Considering A Career As A Trucker... Any Advice?

Okay, looks like a new roadblock... Now I'm being told that even once I've had my Class D for a year, there's a physical exam and I'm highly unlikely to meet it because I'm overweight and therefore, will most likely have high blood pressure. Is this true? Should I just give up here? Is this a career killer?

Well there you go - now you have another awesome goal for the next year - get in shape! Obviously being overweight is not a life sentence, it's a choice. If you want to get your life moving forward by getting your license and eventually getting your CDL then add getting in shape to the list and make it happen!

Listen....I'm gonna throw this at you and you can do anything you like with it. You won't like hearing it but in my opinion you need to hear it if you're going to consider a career in trucking.

You're super young still but I'm not telling you anything you don't already know when I say to this point you've been a poster child for today's youth. You're broke, you live with relatives, you're a gamer, you're overweight, and you don't have a driver's license. On top of that you've also failed your regular driving test twice because of nerves. None of that says anything negative about the quality of human being you are. But it says everything about your work ethic, discipline, motivation, and ability to handle pressure - all of which you'll need if you're going to thrive in trucking.

Trucking is incredibly demanding. It's stressful, the days are super long, the job is thankless, and it completely overwhelms a lot of people. Just learning the basics of driving well enough to get your CDL is quite a huge ordeal for most people and nobody will tell you it's easy. Then surviving a month or two on the road with a trainer is even more difficult because now you're stuck in a truck with someone you don't even know and you're thrust into situations where you'll constantly feel like you're in way over your head. Then it again gets even more difficult when it's time to go solo and you realize the only thing worse than being stuck in a truck with another driver is being stuck by yourself trying to figure everything out. Getting started in trucking is a long, difficult process - a trial by fire if you will - and a lot of people never even make it to the point that they're running solo. It's a daunting task.

If this is something you want to do then I want you to understand just how difficult this is going to be so you can start preparing yourself for it. You have an entire year before you can really get started and that's probably a huge blessing. That's plenty of time to get in shape, study the training materials, research the industry, and prepare yourself mentally for the dramatic ups and downs you'll face once you get started with training.

If you haven't gone through our Truck Driver's Career Guide or my book about life in the trucking industry (free online version!) then you certainly should. It will help you understand just how difficult this industry can be and make sure you're prepared for it.

We're all about supporting each other here at TruckingTruth. We do all we can to encourage each other to endure the challenges and survive that first year on the road. I have no doubt you're capable of doing this and we'll be behind you all the way. But most people that run home with their tail between their legs after getting chewed up and spit out by the trucking industry were more than capable of making it happen. Unfortunately they underestimate (by a mile in fact) just how gruelling that first year in the industry will be.

So to me it's all about having the right expectations and preparing yourself for the challenges that lie ahead. That's why I'm saying all of this. We know how to help you get your career off to a great start and the first thing we have to do is warn you about how difficult this will be. The people who tend to thrive in trucking are Type A personalities who are fiercely independent and love a challenge and an adventure. If you're up for it the trucking industry would be happy to have you and we'll be happy to help you make that happen. But don't kid yourself into thinking this is some sort of relaxing job where you just cruise around enjoying the scenery without a boss looking over your shoulder. Oh sure that's part of it. But that's not the part that kicks people's *sses. The stress, the erratic sleep patterns, the very long days, weather, traffic, solitude, and thankless nature of the job - it can beat you down and wear you out.

But the lifestyle also gives you unparalleled opportunities to travel this country making good money living an amazing lifestyle. My years on the road were priceless and I wouldn't trade em for the world. But almost nothing about it was easy, even with many years of experience under my belt. Trucking is just hard - that's all there is to it. That's one of the main reasons I loved it.

I know some of this wasn't fun to read but I'm not going to help you be successful at this by sugar coat anything. I'm totally on your side and I'm pullin for ya all the way but I want you to do some serious thinking before committing to this.

Solid advice as always from Brett.

I had done my research and knew how hard it would be, and still found it MUCH more difficult than I expected. Most people have no clue what it takes to be a driver. They take a vacation in their car and drive a few hours and think it is a taste of driving a truck. It's not even close. I am not saying your one of these people, just pointing out how some people think.

