Looking at becoming a trucker

[Big Jeff]

I've been thinking about becoming a trucker. One thing has me concerned though. I have been on Disability for 5 years and have not worked in 6. How would this look to a prospective employer?

[glasman2]

I'll let you know soon as I find out... been on L&I for 2 1/2 years and haven't worked in 2 years 22 days and counting.

[rickll]

well let me tell you a story ... I got a close friend .... who was on ssi for 10 years ... maybe 11 I lost count .... when the DR said ok you can become a trucker he had a real hard time finding a company who was instrested .... so ... one day he got creative and made up a nice family owned business ... had some friends or family members with different last names verfiy (sign notorised letters)he had this business and went trucking ... i've been told its the best lie he ever told ... if you tell the truth good luck he knows... its sad but true .... if you can pass the medical go trucking ... it's great

[ssoutlaw]

I'll let you know soon as I find out... been on L&I for 2 1/2 years and haven't worked in 2 years 22 days and counting.

What happened to you? I'm still on work comp screwed the knee up pretty bad and was supposed to have surg. on the 22ND but ins wanted 2ND opinion. Their Dr said the 1st Dr was right go figure....lol so I go for surg. on Feb 7Th. I have been off sense Aug 29 and am going stir crazy. how could you last 2 yrs?

[JoeyB]

.... so ... one day he got creative and made up a nice family owned business ... had some friends or family members with different last names verfiy (sign notorised letters)he had this business and went trucking ...

You have to be careful with that- most places will want to see tax returns as proof of self employment.

[glasman2]

I'll let you know soon as I find out... been on L&I for 2 1/2 years and haven't worked in 2 years 22 days and counting.

What happened to you? I'm still on work comp screwed the knee up pretty bad and was supposed to have surg. on the 22ND but ins wanted 2ND opinion. Their Dr said the 1st Dr was right go figure....lol so I go for surg. on Feb 7Th. I have been off sense Aug 29 and am going stir crazy. how could you last 2 yrs?

I slipped and caught myself instead of just falling while carrying a 250lb box.
bulged out 3 disk and 2 more were trying to bulge. Did a ton of therapy, shots, then surgery. While I was down with surgery L&I asked if anything else was wrong with me. Told them about my carpal tunnel ( both hands ) had surgery on them just to find out I also had qubital tunnel ( both elbows ).

5 surgeries later and more therapy I'm just about ready to go back to work, but can't go back to my line of work.

Bored? Sometimes, but I tried to keep busy. in between surgeries I kept busy remodeling around the house. gutted the living room downstairs and redid that, tore all the carpet out of the house, then had that done. ripped out doors and windows and replaced them, painted inside and outside of my house. Replaced the wood on 1 side of my roof and re-roofed it. Turned my 10X10 kitchen into a 20X10 lot more cupboards and tile floor.

Some days I could work most of the day, others only a couple of hours then had to stop for a day or 2. Long process but I had all the time I needed. Still working on the dang place, never stops.

I did let L&I know what I was doing, didn't want someone coming by and taking a photo and try to say I was scamming the state.


Now back to your regular scheduled topic....

[Big Jeff]

One thing I should have added. I don't have anything wrong with me physically, except my weight (which I've been working on losing). I'm not too worried about passing a DOT physical.

But mentally, I suffer from some form of autism. I don't think that would disqualify me from getting employment as a truck driver. I can drive a car just fine and haven't had an accident since I was 16 (almost 16 years ago).

[allan5oh]

Don't worry about the autism, I know someone with mild autism as well, and he's a very good driver. Kinda puts himself down a lot though, I don't like that about him, but he's a pretty good guy!

[GMAN]

As long as you can pass the physical and get your doctors to sign off that you are able to go back to work, you should not have too much difficulty, as far as the DOT is concerned. Some employers may not want to take a chance on having another workers comp claim.

[Big Jeff]

Don't worry about the autism, I know someone with mild autism as well, and he's a very good driver. Kinda puts himself down a lot though, I don't like that about him, but he's a pretty good guy!

Would depression be something that could keep a company from hiring me as well? I'm not bi-polar or anything like that, but I claimed depression when I filed for Disability. But hopefully, as long as the worst thing I have to worry about is my employment history, there will be some companies out there that would be willing to have me.

[FourHeartsTrucking]

Would that be Asperger's Disorder? It is associated with Autism, just not as severe.

[Big Jeff]

Would that be Asperger's Disorder? It is associated with Autism, just not as severe.

Asperger's Syndrome is associated with autism. It's listed on what's called the "autistic spectrum". It may also be associated with "high-functioning" autism.

[FourHeartsTrucking]

I know this. I have a set of triplets, one with severe infantile Autism and one with Asperger's Sydrome. The other one has no problems at all. I was just pointing out what it may have been.

[Big Jeff]

I know this. I have a set of triplets, one with severe infantile Autism and one with Asperger's Sydrome. The other one has no problems at all. I was just pointing out what it may have been.

Sorry about all that. I should have just said that it probably is either AS or high-functioning autism. I have a second cousin who also is autistic and it seems to affect him far worse than it ever affected me.

[FourHeartsTrucking]

No problem! Good luck on becoming a driver. I have driven in the past and will soon retire from the Army and go back to it. To me, I find driving very rewarding. I know that if you put enough into it, you will enjoy it.

[rakusa]

I've been thinking about becoming a trucker. One thing has me concerned though. I have been on Disability for 5 years and have not worked in 6. How would this look to a prospective employer?

I too have not worked in 5 years and worked only 1 (2001) in the past 13. Was a house husband with a failed business venture and then trading stocks but now divorcing. OTR has interested me for years and now single no ties, I researched online for countless hours, trucking since 11/2005, all companies/schooling available in my area.

Due to work history I have few options and my only chance appears to be Central Refrigerated and Swift (haven't applied but from what hiring requirements say on company sites). They sound better than Swift (trucker message boards) although Swift has good equipment. Schneider hiring teams only in my area but Schneider sounds like equipment is bad and miles are low so not missing much. Swift cdl training sounds better than Central. Perhaps AIT truck driving school first, then Central or whoever will hire me is safest. I am 51 now. Others that have gone through company schooling here will have more information.

[neverbeenlate]

Good luck to you and I hope your future is full of success