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More & More People Are "Truckin' On"

MIAMI (CBS4) - More and more people are changing careers and jumping behind 18 wheels of steel and becoming truck drivers.

White collar workers across the country like Allison Lazoo have made the switch. Her last career was in real estate.

"Well the real estate markets, of course, most people know, started to go really upside down and really stressful with all the rules, and all the changes, plus this is actually a long time thing that I had about driving and I love to drive," said Lazoo.

Lazoo has joined the growing trend across the country. She's jumped behind the wheel into a new career as a truck driver. Since January, she's been a student at McFatter Technical Center in Davie.

"I think when you love doing something, it makes it a lot easier and I love driving," said Lazoo.

Truck driving instructors like lead instructor at McFatter Tony Ponce are seeing a new breed of truck drivers.

"We've had all the way up to pilots. I was here while Pan-Am went out of business. We've seen an influx of pilots coming through. Baggage people, I've had accountants, I've had lawyers, nurses, we've had it all come thru here."

The reason for the growth is the lack of truck drivers. According to a report by the council of supply chain management professionals, in 2008, the industry lost almost 150 thousand truck driving jobs due to tougher safety regulations and bad driving records. Last year alone the industry was short 400 thousand truck drivers.

"Well they're not going away, but the industry has changed so much from the way it used to be where it was known that truck drivers were all cowboys and stuff like that, to now where they're trying to bring back the profession of a truck driver," said Ponce.

For some, like Henry Richardson, becoming a truck driver is giving them a second lease on life. You see, Richardson is homeless.

"It's going to be like a new life. That life that I thought about when I was down in the dumps, homeless, really homeless, eating out of the garbage cans when I looked up into the sky and thought about, you know this vision things, now it's becoming to be a reality," said Richardson.

Richardson is about to be a licensed truck driver at the age of 51 and will soon have a new home on the road. Richardson went on to say, "I get an opportunity to go to city to city to find out where I really want to settle down. I get to pick choose and refuse."

A typical truck driving license takes 160 hours of class and road work minimum. Truck drivers can make anywhere between $30 and $50,000 a year. But most of your time as a truck driver is spent on the road. A driver is usually on the road for two to six and sometimes eight weeks at a time. You're only off typically one day for every week you're on the road.

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