I'M Freaking Out

[The Big E]

I tried the real-estate thing just before and during the giant collapse in the housing market.

I never thought that the housing market could have turned so sour so quick and with no end in the foreseeable near future I had to think long and hard about just what the heck I was going to do to pay my bills. Not to mention what the heck I was going to do with the rest of my life.

I love driving. Vacations taken driving through the states were always a fond memory. I loved seeing all the new things and the scenery was always wonderful. I planned on traveling around the United States after I retired so I thought....why not do it for a living?

I have a family member that works as a truck driver so I asked him how much he was making.

After doing some research on my own I come to find out that he was either blowing some major smoke or got damn lucky working for ABF and pulling $78,000 a yr after only a few years. The figures that I came up with were somewhere between $32,000 and $40,000 the first year.

Well below the $78,000 figure that was tossed to me by family, but still more than I am making in the housing market and I get to do something that I really enjoy? Let's give it a go.

So I research and I research and then Research some more. I went to websites that were basically like careerbuilder.com just for truckers like:

Class A Drivers

Truck Job Seekers

among others. I studied the state cdl book, went and took my general knowledge, airbrake and combination vehicles tests scoring 100% on all 3. WOOHOO! They were really easy.

So now I have my permit and I submit my application to these websites that will submit it to several different carriers. Within 10 minutes I get a call from someone recruiting from CRST expedited. From what I have read in the forums I am not really that interested in them, but I play it off and tell him that I need some time to think about it. 30 minutes later I get a call from some guy with Mid American Driving Academy recruiting for CRST. I'm thinking that if this is the way this is gonna go then I will be getting calls left and right and be able to choose whatever company I want to go with. Keep in mind that I still need schooling and to actually get the full cdl.

I want to go to Schneider. They have the best rep as far as schooling and the pay isn't as low as Werner and they aren't teams like CRST. So I sit back and wait for their call.

Emails from:

Prime

USA Truck

JB Hunt

CRST

Nothing from Schneider..... WTF? I'm reading that others were contacted by Schneider within 30 minutes of putting in their applications. This isn't looking good for me. Several days go by and nothing. So I decide to call them.

I have a phone interview with them tomorrow at 9:30 am . I really hope that goes well and they tell me when I am going to school. That's where I really want to go. If they won't take me I'm gonna have to go with lower pay and/or teams which I really don't want.


What kind of questions do they ask you during this supposed 30 -45 minutes? If I'm in will they tell me when i go to school?

[Double L]

I have a friend that drives for CRST and she is solo now. She use to team with her ex but that didn't last long at all! Even though CRST is a "team" carrier you still have solo drivers who drive for them.

[RottsATruckin]

www.wksh.com

lots of info here as well, just use the "search" function

[The Big E]

I did apply at Watkins .... never got a phone call. Seems like they aren't hiring in Illinois

[BigDiesel]

That Avatar is hillarious Big E !!!

[wsyrob]

The interview is no big deal. I did one with them and was prehired before deciding to go the sage school route. They just asked questions about my work history and dmv record. If you haven't already check out pumpkindriver.com

[Snowman7]

Your figures are accurate for a newbie doing OTR. In a year or so you should be doing 50+. Your family member probably does make 78k if he drives for ABF. But they dont start you that high. You have to work up to it. They are whats known as an LTL carrier. Requires hazmat and doubles endorsement. You could qualify for a job like that in a year or two and then it takes another 2-3 years to reach top pay and get steady work. Stay in touch with him and learn all you can. There are other LTL jobs and they all pay well. Keep your driving and criminal record sqeaky clean. Those companies are picky about who they hire.

[irishfan466]

The interview is a peice of cake. If all goes well, you will get a conditional offer at the end of the interview. I am currently in training with Schneider if you have any questions. I went to the Schneider Training Academy (STA) in Dallas so I won't be much help with Green Bay. I will say this, I am glad I made the decision to go with Schneider for the training. STA is difficult and fast paced. Find a crew that likes to study and you will do just fine. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the academy or anything else. If I don't know the answer I can sure point you in the right direction. BOL to ya and let me know how it goes.

[The Big E]

Yes! Had my phone interview today and all went great. Got my CONDITIONAL job offer and I start school on the 7th of June ! Still have to go get my physical and wizz quiz on the 22nd, but I don't have anything to worry about that.

[Double L]

Congrats on the job! 8)

[mikey4069]

when i see the name Big E i think USS Enterprise cvn 65 sorry off topic .

[mikey4069]

Crst not that bad as a starter company but that whole team thing is for the birds .

[mikeymike]

I agree about the 78K. I drove for a big name ltl company doing city driving and made 65K a year after 4 yrs. If he is running linehaul for ABF I can esaily see him making that amount. Those linehaul runs depending on what you run can pay very well.

[kips41]

I would make it a goal to work for an LTL company if you want to make good money. OTR is a good job except for being gone all the time, it is tough on the family.

78k for a linehaul job is in line with what one can expect. I am at a small terminal as a city driver and we have 2 line runs out each night.

One is 430 miles round trip with 3.5 hours dock time and it pays 83K if you are at top pay. The other one is about 175 round trip with dock time and pays about 50k.

You do not have to have 1 year over the road to work for an LTL company. You don't say where you live but if there are big terminals in your area you can work as a hostler or even combo and then work your way into city driving then into linehaul.

Linehaul is good money and you don't work as hard but as a city driver I work 9am to 6-7 pm and off weekends....not a bad gig, but you do get hot, dirty and sweat alot especially in Texas in the summer.

BOL