Changing Profession to Trucking

by GWS
(East Liverpool, OH. USA)

I'm currently a registered nurse and I'm seriously thinking of changing professions to professional truck driving. My wife and i have been discussing the idea for several months now and she has become OK with the idea of me driving over the road. We have no kids and I'm at a place in my life where i would like to travel and see the country and get paid for it at the same time.
Some of the things that keep from pursuing this endeavor are as follows:
1) I have no experience at driving a vehicle bigger than a Honda civic let alone a 53 ft vehicle that is stick shift and requires double clutching.
2) I'm a recovering alcoholic and i have been clean for 5 yrs now and was concerned if there were ways to maintain my sobriety through meetings while on the road (probably a dumb question, but thought i would ask it anyway!! :)
3) wondering if becoming a truck driver in the current state of the economy was a good idea.
4) i read and hear a lot of stories that truck drivers don't make any money when they follow the rules. ie: like the sleep to drive ratio and the speed limits like for example in oh where i live the truck drivers can only drive 55 mph
5) wondering if company paid training is a good way to go being i don't really have the money to pay for truck driving school at it's current cost.
6) do trucking companies allow the truck driver's wife to ride along with them?
7) how do you find out if the company you are considering is a good company to go with when everybody has such varied opinions good and bad for just about every company out there.
8) what would you say is a good thing to look for in good quality driver trainer.
Well, sorry if this seemed really long winded, but i would appreciate your time and response to these questions to help me in my decision of becoming a truck driver. I do love to drive, just ask my wife anytime i have off we drive a dedicated route to Buffalo for the scenery along lake Erie along route 5 or anywhere else we could travel!! LOL

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Jan 07, 2009
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changing careers to trucking
by: jimmy

gws, allow me to help you out if i can. i'm retired driver and have lots of time.

1. not one trucker had experience before he learned to drive trucks.

2. you could possibly find an AA meeting to attend in various cities, but don't count on it. trying to arrive on time and park an 18 wheeler etc would be a hassle. some truck stops have ministry chapels on site. or deal with your sponsor via cell phone/internet.

3. even with down economy, people need supplies at the stores.

4.as a rule, you make money abiding by the rules. just MANAGE your time. you might have to fudge a teensie weensie bit with your log book and speed limit.

5. company training is out there. you must commit to stay with that co.6.wifey is permitted with most co's. you pay monthly insurance cost. minimal. 7.there are pros/cons with all co's. try for a medium size co.4-500 trucks.

8. ahhhh, a good driver trainer, well they are out there.the more experience, the better. but know this. many just want to make money and don't want to really teach.

running team is a whole 'nother story. personalities get in the way sometimes. you either get along or you don't. but remember, it's just for a short period of time.(3-6wks) grin and bear it if you can.....jimmy

Jan 02, 2009
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that's a lot of questions about trucking
by: thecrazytrucker

Wow Liverpool in the USA, I never knew!

GWS, what's good man,

Some of these questions have been answered on the site previously, you might want to browse around.

Ok let's see.

There wasn't enough room to answer all your questions so I made a page for them at

answer to your questions about changing professions

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