Words to the Wise
• Take classes in the daytime, if possible, to have time with family in the evening.
• Take a look at your finances and find an option that you feel comfortable using. Gonzalez used savings while he earned his CDL, but there are many choices in financing a return to school. CollegeGrants.org is a good source of information for adults returning to school, getting a certificate or trying college for the first time. Visit http://www.collegegrants.org/returning-adult-student-college-grants.html for more information.
• Take care of yourself, if driving a truck. Gonzalez fills a miniature refrigerator with water, Gatorade and snacks.
If you’re looking for a career spent on the move, professional truck driving may be a rewarding option.
Sammy Gonzalez, 45, from San Antonio, Texas, graduated in summer 2014 from Chattahoochee Technical College’s Commercial Truck Driving Program. Before graduation, he landed a job as a driver at Tip Top Poultry in Marietta.
Chattahoochee Technical’s North Metro Campus in Acworth offers the 37-day program, which helps students earn a Class A Commercial Driver’s License (CDL).
Q: Why did you decide to enroll in the Commercial Truck Driving Program?
A: I had been in the retail business for probably 25 years, and I had lost my job at Wal-Mart after seven years in management. So I had to find a job making at least $50,000 a year because I am 45, and there was no way that I could afford to start from the bottom of another retailer again. So my wife and I talked about getting my CDL.
Q: How much money do you make at this job?
A: I’ll roughly bring home about $62,000.
Q: Would you encourage others to go into this field?
A: If someone is willing to do some driving, see the country, and make some decent money, then this would probably be a good field for them.
Q: How did you get your job?
A: They came to our class and basically gave us the info on what would be happening at Tip Top. I gave them a call as soon as I got my driver’s license, and they told me to come on in for an interview, and here I am.
Q: What was one of the most important things you learned at Chattahoochee Technical College?
A: I learned to respect these trucks, how to move them in places like a car but bigger. I also saw how much people that drive cars think that these trucks can stop quickly and they do not. But class was an eye opener to that.
