Time Sensitive! Breaking The News To The Family That I'm Becoming A Truck Driver!

Dude...you can do this...without your father's blessing.

Sean, I got news for you. It doesnt matter how old you are you will always want your father to support what you do and be proud of you. Sadly I lost my father years ago to a heart attack and we were not close when he left us. I wish he was alive today to see how I am doing as I was the unsuccessful one of the family. I have finally found something I enjoy and I make a good living.

The best thing you can do is use his comments to motivate you. He stated that he knows guys that tried and couldnt cut it as a trucker. Truth is MOST people can not make it in this industry even though everyone seems to think it is easy. If you give it your all and make it he will see that you were able to do something that not many people can. No smoke up the behind here bro, it is tough! But you can do it!!!

If you are determined and use the people on this forum for support and guidance you will do just fine. The advice and comments here may not always be sugar coated or what you really want to hear but believe me they are sincere and will get you where you need to be if you listen.

Woody

As a dad of three grown sons I can say that watching them struggle is harder than encouraging them to try something new. My eldest went off to Parris Island in 1999. Needless to say in September 2001 he was on the bubble. He did 4 years and then went contracting for DOD type contractors in DC. Ten years later and another long layoff and he's now driving for Swift. Not making the same money but it's getting regular.

My middle son graduated several years ago with a good degree in finance. Gues what? Couldn't get hired in his field due to the crash and CPAs with 5 years experience competing for entry level jobs. So, 28 years old he joined the Army. Doing great. Not getting rich but married and my first grandson is on the way.

Encouraging my sons to try new things was far easier than seeing them juggling bills with almost no income or working a jobs to just get by. You're a grown man and have been trying to make it in a "normal" "good" career field that really is the modern "fast food" job. MCP, A+, MCSE-whatever are expected for entry level positions.

Believe me, I know. I've been in IT since 93 and came in with 10 years of mainframe and networking experience. I make a whopping $23 per hour plus some OT. It's a living but I have to put up with HDI brainwashed "service center" sopervisors that cannot do my job but create the metric standards based on "industry" standards that are for traditional call centers with scripts.

Anyway, I'm "retiring" the end if this year and going trucking with son number 1. We are going to team and run the tires off our rig! My wife supports this and believe me, her support is a lot tougher to get than my dad's when I joined the USAF in 73.

Hope I see you out there next year.

Sorry for the touch screen typos!

Sean.,

Sorry to hear about the negative support from your dad. Your dad doesn't wanna see you get into debt. That's great, so don't lease or become a O/O until you have experience. Companies will try to shove it in your face down your throat and tell you that you can make all this money. Maybe you can, but they you have to pay for fuel, truck repairs, permits. You can't be all that successful in your own truck until you have been out for a few years. (others will correct me if I am wrong) Those that your dad says are "in debt" are because they didn't come here for advice before. So, stay as a company driver. You will still get miles, and you can still run hard. You have faith in yourself, and you will succeed out there. Like you said, just find the pair you lost, or grow news ones. Don't mean that in a bad way. Trucking is a great industry. Freight needs to be moved, and it needs drivers to do so. I am going out in just about a month to make the journey across America. If they say, well you should lease, I will politely decline saying, I am too new and I am not going to be in debt. Hope my little rant does some good, and if the veteran drivers want to add anything I know they will. We all care about each other on this forum., and don't want to see anyone fail.

You can't change your Dad so don't try. Just be the best Sean you can be.

It sounds like you are a committed individual that sees things through. Respectfully, I recommend you reconcile your decision with God. Then trust in the skills and abilities He has bestowed on you. That doesn't mean everything will be easy, but you'll be able to move on.

Having owned and operated my own businesses for the past 12 years (along w/management and 12yrs military experience prior to that) I can tell you today's world is much different than the one your dad and I grew up in. My son isn't in the career I would have wanted for him, but he doesn't need my money, my house or my food. He struggles, but never asks me for anything. I'm proud of him. Your Dad's problems are his problems. You have your own to deal with and I applaud you for opening up to this forum and holding fast to your decision.