The over weight thing would actually be one of the easier hurdles to get over. And it currently is not a deal breaker although it is getting tougher and tougher in the industry. I myself am over weight and have great blood pressure. Drives my wife nuts. She is a nurse, knows how I live and eat, and every time I go to the doctor and they tell her my pressure she just looks at me and shakes her head.

The only time I have ever had high blood pressure was when I went for my physical at my first company. I had myself so worked up about the upcoming mini workout I knew the company did I was stressed and tested high. After setting for just a few minutes I was back in my normal range.

Woody

Well there you go - now you have another awesome goal for the next year - get in shape! Obviously being overweight is not a life sentence, it's a choice. If you want to get your life moving forward by getting your license and eventually getting your CDL then add getting in shape to the list and make it happen!

Ehh, not sure I'd call it "awesome" but it is a goal. I'm not gonna' let anything get between me and my end goal, I've been stagnating in this weird phase between teenager and adult for way too long. :P

You're super young still but I'm not telling you anything you don't already know when I say to this point you've been a poster child for today's youth. You're broke, you live with relatives, you're a gamer, you're overweight, and you don't have a driver's license. On top of that you've also failed your regular driving test twice because of nerves. None of that says anything negative about the quality of human being you are. But it says everything about your work ethic, discipline, motivation, and ability to handle pressure - all of which you'll need if you're going to thrive in trucking.

Ehh, kinda', except I don't live with family anymore or this would be a little easier to pull off since I could quit my job at the warehouse and dedicate myself to preparing for the CDL test. I'm fully aware, sadly, that I fit the mold for "millenials"...

Trucking is incredibly demanding. It's stressful, the days are super long, the job is thankless, and it completely overwhelms a lot of people. Just learning the basics of driving well enough to get your CDL is quite a huge ordeal for most people and nobody will tell you it's easy.

Yeah, but to be fair it seems like nearly any job I can get at this point will be stressful, and with long hours too if I want to make rent. The thankless bit doesn't bother me really, it's always been a weird thing with me where I don't really like being congratulated for doing my job. I'm not saying it's gonna' be easy, but rather that, it seems, nothing that's worth the trouble comes easy. It's a sad fact of life that if you want something, you're going to have to struggle for it, it seems, at least if you're in a situation like mine.

Then surviving a month or two on the road with a trainer is even more difficult because now you're stuck in a truck with someone you don't even know and you're thrust into situations where you'll constantly feel like you're in way over your head. Then it again gets even more difficult when it's time to go solo and you realize the only thing worse than being stuck in a truck with another driver is being stuck by yourself trying to figure everything out. Getting started in trucking is a long, difficult process - a trial by fire if you will - and a lot of people never even make it to the point that they're running solo. It's a daunting task.

Being with the trainer, admittedly, will probably be very stressful for me because to make a long story short, I'm not a fan of having other people so close to me for extended periods of time. On the other hand, I understand that it's a vital part of... well... training, and that without it, I'd be just as helpless as I am now. Going solo, again, will probably be scary at first, but I get the feeling that I'll like it once I get used to it.

If this is something you want to do then I want you to understand just how difficult this is going to be so you can start preparing yourself for it. You have an entire year before you can really get started and that's probably a huge blessing. That's plenty of time to get in shape, study the training materials, research the industry, and prepare yourself mentally for the dramatic ups and downs you'll face once you get started with training.

It's strange, I know, I hadn't really considered becoming a truck driver until about a month ago but I'd say this is the most determined to do a specific thing I've been in a long time... And yes, a year SHOULD hopefully be plenty of time for me to prepare. :)

Sorry, gotta' cut this short 'cause I have work... Time to go bust my you-know-what in a warehouse for around 8 hours, bleh... Ah well, I'll respond to the rest later! Thanks again!

Phew! Sorry guys, been home about an hour but I had to finish an assessment for a data entry job... I don't think I did too well, but we'll see I suppose. Anyhoo, time to finish my responses. :P

If you haven't gone through our Truck Driver's Career Guide or my book about life in the trucking industry (free online version!) then you certainly should. It will help you understand just how difficult this industry can be and make sure you're prepared for it.

