Debating Returning To Community College In The Fall Or Go For My Dream Of Being A Trucker? HELP MEE!

Hey yall.need some advice on wheiter i should return to college to take classes idk what to take or pursuit my dream of being a trucker. just been going back and forth looking at all possibilites of both pathway but need to know beyond a shadow of reasonable doubt that whatever decision i make will be a good soild one

your wisdom is welcome / very appericate. ty

Welcome aboard Richie!

A lot of people are pondering that type of choice these days. It doesn't sound like you know what you'd like to take in college so this might be a great time to give trucking a shot.

Trucking requires very little in the way of time and money to get the ball rolling. You can go to Company-Sponsored Training Programs that will train you with no money out of pocket, or pay for an Independent Truck Driving School up front and have your choice of companies. Either way you're out a few thousand bucks at the most and two or three months of your time.

But let me tell ya.....even a few months on the road will give you a lifetime of memories and a whole range of life experiences that will help you throughout the rest of your life. You'll learn a lot, you'll experience a wide range of unique experiences, and you'll find out if you're really cut out for trucking. If it suits you well - great! You have a solid career making good money doing something you enjoy. If you don't enjoy trucking - great! You have a ton of memories and stories to tell people for the rest of your life and you can walk away without a concern in the world. Go do whatever you'd like to do next. Trucking will always be there and you can return anytime you like.

If trucking was like going to a university where you're shelling out many tens of thousands of dollars and spending 4+ years of your life in school - that would be different. That's a huge commitment. But trucking is only a couple of months of training that normally costs less than $5,000. You'll make that money back in two months.

So that's my take on trucking. It's a low-risk career as far as the money and time investment is concerned. And you can walk away at anytime without a care in the world.

Let me throw this at you also. Although time will be tight and you'll be exhausted in the beginning, once you get your trucking career established you can begin taking online classes on the side. It would have to be setup where you can work at your own pace on your own schedule because trucking won't allow you to work on a consistent schedule with the schooling. But it's totally doable. You could at least get some of the basic college credits out of the way while you're on the road. Then if you decide to go back to school you have a head start.

Welcome aboard Richie!

A lot of people are pondering that type of choice these days. It doesn't sound like you know what you'd like to take in college so this might be a great time to give trucking a shot.

Trucking requires very little in the way of time and money to get the ball rolling. You can go to Company-Sponsored Training Programs that will train you with no money out of pocket, or pay for an Independent Truck Driving School up front and have your choice of companies. Either way you're out a few thousand bucks at the most and two or three months of your time.

But let me tell ya.....even a few months on the road will give you a lifetime of memories and a whole range of life experiences that will help you throughout the rest of your life. You'll learn a lot, you'll experience a wide range of unique experiences, and you'll find out if you're really cut out for trucking. If it suits you well - great! You have a solid career making good money doing something you enjoy. If you don't enjoy trucking - great! You have a ton of memories and stories to tell people for the rest of your life and you can walk away without a concern in the world. Go do whatever you'd like to do next. Trucking will always be there and you can return anytime you like.

If trucking was like going to a university where you're shelling out many tens of thousands of dollars and spending 4+ years of your life in school - that would be different. That's a huge commitment. But trucking is only a couple of months of training that normally costs less than $5,000. You'll make that money back in two months.

So that's my take on trucking. It's a low-risk career as far as the money and time investment is concerned. And you can walk away at anytime without a care in the world.

Let me throw this at you also. Although time will be tight and you'll be exhausted in the beginning, once you get your trucking career established you can begin taking online classes on the side. It would have to be setup where you can work at your own pace on your own schedule because trucking won't allow you to work on a consistent schedule with the schooling. But it's totally doable. You could at least get some of the basic college credits out of the way while you're on the road. Then if you decide to go back to school you have a head start.

yes thats does make sense to me .heaven forbid i ever get tired of truckin but knowing i got a backup career plan really make a difference instead of starting over from nothing. yea yea i think i can see my decision.

If I had a chance to do it all over I would have finished College, raised a family, Divorce my Wife. Lol... and then after all that, I would chase the dream of being a Truck Driver.

Hey yall.need some advice on wheiter i should return to college to take classes idk what to take or pursuit my dream of being a trucker. just been going back and forth looking at all possibilites of both pathway but need to know beyond a shadow of reasonable doubt that whatever decision i make will be a good soild one

your wisdom is welcome / very appericate. ty

I went to college almost 30 years ago without knowing what I wanted to do. I started in math and physics and ended up with a degree in history. (Guess how many historian jobs I got? Correct: zero.)

Looking back, I don't regret my education, but I can also say that it was not a good decision, especially financially. It took me over ten years to pay off the debt, and compared to today, I got bargain prices. The degree has helped me get jobs, but until very recently, none of those jobs paid what I could have made driving a truck. I have thought many times that I would have been better off working a job full time for a few years to figure out what I wanted to do I before going to college.

Over the years, the people I knew in college who absolutely knew what they wanted to accomplish before they got there have done much better than I did. At least five of the people I knew well in college are millionaires, and many of you know at least one of them from television. He knew what he wanted to accomplish - and actually he dropped out of college when an opportunity opened up that led him to where he is today, 25 years later, doing exactly what he knew he wanted to do way back then.

I agree with Brett: there's much less financial risk getting a CDL compared to going to college. You can always go to college, and these days it is much more common that people in their late 20s, 30s, and 40s are starting college. I don't know how old you are, but if driving a truck is your dream, then go for it! If your dream turns out to be a nightmare, at least you'll have some money in your pocket, some unforgettable experiences, probably a much better idea of what you want to do, and the opportunity to go back to college.

I think the important thing is to make a decision and stick with it. If you're like me and not really sure what you want to do, you can always change your direction. I've done it more than once.

I wish you the best whatever you decide to do!

Any kind of college degree will not help you at all in getting a trucking job. So why not skip that step?

Yea u guys are right. if this is what i want to do pursuit it and be happy

I'm not a fan of college. I am proud to say that I live my life how I want to. I tried college and was miserable the entire time. I've now established my career in trucking at the ripe age of 22.

I'm thrilled to know that when my life is over I can look back and thank myself for not putting myself through hell just to have a chance of landing a decent job. I refuse to spend years of my life doing things I hate, I'm way too busy having a blast trucking!

Hmmmmmmmmmm. i beginning to see the point of what everyone is saying

...what these guys said ...

Plus, like Daniel B. was describing: sometimes it's just as important, maybe even more so ...to be clear on what you don't want.

-mountain girl