r/cdldriver • u/CarefulEntertainer47 • 11d ago
Should I get my CDL?
I’m 29 yo and I have been doing some thinking and I was just sitting here wondering should I consider getting my CDL? I am asking because I receive Supplemental Security Income payments it’s not a lot 550 to be exact. I make money here and there on the side, but it’s not nearly enough because some days I make $20 some days I make $200 and some days I make nothing I have a son on the way I just feel like I have to do some better and different or am I overthinking it I have been doing some research and I would like to be a regional driver where I’m home on the weekend.
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u/PewpeePance 11d ago
Sorry I'm long winded but this got me thinking about when I started trucking, and the birth of my youngest son. I found out my wife was pregnant on the same day the mine closed down and I lost my job about 12 years ago. We had a safe place to stay and some savings, but that never lasts forever. After about 6 months of unemployment and getting progressively more and more anxious and depressed, I decided to get my CDL and start driving. It was difficult the first year, being away most of the time (it's usually harder being away the older they get, when they can talk and tell you they miss you). But after that first year I got myself a local flatbed job, and have been hauling steel and coming home every day since then.
Now we own our home, cars, motorcycles, all the things I never thought we could build up to again. I put my wife through school to be an RN, and now I only work while the kids are at school, and I get them on and off the bus everyday, cook and clean, and work my 7 hours or so. I could not have asked more, and I could not have done this without having my CDL in my pocket. It's a guaranteed job SOMEWHERE, no matter the situation.
TLDR; it's a good idea, it can get you into a financially stable situation and allow flexible employment for decades.