Having a driver's license is basically table stakes for having a job in the United States. There are exceptions if you live in dense areas with good public transit, or you can work from home.

CDL != regular driver's license. Does an average driver know how to operate air brakes or prevent jack-knifing or what to do with a runaway engine? Trucking is a highly specialized job and requires more aptitude than ordinary driving.

Loads of people with driver's licenses can barely operate a sedan. Passing a CDL exam and not constantly getting into accidents driving a massive truck is a completely different thing.

Loads of drivers fret parallel parking. Imagine the difficulty of moving a 54' trailer perfectly straight into a bay at the bottom of a narrow ramp and not crushing anything in comparison to regular parallel parking.

I think people are completely delusional when it comes to driving a truck.

I always found the idea intriguing for some reason since I was a kid.

The problem is you have to drive an 80,000 pound death machine in all manners of congestion and bad weather.

If you look on a trucker forum you will see that people basically say you are going to be shitting your pants for the first year or two from the crazy situations you find yourself in.

It is super easy to say these things when you work in an office/remote and will never have to actually be in these situations.