Actually, that's what I did on my break today! I didn't get much reading done since I had to read it on my phone's tiny screen, but I'm working on it. What I find the funniest is that so far, my life is almost like a remake of yours in a way. You left NY for GA without a promise of stability, I did the same but left GA for TX... We both worked (Or, currently work in my case!) in warehouses, and we both seem to have been pretty starstruck over the idea of earning $35k-ish a year... But I'll address that later on in this post. :P

We're all about supporting each other here at TruckingTruth. We do all we can to encourage each other to endure the challenges and survive that first year on the road. I have no doubt you're capable of doing this and we'll be behind you all the way. But most people that run home with their tail between their legs after getting chewed up and spit out by the trucking industry were more than capable of making it happen. Unfortunately they underestimate (by a mile in fact) just how gruelling that first year in the industry will be.

So to me it's all about having the right expectations and preparing yourself for the challenges that lie ahead. That's why I'm saying all of this. We know how to help you get your career off to a great start and the first thing we have to do is warn you about how difficult this will be. The people who tend to thrive in trucking are Type A personalities who are fiercely independent and love a challenge and an adventure. If you're up for it the trucking industry would be happy to have you and we'll be happy to help you make that happen. But don't kid yourself into thinking this is some sort of relaxing job where you just cruise around enjoying the scenery without a boss looking over your shoulder. Oh sure that's part of it. But that's not the part that kicks people's *sses. The stress, the erratic sleep patterns, the very long days, weather, traffic, solitude, and thankless nature of the job - it can beat you down and wear you out.

But the lifestyle also gives you unparalleled opportunities to travel this country making good money living an amazing lifestyle. My years on the road were priceless and I wouldn't trade em for the world. But almost nothing about it was easy, even with many years of experience under my belt. Trucking is just hard - that's all there is to it. That's one of the main reasons I loved it.

Yeah... It's scary, but something tells me this is the way for me to go, y'know? It's also pretty exciting. Again I realize it's not gonna' be the easiest thing in the world, but like you said, I'm capable... I just need to keep myself determined and educated.

I know some of this wasn't fun to read but I'm not going to help you be successful at this by sugar coat anything. I'm totally on your side and I'm pullin for ya all the way but I want you to do some serious thinking before committing to this.

Fair enough, sometimes the truth sucks, but a lie is only a convenient fantasy... I mean, it would kind of suck if you guys told me the whole time that it would be the easiest thing in the world, then I went to take my test and failed because I went in expecting one thing and getting another.

Oof, sorry for the quoting error with that last post! That'll teach me not to use preview before I post I guess...

Solid advice as always from Brett.

I had done my research and knew how hard it would be, and still found it MUCH more difficult than I expected. Most people have no clue what it takes to be a driver. They take a vacation in their car and drive a few hours and think it is a taste of driving a truck. It's not even close. I am not saying your one of these people, just pointing out how some people think.

Ehh, the closest experiences I've had to that degree were a 2012 trip from Georgia to California VIA Greyhound (Which sucked half the time because they kept putting me on the buses from the 1980s with no wifi and bathrooms that hadn't been cleaned since the early 2000s) and my most recent trip from GA to TX through Amtrak. I recognize it's not the same thing however, being a driver and being a passenger are very different situations.

The over weight thing would actually be one of the easier hurdles to get over. And it currently is not a deal breaker although it is getting tougher and tougher in the industry. I myself am over weight and have great blood pressure. Drives my wife nuts. She is a nurse, knows how I live and eat, and every time I go to the doctor and they tell her my pressure she just looks at me and shakes her head.

The only time I have ever had high blood pressure was when I went for my physical at my first company. I had myself so worked up about the upcoming mini workout I knew the company did I was stressed and tested high. After setting for just a few minutes I was back in my normal range.

Woody

Yeah, I've spoken to a friend or two and they told me it's not that hard to be a big guy and still be healthy as long as you know what to do... Any tips? I'd assume keeping relaxed is top priority here. :P

it's not that hard to be a big guy and still be healthy as long as you know what to do... Any tips?

