Royally Screwed My Life. Is It Fixable?

Okay, let me start by saying I know I'm an idiot. I've really messed up my life and I need to know if there's anyway I can fix it through trucking. I had a marijuana problem mainly as a result of having to move 5 times as a child and from being bullied a fair amount which led to severe depression. I haven't worked in 6 years, although during 3 of those years I was pursuing an accounting degree (86 credits completed). I spent these last 3 years helping my parents move, smoking marijuana, and trying to figure out what to do with my life. I quit smoking marijuana 3 months ago. My question is this: If I work for 2 - 3 years what are my chances of getting into a driver training program and how much will 2 possession of marijuana and paraphernalia misdemeanors affect my chances (they are 7 years old at this point)? I regret being this foolish and want nothing more than to have a decent honest life. I appreciate any advice.

Okay, let me start by saying I know I'm an idiot. I've really messed up my life and I need to know if there's anyway I can fix it through trucking. I had a marijuana problem mainly as a result of having to move 5 times as a child and from being bullied a fair amount which led to severe depression. I haven't worked in 6 years, although during 3 of those years I was pursuing an accounting degree (86 credits completed). I spent these last 3 years helping my parents move, smoking marijuana, and trying to figure out what to do with my life. I quit smoking marijuana 3 months ago. My question is this: If I work for 2 - 3 years what are my chances of getting into a driver training program and how much will 2 possession of marijuana and paraphernalia misdemeanors affect my chances (they are 7 years old at this point)? I regret being this foolish and want nothing more than to have a decent honest life. I appreciate any advice.

You mention how old the misdemeanors are, but from what date are you counting the years? Conviction date is what matters, not commission date.

Hello Jack, welcome!

Is your life fixable? Absolutely. Is your life fixable through trucking? Maybe.

Why are you thinking about truck driving? Can you commit perhaps 5 years to getting there? Can you live forever without weed?

Also, you are apparently very intelligent. Why not pursue a career in accounting?

If you’d like help here, there needs to be a discussion between us and you. Ok, now it’s your turn.

Sure it is doable. You may not be able to be too picky about where you start though. Just getting a foot in the door and being a quality driver for a year or so should open up other opportunities for you with other companies.

There may be companies that refuse to hire you based on established policies concerning drug offenses, but there should be plenty of options available to you once you've proven you can be a productive driver.

You can try to speak to some recruiters and ask them what your chances of employment with their company are. It might take away some of the uncertainty and give you a tangible goal to work towards after you hear what they have to say.

In the meantime you are of course welcome to join in our forum here. Whether just lurking and gleaning information or choosing to be more active.

Ryan: I called and they were actually in the summer of 2015. One incident only involved tickets so I guess it has actually been been 8.5 years or so. There was only a couple months between my arrest and my court date for the first one.

BK: I'm thinking about trucking because it pays well, would allow me plenty of time to read at shippers and receivers, and just looks enjoyable in general but it's possible I'm not thinking this through enough. I have no desire to smoke weed anymore as I don't think it is conducive to a good life (once I start its hard for me to stop). As for why I don't pursue accounting it's mainly due to the fact that is it very difficult to get your first job in it. There are endless job posting that ask for a minimum of 1 - 3 years experience for entry level jobs. Also, my credit is not very good and apparently they take this into account with accounting positions as they want to reduce the risk of people stealing money, but this might not hold for every company. Perhaps I should give accounting a shot.I'm certain I could finish my degree. I also have no idea what to tell potential employers in relation to my unemployment. I could go with the sick relative shtick but I'm not a very good liar. It probably is true that I would thrive more in an accounting role as opposed to trucking or a trade.

Anyway thank you for your responses.

Jack supposes:

[Trucking] would allow me plenty of time to read at shippers and receivers, and just looks enjoyable in general...

OTR trucking is based on miles driven. There no money in waiting for loading/unloading. But the time waiting for the shipper to get your trailer ready is something you must keep track of.

As for "enjoyable", joy in trucking depends on you. It's a lonely job, you have weird work hours, and more, but then you don't have a boss looking over your shoulder and there's plenty of highway travel. (You realize I can't put a full discussion here, but you can check out the famous book by Brett: Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Truck Driving)

Jack supposes:

[Trucking] would allow me plenty of time to read at shippers and receivers, and just looks enjoyable in general...

OTR trucking is based on miles driven. There no money in waiting for loading/unloading. But the time waiting for the shipper to get your trailer ready is something you must keep track of.

As for "enjoyable", joy in trucking depends on you. It's a lonely job, you have weird work hours, and more, but then you don't have a boss looking over your shoulder and there's plenty of highway travel. (You realize I can't put a full discussion here, but you can check out the famous book by Brett: Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Truck Driving)

Errol stole the words right out of my mouth. Time is the one thing you don’t have much of out here because we work so much. I enjoy my work but I would caution against thinking this job is “fun.” It’s a workaholic’s paradise.

Do I enjoy my job? Absolutely. But I’m also the type of person that enjoys working long hours and doesn’t have much of a life outside of work. Just keep that in mind

Errol is spot on. Just to add to it is that much of the waiting time is used by drivers to get sleep. Sleep is a precious commodity for drivers and is taken whenever there is a break in the action.

I like to read, but reading is like a sleeping pill for me. Usually if I start to read in the bunk I’ll last about 15 minutes before I can’t keep my eyes open any longer. I suspect many other drivers are similar in that respect. Driving is one of the most demanding jobs anyone can do in my experience.