved to travel. Seeing the beauties of nature, the wonders of our many cities, the faces of our people. On long trips i would stare out the window at the beautiful scenery, like our trip back up to WNY from Florida that summer. Passing through the mountains in Virginia, smelling the refreshing air of the sweet countryside, I wanted to just stay at our rest stop. It felt amazing to drive through great big passes in the mountains during the storm that was passing, looking over the cliffs at the forest below. It was breathtakingly beautiful; mother nature is the most beautiful woman there is. And thinking now on what 2 hours ago was my supposed dream job, I am much more enthusiastic about becoming a traveling truck driver than a video game designer or an entertainer (not that I don't want to do that either). But I want to know your experiences. I, being only 13, have no experience with driving at all. I would like to do this for the experience and the fun and he knowledge I will gain on the road. (And, to a lesser extent, the great yearly salary) So, is this a good career choice? Can you give me some of your experiences as truckers? I'm mainly worried about my family will take it... oh well. I'll be waiting here for some responses, and I will respond as soon as I see them.