Yap I have a tip....stop lying to yourself. Come on, man.....being big is not healthy. It doesn't mean you're going to die of a heart attack at 30 years old but don't lie to yourself about what's healthy and what isn't. Be real.

See, you take a common but incredibly unproductive approach to things and it concerns the heck out of me. You're looking to put in the least amount of effort necessary to get by and you're even willing to lie to yourself to justify it. Believe me....I know the type. My life-long best friend is overweight, he didn't get his driver's license until he was 28, he's a gamer, he's always done as little as necessary to get by, and he's been broke his entire life. He's even the type that will refuse to trim his bushes along the property line of his house because he knows eventually the neighbor will get tired of looking at it and do it himself. I'm telling you....that approach ends badly!

To be honest, people who take that approach don't last a month in trucking because it's an unbelievably demanding job. That mindset of doing as little as necessary is poisonous to your chances of success and happiness at anything you do. You know what they say - attitude is everything. People will a crappy attitude try to convince themselves that isn't true while successful people will tell you it's 100% true.

I'm sorry I keep jumping on you for this kind of stuff but honest to God I'm doing it because I've been in the industry over 20 years and I know what it takes to do well out there. If taking care of yourself is too much trouble then imagine how much trouble it's going to be taking care of your company and their customers? If counting calories is tough, imagine how tough it will be delivering to downtown Chicago during a snowstorm on a Monday morning or pushing through yet another 11 hours of driving for the day before collapsing in your bunk. Remember, truckers can legally work up to 70 hours every 8 days. That's almost two full time jobs! And those are the hours you're legally logging. That doesn't include a whole bunch of other stuff you'll be doing off the clock. 18 hour days are the norm in trucking. It really is unbelievably tough.

I want to see you be successful at this so I'm telling you right now it's going to take a change in your approach if you ever want a shot at making it happen. You have to learn to embrace a challenge, not run from it. You should want to test your resolve, not try to live without any. You should want an adventure, not monotony. It takes a special kind of person to thrive in this industry and you're perfectly capable of being that kind of person but it's going to take change. I'm telling you that right now. Trucking is not just a job, it's a way of life, and it's a really d*mn hard way of life.

I'm totally on your side and I want to see you do this but there's no sense in helping you choose a school, choose a company, and learn the materials if I already know your approach is going to prevent you from being successful anyhow. In your mind you're not ready for something like this....not yet anyhow. But fortunately you have time because you're going to need that driver's license for a year before you can get your CDL.

Here's something interesting...Amazon has a "pay to quit" policy. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, said:

Called Pay To Quit, the program is “pretty simple,” Bezos says. “Once a year, we offer to pay our associates to quit. The first year the offer is made, it’s for $2,000. Then it goes up one thousand dollars a year until it reaches $5,000

Erika Anderson said in a recent Forbes article:

“Working well” means, quite simply, that the people who quit are those who value a quick $5,000 more than they value working at Amazon. If you think about it from that perspective, I suspect it’s a very cost-effective way to get unhappy, unproductive employees out of the organization. It’s a kind of instant litmus test for job satisfaction and commitment. While $5,000 may seem like a lot of money, I've seen countless instances of not-quite-bad-enough-to-fire employees costing 10 times or 100 times that much in terms of lost sales, disaffected customers, manufacturing mistakes and missed innovation opportunities.

That's the same kind of commitment it takes to thrive in trucking. You have to be driven to be happy and successful in this industry. If you're in it just to collect a paycheck you're probably not very happy with your job. It's the challenges and adventures that come with the job and the lifestyle that really make trucking special. Otherwise it's just a stressful, thankless, risky endeavor that doesn't pay what it's worth.

Well, it's not so much a thing about "I can't" or "I won't" as it is about "I don't really want to". The truth of it is, I like myself at this size, and there just aren't enough benefits to being thin to make me want it. I mean...

Costs - I have to eat like a rabbit and do jumping jacks every morning for the next fourty years. Benefits - I might live a few extra years.