Take all the information you can to make the best decisions you can. Work your tail end off (like you've probably done elsewhere) and you will succeed. In the end just remember this is a job. Yes a lifestyle goes with it, but all jobs have lifestyles attached. Some more desirable than others. Whatever you choose to do, take in the beauty of each day and each person you encounter and be the friend to others you need and you will find yourself surrounded by the best you could ever ask for.

Good luck and God speed!

To David A., Woody, David L., James and Steven.

Thank you all for you time and feedback. I think you all gave great advice and thank you especially for going into so much detail about your own lives, experiences and situations. I found it very interesting, helpful, valuable and I will factor it into my decision. I'm glad now that I started this post because I really did not expect such great feedback.

Since my last update this morning I have been in contact with a few other family members and a friend who is close to me and knows what is going on. I had already rn the truck driving idea past 2 of these people a couple weeks ago to see what they thought about it. Both were totally excited about it and thought I would be good at it. One was my brother, who is 33, is a single dad and is currently a concrete finisher. Like me, he has struggled at times in life but right now he is doing good. He's busting his stones at his job but he was also able to get full custody of his 12 yr old boy a few weeks ago, which is cool and he's happy. My brother was stoked about the idea and told me that he's thought about becoming a trucker before too. He has a bad driving record so it's not really an option for him and plus he just got his son. I told him how the conversation went down with Dad and he said a lot of the same things you all did. He is glad that I want to better myself and supports the idea 100%.

The other person I told was my friend from my last job that I was laid off from (she was also my supervisor when I was first hired in 2010). We are still close and talk fairly regularly and she knows me extremely well due to the amount of time we had to spend on the phone at work (her office was in Canada at the time). She is 35 as well so I think that's why we became friends because we have a lot in common and it was always funny to joke about going to high school in the 90's and stuff like that. She is nothing like my brother or my dad and comes from a totally different background. She grew up in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia (which is predominantly a fishing town) and has no ties to construction. She graduated college, is one of the most well spoken and professional people I have ever met (let alone became friends with). So I was really surprised when she told me that she loved the idea, thought I would be great at it and not only that but she knows a few truck drivers from back home in Yarmouth! Who knew! Lol! She also recently moved to Wilmington, DE to work at the corporate headquarters, which is also in Wilmington and where I used to rent my house before I moved in with dear old dad. (All Dads that replied to this post, that was not a knock on you, I valued your opinions most of all!)

Wow so much information... anyone who is still reading this deserves a roaring round of applause for sticking with me - as this post is officially fallin' off the rails.

So in summary... I think I have officially climbed down off the ledge. I have received priceless insight from everyone who has replied to this thread as well as some folks at home. I am not only planning on getting on the bus to Springfield, MO to attend Prime's driving school but I'm also planning on staying with supportive friends in the mean time so I can focus on what I have to do to prepare! BAM! ...as long as my blood pressure cooperates, so I will need to check that before I go so I don't wash out.

Thank you all for reading and the advice. I think that's all I got for now. I will post an update if anything doesn't go according to plan.

3600+ characters? Didn't know I had it in me.

Sean,

I am glad you have decided to get on that bus anyways. You make your own decisions. As far as your blood pressure, go to a store that has the machine to take it for you. 140/90 is ideal to get your two year card. If its higher, you might get a three month card, get your blood pressure down then issued a one year card. The morning you do have your DOT physical, don't drink any caffeine. Heck don't drink any the night before, that way you don't have any issues. Keep us posted!!

If you need to get the blood pressure in check, you might wanna go to the doc and see if you can get a mild prescription. I take a 10mg and it makes a huge difference even though my bp isn't normally way out of whack.

Keep that relationship with your brother.

Yep you have it about right. You are going to have to grow a new pair. You can still love your dad but also be your own man. If that means putting distance between the two of you for awhile then that is what needs to take place.

For the time being I highly recommend that you put him out of your mind for a while. Your going into a highly stressful situation and really can not afford to have negativity around you while learning to drive a truck.

If trucking is really what you want to do then you must do everything to make it happen. Some sacrifices may have to be made. All depends on how much you want this.