Am I Too Young???

Sinple question, am i too young to start a career in truck driving? Should i wait? When is the best time to start the career? 25 years old, never had a career plan till now, just been job hopping from temp jobs to hard labor construction, im ready to settle into a career, but not sure if it is the right time. Anyone have any input on this, feel free to drop a line, thanks.

Raymond, no time like the present to start a career. I had a career plan when I turned 18 (I just turned 54) and I am now embarking on a new career. It's never to early to start planning for your future as it doesn't get any easier as you get older. As far as trucking goes it seems like most companies won't hire anyone less than 23 so you're good there. Good luck with your decision!

I just turned 21 last December and getting into trucking so you're definitely not too young to start lol

Thank ya fellas, well i have a couple of disputes legally to take care of and hopefully by next year ill b truckin. Im studying for my permit and might attempt to get my cdl on my own with no schooling, not sure yet, sure seems cheaper to me.

Im studying for my permit and might attempt to get my cdl on my own with no schooling, not sure yet, sure seems cheaper to me.

Oh yeah Raymond, it's way cheaper! Or wait a minute, is it really? Let me tell you a true story of a friend of mine in Nacogdoches, Texas who wanted to be a truck driver like me. He came to me for some advice on how to break into the industry, and I gave him some good solid advice based on my experiences. One of those pieces of advice was to make sure that he had a training certificate indicating that he had received 160 hours of training from a recognized training facility. Well, it seems this friend of mine thought that was way over the top because it was gonna cost him some money to get that little piece of paper so he did what any person in this great free country can do and went out there and got his CDL all on his own by renting a truck to test out in from someone who was willing to take his money knowing full well that he would have a terrible time trying to land a job without that all important training certificate that I had told him about.

That was over a year ago now. Guess what? No training certificate - No Job!

Here's the reality - These trucking companies cannot hire you because they cannot get their insurance carriers to insure you without that training certificate. Ultimately it is more important than the CDL itself.

If you are thinking about taking the circuitous route into this industry that is cheap, you had better have a promised job waiting for you that knows you will not have that training certificate or else your plan will never work.

Old school I appreciate the heads up and the advice given. So now i am going to rethink my options. Im not necessarily trying to go at it in the cheapest way, im trying to go at it in the best way that could be better for me. Now after all your advice, i am going to not just go to any cdl rent a truck place, i will follow my first choice and try and get into a trucking school or college of some sort. Im not fully comprehending why i need the hours if i have the cdl, being a student driver i thought thats what it meant. But ive learned enough lessons in this life and one is when a expierenced person gives you advice, you best take all you can, cause they know thru their own trial and errors. So once again thank you OLD SCHOOL for your very generous advice.

Raymond there is another option available and that would be the Company-Sponsored Training programs. They will basically pay all the costs up front for you and will provide you a job once you have successfully completed their training program. Personally I think it is a great way to go. You can do your research by following that link and decide which one meets your needs. A lot of the drivers in this forum have gotten their training that way. It is cost effective and you will receive some really good training. Prime is a popular choice among many of the folks in this forum and they have a great track record with some of the highest rookie pay in the industry. Your part of the bargain is that you must commit to a required time period of employment with them. That is what snags most people up, but it really shouldn't. You will always want to stick with your first trucking job for one year anyway because it just takes that long to really get the hang of this job, plus with one year of safe driving experience at a trucking company you will open up for yourself a whole lot of opportunity.

Raymond, Old School is 100% correct. Some people get the idea that just because you get your CDL you should be able to land a job. That is not the case, there is a lot more that goes into preparing a driver then getting your CDL. Many factors go into being a professional driver besides just driving a truck. The highest rate of accidents in the industry are caused by truck drivers in there first year. Insurance and trucking companies are aware of this and set minimum requirements to give drivers a better chance of succeeding. Many drivers who have completed training will tell you that they most likely would have failed without it. I myself jumped at the chance when my trainer asked me to stay on the truck a couple more months. I did it not because I wasn't ready but I really wanted to be the best driver I could be. Now I get the benefit of being an A seat driver and have extra time to hone my craft. As Old School mentioned there are a couple great routes you can take. Short cuts will only leave you behind the eight ball with no skill set. Good luck on your journey.

OLD SCHOOL, i know there is schools that will train me themselves, but i am handling some legal issues right now. This is why i was going to go ahead and try to get my cdl on my own, because the schools wont have me while im on probation. I know im rushing into things, but im anxious to get started and thought if i got my cdl i could just apply for jobs that would hire a felon. Evidently, i was wrong in assuming that as an option in my career path, according to the advice and informatioN you have laid out before me.

Brian, thank you for your feedback, it is well within my thought process of going to try and get into a school that will train me. I hope i get a good trainer is all i can say.