Georgia man back at school seeking new career at age 77

BAINBRIDGE, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia man has returned to school so that he can start a new career at age 77.

William Nichols enrolled at Southern Regional Technical College in Bainbridge a few years after retiring from his job as a pilot.

“Although I’m an older person, I set my mind to do this,” William Nichols told WALB-TV. “And I’m going to do it.”

Nichols worked for more than three decades as a pilot flying corporate jets, and he's a licensed flight instructor. He decided on a new career path after seeing recent news about supply chain struggles in the U.S. that include a national shortage of truck drivers.

Now Nichols is working to earn his commercial driver's license in order to hit the road driving tractor-trailers.

Shane Herring, a commercial truck driving instructor at Southern Regional, said many companies are looking to hire new drivers. He said that demand has more students signing up to earn their licenses.

“We are kind of booked up through May," Herring said. “There is a big need for drivers, so we have a lot of students.”

Nichols may be the oldest student in his class. But he said he doesn't see his age as a limiting factor.

"I know I’m old," he said, "but I’m still good.”