I was asked how I came to become a trucker. Yes, I have a bit above average intelligence and am pretty well educated and very well read. In school and college I excelled in math and science subjects and my primary major in college was Electronics Engineering in which I finished top of my class. Now, don't misunderstand here, I am not bragging by any means. I am simply laying the groundwork within the framing of the actaul question as I was asked it by Gerry Atrick.
After graduation, I entered the work force. I started out as a low level technician and field engineer in a telecommunications industry. I worked primarily with satellite communications systems, signal processing, and ultimately fiber optics systems. Over the years, as I honed my skills and gained experience I worked my way "up the ladder". I was a noted member of a large "Society" of professionals in my chosen field.
I had always set my sights on the top of the ladder. I wanted to be top dog. I worked hard, studied all the technology as it was developed and also had the honor of helping to develop a lot of the new technology as it emerged, including fiber optics as applied to broadband communications. I saw my industry grow and mature and I eventually did get to be "top dog".
I had finally worked my way into top-level technical management. I was on a first name basis with the top people in the corporation. These top people called me when they needed advice or a problem solved. This was the beginning of the end for me though.
I had quite a few employees that answered to me and that I was responsible for. It didn't take me long to realize that was a lot of responsibility. No longer was I simply responsible for what I did, but also for what a few hundred other people did as well. I hired; I fired. I evaluated, I promoted, I disciplined.
One day, one of my best field technicians came into my office complaining about something I vaguely recall complaining about when I was at his level. Well, I just blew up. I chased him out of my office telling him not to come bothering me with this bullsh*t.
I sat down at my desk and realized that my job just wasn't any fun anymore. I used to really, truly enjoy the challenges of my work. It was fun. Now it was just a job. I didn't enjoy it at all anymore. Right then and there I pounded out my resignation on my computer, emailed a copy to corporate headquarters, took a printed copy upstairs to our local GM, my boss, and told him I'd have my office cleaned out in an hour.
Naturally, he was surprised and upset but he knew me well enough to know that once my mind was made up there was nothing that was going to change it. This was in 1997.
After taking a few months off to just get my head together, I decided to get off my duff and do something productive. I had learned to drive a truck when I was a teenager. Suddenly, driving a rig around the country sounded like a wonderful idea. So that's what I did.
I enjoyed the freedom of driving a rig for a living. I have the physical size, strength, and intimidating demeaner to make myself fit right in with other drivers and not have to fear the "scumbags" that tend to hang around truckstops and warehouses and such. And I still had my mind.
Driving allows one a great deal of time to think. Not just the superficial thinking that most people do while going about their daily grind, but real, critical, analytical thinking on just about any topic one could care to think upon. During my years of driving I spent a great deal of time doing personal research through my laptop, books, audio books, and a great deal of thought. In many ways, driving allowed me to get back in touch with myself and those things I used to hold to be important.
Now my back problems have degenerated to the point that I can no longer drive a rig. The pain from driving has reached the point that I can barely walk or stand the pain after a few hours of driving. I believe that it's time to go back to working with my mind. My bad back will no longer allow me to earn a living with my body, so now I will seek out employment which will allow me to earn a living using my mind once again. I feel it's time.
I only hope that my extended absence from the electronics industry will not make it impossible to find gainful employment once again. I do not expect to just step back in where I left off. That would be a bit too much to expect. But surely I can find a position where my experience and skills may be usefull to someone. I have a good deal of experience teaching and performing technical training, and feel that would be a great place to re-enter the field. During my former career, I took two years off to teach High School. I enjoyed it a great deal, but the money was pathetic.
I spent a great deal of my career training technicians. From entry level through advanced fiber optics. I always enjoyed that part of my job the most. I suppose I am a natural born teacher. If public teaching paid better, it would be a great job. Sadly, it doesn't pay well at all. While money is hardly my top priority, it is a factor nonetheless.
I am sure I will find something, but that wasn't really the point of the article, was it? That was the story of how a self-professed "Science Geek" became an over the road trucker. Like I said, a pretty dull story.