I actively strive to have the most enjoyable life I possibly can, even if it is short, and exercising constantly and denying myself... Well.. Food that tastes good, just doesn't seem that enjoyable in the long term.

On the other hand with trucking...

Costs - I won't be home that often and I have to stay awake for a long time. I'll have to live out of what essentially is a glorified closet, and I'll probably have to deal with some rude people. Driving conditions will sometimes, be difficult, and I'll have to be constantly aware of my surroundings while driving. Benefits - I'll own my own home and car before 40, I'll get to see the country and get paid to do it, I'll meet tons of interesting people, I won't have a boss that constantly peers over my shoulder to make sure I'm doing things HIS way, I'll earn driving experience that will probably make me a better driver even when I'm not in a truck and I won't have to spend four years in college with the following twenty years in debt to do it all.

Yeah it's not gonna' be the easiest thing ever, no full-time job will be, but it seems like once you get past your fears, once you get that bit of experience, once the BS becomes the norm and it doesn't really bug you anymore, it becomes an enjoyable, rewarding lifestyle that I'd say is more than worth the trouble.

I'm not disregarding what you've said, I do get the point, it's something you have to be driven (please excuse the pun) to do, and if I can't do something as simple as shedding a few pounds then how will I manage to stick it out in an industry that demands everything of you? I'm just saying it's kind of a conscious choice I've made and not just a negative consequence of a discipline-free lifestyle, and that it shouldn't be indicative of my failure or success in the trucking industry. I do really appreciate that you've taken an active interest in my success however, and I have to say that I will not disappoint. I might have to go through a company school for now, money is tight around here, but I will get through this all in one piece.

Of the "pros" of trucking you mentioned, be careful about this one:

I won't have a boss that constantly peers over my shoulder to make sure I'm doing things HIS way

You'll have more bosses in trucking than at any 10 jobs put together. Every cop and DOT officer in America. Every private security guard and customs agent. Every dock worker and shipping/receiving clerk. Every dispatcher , load planner, operations manager, safety manager, and logbook compliance manager.

The list goes on forever. Truckers have absolutely no authority over anyone for any reason other than one - you and you alone will decide whether or not it's safe to drive. You can refuse to drive for any reason at anytime. That's about it.

Congress writes the laws governing the industry and every law enforcement agent on the planet can enforce them. They don't even need cause to pull you over, search your truck, or go through your paperwork.

When you arrive at the customer you'll have absolutely no authority over when you get loaded or unloaded. You'll do what they ask and then sit there and hope for the best.

When you get assigned a load you'll be given not only the routing you have to take but the fuel stops you'll need to use along the way and the schedule you must keep for both the pickup and delivery.

And of course there will be random roadside inspections and random drug tests at anytime.

The company also monitors everything imaginable about that truck at all times. They'll know your speed and location at all times, your shift patterns, your fuel mileage, and a million other things. In fact, the safety department will get a red flag notice if you exceed a certain speed or even if you hit the brakes hard. They'll know it happened within seconds.

So indeed you will not have anyone in the truck with you telling you what to do. But pretty much everyone in the world outside the truck can and will.

So as much fun as the lifestyle can be, the "freedom of the open road" really applies more to RV's and road-trippers than it does to big rigs. Truckers generally have the freedom to shut up and do what they're told by everyone they come across. That's about it.

Heck, back in the day before the 14 logbook hour rule you could even take naps and have a pretty flexible schedule. Now they make you do your full day's work in a 14 hour window which includes up to 11 hours of driving. Often times you won't even have the privilege of taking a nice nap or sitting down for a nice lunch somewhere. The rules pretty much dictate that once you start working you can't really stop for much of anything until the day is done. And when you do stop it's normally to get fuel, scale the truck, turn in paperwork, and grab something to eat while you're driving.

