I started many years ago. Growing up, most of my family drove logging trucks. I was always riding in trucks—going out with cousins, uncles, and dad—and that piqued my interest as a young child. Once I was about 20 or so, I started a job as a gravel truck operator, just doing Class 3 gravel truck driving. From that, I got professional driving experience and met a lot of different people. After five years, I decided that I was ready to get into driving Class 1. My first job was actually with a friend of a friend. He owned a truck and he agreed that he would help me get my license. I’ve been doing it ever since.

I’ve done all kinds of different work in trucking, and I like my current employer. I’m also a driver trainer for them, so I meet many people who are just starting out. We have a program for new drivers, so lots of the people we hire are just beginning their first trucking jobs. Other people still seem to get their start by driving smaller vehicles around town, working some not-great jobs before they find something they really like.