What Did You Do Before Becoming A Truck Driver?

Ps: This was Erroll's 'para thread' that he never DID update....

Any Doctors/White Collar's in Trucking?

~ Anne ~

pps: JUST FOR YOU, Bobcat Bob .. I just KNOW it maddens you when I do this, hahahaha!

Before I started driving I did security at toy’s r us’ warehouse (yes we still have it up here in Canada lol) Now I deliver trailers there so it’s likely I never left😅. I’ve been a mailman, car jockey at a dodge dealership, did home renovations, dishwasher and landscaping. By far trucking is the best job I’ve had but there’s days I do miss sitting in a guard booth twiddling my thumbs lol

Before I started driving I did security at toy’s r us’ warehouse (yes we still have it up here in Canada lol) Now I deliver trailers there so it’s likely I never left😅. I’ve been a mailman, car jockey at a dodge dealership, did home renovations, dishwasher and landscaping. By far trucking is the best job I’ve had but there’s days I do miss sitting in a guard booth twiddling my thumbs lol

Richard F.,

You really NEED TO START A THREAD! Y'all CN drivers fascinate me; and so many questions for ya!!

First of all, do you still have access to Toys'R'Us?? My kids have grown, but me & the S/O sure miss the 'toys & games' there!

For instance: Can you get me this, and USPost it to me, COD???

Surew would like a foosball table, as well:

Additionally; so many questions... about CN companies. My other half used to drive cross border with Transport America. Not many drivers had a TWIC card when he was OTR , so he got a LOT of great loads. Didn't bring me any toys, though!

Another inquiry; ELDT and MELT ... different in CN? I've heard (and can't remember where, darn me!) that your ELDT mandates have been postponed, or are at least being 'questioned/put on hold. ?!? Canada ELDT training.

Companies up your way; Did FastFrate purchase Challenger/Daeske? Are operations 'still' the same?

Bison Transport . . . secrets abound. What IS in the works, besides what we already know? Hartt . . . are they cross border?

Richardson . . . who owns whom?!?!??!?

Sure would be AWESOME, in my opinion, anyway; if you'd start a thread, and keep us UP TO DATE with CN freight/logistics/acquisitions, cross border companies & news !

Enough already; I've asked a lot!

Thanks, good sir. Safe travels! We'll have you over for BBQ if you ever get down into the States!!!

~ Anne & Tom ~

I was a woodworker in my younger days, up until I cut a finger off. Also pawnbroker, cemetery caretaker, trash man to name a few.

I am in CDL school currently after deciding to take the plunge after decades of procrastination. (feel free to check out my CDL Diary if interested) I started my career farming (milking cows) in Southern Ontario, Canada. I joined the police department at 22-year of age in the suburbs of Toronto and that sure beat milking cows! A friend of mine was an Owner/Operator and offered to teach me the business, but our first child had just been born and it didn't seem like the right time to be gone from home for long periods. After 9 years of policing in Ontario, I moved to Virginia and worked in law enforcement for 15 years. For eleven of those years I was a law enforcement trainer for the Dept of Criminal Justice Services in VA. I then transitioned to a Technical Trainer position at a Fortune 500 Communications Company and climbed the corporate ladder until I achieved the Manager position in the Technical Training Dept. It's sad when you climb a lengthy ladder, only to realize it's leaning against the wrong building! I lasted a whole 14 months of management misery before I bailed and resigned from my job and my six-figure salary to embrace trucking, which has fascinated me since childhood. After three weeks in CDL school, I couldn't be happier.

Before I started driving I did security at toy’s r us’ warehouse (yes we still have it up here in Canada lol) Now I deliver trailers there so it’s likely I never left😅. I’ve been a mailman, car jockey at a dodge dealership, did home renovations, dishwasher and landscaping. By far trucking is the best job I’ve had but there’s days I do miss sitting in a guard booth twiddling my thumbs lol

I did similar work, part-time during COVID, when we weren't getting any freight. I got fired for excessive call outs when FedEx got busy again.

I tried to get laid off during Covid from doing security so I could qualify for a government program that would have paid for my cdl but ended up getting a dollar raise lol

Before I started driving I did security at toy’s r us’ warehouse (yes we still have it up here in Canada lol) Now I deliver trailers there so it’s likely I never left😅. I’ve been a mailman, car jockey at a dodge dealership, did home renovations, dishwasher and landscaping. By far trucking is the best job I’ve had but there’s days I do miss sitting in a guard booth twiddling my thumbs lol

I did similar work, part-time during COVID, when we weren't getting any freight. I got fired for excessive call outs when FedEx got busy again.

I was working in the engineering field before I started driving. My first real job out of high school was in aviation. I went to a “technical” high school and graduated from their engineering program. I ended up with an internship and a full time job before I graduated as a mechanical drafter. I spent a lot of time in different ****pits sketching and measuring the instruments and other parts of the planes to create drawings and 3D models in AutoCAD and other programs. I moved into electrical drafting and would draw the wiring diagrams for the modifications we were doing. My dad offered me more money to come work for him as a civil drafter so I made the switch and eventually got into the field as an instrument operator on a survey crew. The housing market took a dump in ‘08 and I got laid off so I went back to school to get my CDL and have been driving ever since!

I was working in the engineering field before I started driving. My first real job out of high school was in aviation. I went to a “technical” high school and graduated from their engineering program. I ended up with an internship and a full time job before I graduated as a mechanical drafter. I spent a lot of time in different ****pits sketching and measuring the instruments and other parts of the planes to create drawings and 3D models in AutoCAD and other programs. I moved into electrical drafting and would draw the wiring diagrams for the modifications we were doing. My dad offered me more money to come work for him as a civil drafter so I made the switch and eventually got into the field as an instrument operator on a survey crew. The housing market took a dump in ‘08 and I got laid off so I went back to school to get my CDL and have been driving ever since!

Dave T.,

That's really fascinating, to me !!!!

I learned AutoCAD back in the day, too. Attempted to, would be a better word. Even with my strong math & physics skills, I never really got the '3D' of it all. Stuff like this, is what you did ?!?!?

That's our OWN, Marc Lee . . . that started the 'Postcards' thread, btw!! (There's a Vimeo tutorial by Brett at the bottom of this page...since your last photo didn't post!) The 'secret' to posting a photo is, after you upload it from your 'photo' file, make sure you 'name it' .. and then click 'GO' .. as soon as you see a thumbnail to the right of the 'upload photo' button, and a huge line of HTML text appear in your thread entry ... (img src equals https colon backslash 2x photos dot truckingtruthdot com pics etc.....) You're good to go!!

Love your posts, good sir!

~ Anne ~

I completed 20 years as a police officer.