As far as being overweight...you have every right to make that choice for yourself. But depending on how overweight you are keep in mind you might be forced to pay for a sleep study to test for sleep apnea , which can be costly. If you do have sleep apnea you'll be required to use a CPAP machine which monitors and reports your usage to the company. So not only will they be monitoring every move you make when you're working but they'll even monitor your sleep. As young as you are I would imagine blood pressure shouldn't be an issue yet but at some point it likely will be and you'll have to take meds to control it. And if by chance you become diabetic you can only drive as long as you're not on insulin shots. Anyone who must take insulin shots is excluded from commercial driving. So there are some legitimate job concerns related to being overweight in trucking, many of which can instantly end your career if you can't get them fixed with approved medications. So just be aware of that.

We're certainly behind you all the way but I want to put all of this out there so you know your circumstances and options as well as possible. Having accurate information is essential for making good decisions. We'll give you all the information we can think of and you can make the decisions that you feel suit you the best.

Well, it's not so much a thing about "I can't" or "I won't" as it is about "I don't really want to".

Christopher, that statement tells us a lot about your approach to life and the problems that you have with it. You seem to think that there is no way that you can "make rent" on the money that you are making at your job, and you often refer to "my situation" as though it were something especially unique to you. For a grown adult to not have their drivers license yet or know the rewarding responsibility of paying their own way is usually indicative of the very attitude you put forth in the above statement. You just don't want to do a lot of things.

It is not a helpful way to go through life thinking that you are somehow singled out as someone who is unfairly treated. You mentioned that your parents don't have anything to do with you and you pretty much stated that it was their choice and it didn't make a lot of sense to you. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you probably "didn't really want to" do a lot of the things they have suggested to you through the years, and you may really benefit by taking a nice long contemplative look in the mirror, and try to figure out where the root of your problems lie. I can guarantee you that there are people at your same job who are "making rent". I've "made rent" when I had to starve myself to do it. You can't out do me with hard times, even if you tried, you'd never come close. The reason you or anyone else can "make rent" on a meager income at a terrible job is mostly because they "want to". Life is a string of choices that we make, but it is also a mix of the way we react to the situations we find ourselves in. The small percentage of people who win life's lottery is overwhelmingly small, yet lots of people spend their whole lives foolishly bemoaning the fact that they have been treated unfairly.

Brett has been very kind to you, as I will be also, but at some point in a persons life they have to square up with the facts that are staring them in the face and make the choices that will move them forward, whether that is just with a career, or more importantly with how they face the adversity of life and it's consequences. We take a genuine interest in the folks who come in here, and will always try to help if we think they might be receptive to it. Sometimes we will sense that a person is just a total rascal and we will try and deal with them accordingly, but as you can see we think there is hope for you. For you to succeed in Trucking you will first need to succeed in life. Maybe your parents made some mistakes along the way, we sure wouldn't know. Parents certainly have a tough job to do, but even if they are total failures we still have our own responsibilities to develop into useful and productive adults as we grow up and face our own realities in the world.

Forgive me if I'm sounding like I just adopted you, but I tend to call things the way I see them. I know you are getting advice you never intended to get in a trucking forum, but you are free to run away at any time. As long as you are in here we will do what we do best, and that is to tell the truth.

When I first saw your reply that said, "Should I just give up here?" it was all I could do to hold my tongue. It was early in the morning and I get up at 0400, and I started to type out a reply on my phone but it crashed, and I didn't have time to really spend on it, so I just went about my day. I was glad to see Brett and Old School got involved in the conversation and said a lot of things that needed said in a manner that wasn't discouraging. They really deserve a lot of respect from all of us.

I was a peer counselor in high school. I am by no means a psychology professional, but I have had some experience and training. I, too, have a friend that is very similar to you. The difference is, you seem willing to hold a job, set goals, and are capable of achieving goals that you WANT to. We believe in you, but you've got to do the work yourself.

I still stand by the advice I gave you. See what you can work out with your roommate. You've got over year to get your ducks in a row! Walk at least 20 minutes a day. It does wonders. I used to walk 45 minutes a day, and it was amazing how much better I looked and felt. After two years of trucking, and not walking, I can see an amazing difference "the other way." For me, walking strengthened me mentally as well. It helped organize and prioritize my thoughts, and purge a lot of "junk." Going out and taking that first step is the hardest part. Very soon, you won't feel right unless you fit that walk into your day.

NEVER GIVE UP!