New To Trucking!

Hello everyone. I'm not real big on the whole forum type web sites so I might not post very often.

I first started to consider truck driving a few months ago when visiting a friend. I have been looking for a job for a couple years now and have filled out countless applications but have never been hired. My friend, Randy, asked me how the job hunt was going and after he learned I hadn't made any progress, he asked me what I would like to do. The first thing out of my mouth was "to travel," and he suggested trucking. I've done a lot of research (I thank goodness for finding TruckingTruth) and have found that a truckers lifestyle is similar to my own. First off, my sleeping patterns are random. There are days when I will be awake all night and sleep all day and the next it will be the opposite. Secound, I don't eat like a normal person should. I once went six mounths eating nothing but fast food once a day. Third, I am not married, I'm single, and a bit of a loner(I don't like to talk very often). Finally, I once worked for a company called The Taylor Way, with my dad, where we had to drive all over the US in order to clean the overspray paint off vehicles. The best parts of that job were the driving to new places and seeing all the sights.

So, in short, trucking seems to be perfect for me and I will be asking a lot of questions as I head into this new career.

Hey, welcome aboard! Glad to have ya. Even if you don't jump in very often, you'll learn a ton and enjoy the conversations here just following along. But hopefully you'll jump in from time to time to let us know you're here .

It certainly sounds like you might be cut out for trucking. Being single and being a loner are two of the three top qualifications for being a trucker. The third is one of the following:

1) You wear cowboy boots even though you've never ridden a horse
2) You have a huge, shiny belt buckle
3) I can't hear what you're saying because your belly is keeping me from getting within earshot of your mouth

The third one was my favorite

Seriously, though - it's not shifting, backing, or steering that rig that drives people away from trucking. It's the lifestyle. They can't handle the time alone, they can't handle the stress, they can't handle the fact that you never know what's coming next, they hate being away from family and friends, etc.

Very few people are really cut out for trucking and even if it's something you seemingly were born to do, it's almost never easy. There will be days you'll want to park the truck, pack your bags, walk away and never look back. Trust me, nobody gets through their first year without having a number of those days.

But for those who can handle it, there's nothing like it.

For those of you who haven't come across it yet, we have an awesome Trucker's Career Guide. It covers about every topic imaginable that pertains to getting your trucking career underway. It's a must-read for anyone considering a career in trucking so check it out!

Welcome to the forum Jonathan! We will do anything we can to help, but you can also do something that will help you immensely when it comes to passing your state examinations, and that is to prepare yourself for this career by studying the "High Road" training materials here on this site - here is a link to them:

High Road Training Program

Welcome Jonathan...and feel free to enjoy the forums, learn from the High Road, and take advantage of all the smileys Brett has so conveniently put up for us...tho it looks like he's enjoyin' them alot more than the reast of us....Makes me wonder if he'd post as much, if there weren't any smileys....hahahahaha Fell free to ask any questions you have.We've all been where you are, and amazingly, we've all lived to tell about it.

take advantage of all the smileys Brett has so conveniently put up for us...tho it looks like he's enjoyin' them alot more than the reast of us..

I truly am! I don't know why they're so funny to me but I can't stop laughin at em

I think you will be driving a truck! When you get your cdl's you will be doing the we would like to see video ofbthat cuz it will make us is this good use of smileys, Brett??

OK...I gotta see why my smilies always put themselves at the beginning of my post....I'm doin' something wrong...

OK...I gotta see why my smilies always put themselves at the beginning of my post....I'm doin' something wrong...

Idk I just type then click on one.

Is this good use of smileys, Brett??

Outstanding!!!

I gotta see why my smilies always put themselves at the beginning of my post.

They will get inserted wherever the cursor is in the box you're typing into. So if you type a sentence and then hit the smiley, it will insert it at the end of the sentence. If you type a sentence and then click to move the cursor to the beginning of the sentence, it will insert it at the beginning of the sentence.

Now if you're using an older version of Internet Explorer like Internet Explorer 8, it might insert everything at the beginning of the post. But "good" browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Opera and "not as horrible" browsers like Internet Explorer 9 and above will insert it at the current cursor position.

Brett....again with the browsers...Do you get a kickback from Google Chrome or something ??