That sounds up my alley! I will look into that. Thank you for your input!

I have privacy concerns as to LinkedIn.

Indeed! A great resource! Thanks for the reminder, Bob.

Sounds like you may be contracting yourself out. Pros and cons in doing so, I’m sure.

Hi @SimplyMe no, I did work as a contractor for a while, that was fine, silly amounts of money but did work for companies I really disliked. I work from our local community centre, the work doesn't offend me, I teach preschoolers and high schools kids and run various projects including our community gardens. When I decide to take on something new they let me run it under their name and incorporation so I don't need to worry about insurances and legalities, saves me lots of time. Last year I was creating a new energy projects, they are still running, a few small things to finish then I want to establish a kayak/canoe trail in my local water ways with easy launching facilities. The level of satisfaction is very good, I don't have debts nor many expenses. I have always said, wealth is not what you have but what you don't need.

@Rugglesby What very fun things you seem to have going!

Thank you for responding. I know this isn’t the type of work for me. Separately, what impact do you think self-driving trucks will have on the industry, and when would you imagine this would make an impact?

That was a very thorough and thoughtful response. I loved it. I wanted to be a truck driver for many years. Never did it though.

I wanted to drive over the road when I was young but women were not accepted then. I fear am too old to learn but often felt like the perfect relationship for me would be with a OTR trucker and occasionally go with.

@SherryMartin actually there is a climbing number of people in our age group going into trucking. With the current job market going tech, people with limited skills and education such as myself, more baby boomers are getting on the road trucking. Depending on where you get the training you can be in a new job in a month to 2. I met a lot of people well into their 50's and 60's that are new drivers unprepared for retirement And the school makes a difference to how fast sometimes also. I know when I went to TDDS it had one of the highest hiring rates for an independent school. Which is one of the reasons I went there. They also train diesel mechanics. They had 2 different classes to choose from. I think it was a 4 or 6 week, then an 8 week class if I remember right. Towards the end of your class representatives from some of the top major trucking companies come in and give a presentation to hire into their companies. A number of trucking companies have their own training schools. This reduces their chances of hiring bad apples that can lead to law suits.

@SimplyMe I think we are a long way from self driving trucks. Our infrastructure as far as roadways will have to be vastly modified to accommodate a combination vehicle for the size of a tractor with a trailer at 53' long! In the short term future I would imagine off highway terminals for redistribution to straight trucks into cities. Or they're going to be moving a lot of our shopping centers and groceries stores next to a highway or railroad. It can be a real bitch maneuvering a truck through especially large metropolitan areas. I don't care how much you modify a road with technology to self propel a vehicle of that size through a city such as some of those in New England, your going to have to take down the whole city and start over in some cases to do it safely without a lot of damage being done. Or as I said above, redistribute into straight trucks. Does that offset jobs for the industry? I've been through downtown Boston a couple of times, not going to happen with a self driving truck! Queens, New York City, Pittsburgh, no no. Hell, you get into some of the small towns in the boonies with Dollar Generals and stores like that, good luck on a self propelled truck that has to maneuver a jack knife to line up with their dock to unload! Is someone going to be with that truck in situations as this to operate it? Or companies have to hire someone to operate it at some point once it's there. N.E. alone offers a well of complications to the trucking and corporate companies that will cost a fortune to overcome. Scrap yards. All our steel companies have their own scrap metal yards a scarp company like mine deliver to. They will have to spend a fortune to self propel a truck into their yard to the right pile of steel to dump. Job security for me? I don't think I have to worry to much anytime soon. Fuel trucks. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm not ready to see several thousands in gallons of any type of fuel rolling down the road by itself! Or any other type of hazardous and or dangerous material that by law requires a placard trailer. Who's going to operate the hoses once a fuel truck gets to a gas station or refinery? I hope they do a great job modifying the road into the refinery for self propelled trucks! Or move the refinery out in the middle of no where for when they blow up. I think we have a long time before we can afford the infrastructure for a reliable self driving trucking system. Right now just worry about how they're going to keep people from hacking into your self driving car!