Please Help

[AntLuke]

I made a dumb mistake early in life to sell drugs, but, I never touched the stuff. I got caught and served two and a half years probation. I made a brainless decision that I would never do again. I need a owner operator to give me a chance. I just graduated from Mid Fla Tech and dont have any experience. Knowing this I am willing to do whatever it takes to get my foot in the door and I mean whatever. Relocate, paycut, team, whatever. I just need a chance. My work history is stable. I dont miss days and Im never late. I dont drink or smoke. If anyone can help me please contact me at lukeantonio@ymail.com. Thanks

[TimberWolf]

Hey AntLuke,
Who did you have for instructors?

Big Buddy and Price Tag Ted??? I graduated from Mid Florida Back in November 04 and they were my instructors.
Did you talk with any of the recruiters who came to class? When I graduated I was 10 years out of a DUI and managed to find work, that was 5 years ago and times were a little easier but non the less I still carried a record. Stick to it and you will find something. I went to work for Commercial Carrier Corp right out of school and spent almost 3 years with them before moving on to bigger and better driving jobs. You can try them but I still have friends who drive for them and they say things and shifts are getting slim these days with the economy. Check out CareerBuilder.com they always seem to have some CDL jobs out there.

Good Luck and keep me informed of you're search.

Timberwolf

[golfhobo]

Hey AntLuke,
Who did you have for instructors?

Big Buddy and Price Tag Ted??? I graduated from Mid Florida Back in November 04 and they were my instructors.
Did you talk with any of the recruiters who came to class? When I graduated I was 10 years out of a DUI and managed to find work, that was 5 years ago and times were a little easier but non the less I still carried a record. Stick to it and you will find something. I went to work for Commercial Carrier Corp right out of school and spent almost 3 years with them before moving on to bigger and better driving jobs. You can try them but I still have friends who drive for them and they say things and shifts are getting slim these days with the economy. Check out CareerBuilder.com they always seem to have some CDL jobs out there.

Good Luck and keep me informed of you're search.

Timberwolf

ONLY TEN YEARS???? How can we EVER trust you on the road with "US?"

There's NO ROOM in this industry for people who've made a mistake! We are all PERFECT.... and we want to KEEP it that way!

It doesn't matter that HALF the 4wheelers around us are either DRUNK, Buzzed, or TEXTING! Or that for years drivers took BENNIES, COKE or SPEED between beers!

What were you THINKING getting into this 'lilly white' business???

Tell me where you run so I can stay FAR away from you!

[SickRick]

Really depends on how many years "earlier" happened to be...

More than 7, you stand a better shot and being "forgiven" than less.

As you may have noted in many threads - freight is down, lots of experienced drivers out of work, companies shutting down trucks and pairing folks off in teams to maximize revenue per struck.

The main problem with ANYONE hiring you (much less a small O/O) is INSURANCE. Less than a year - and you CANNOT BE UNDERWRITTEN. That's pretty much PERIOD (and exclamation point - one of these ! here). So getting on with an O/O is less likely than getting on with a mega (read SELF INSURED) carrier.

Your other major problem is FLORIDA. NO ONE HIRES FROM FLORIDA. Believe me, I have a sparkly-clean record, fully endorsed and twic'd, and once I give up my ZIP CODE, they hang up on me (after they let me hear them laughing for a few seconds).

Suggestion, from someone else on the board from your general area who got a recent hire - Covenant. Regardless of the "fecal matter" that folks here may sling their way - a FIRST HIRE, is a FIRST HIRE (especially with a less than spotless record)...

Best of luck (yer gonna need it)...

Rick

and the "truck driving schools" keep pumping out new, unemployable drivers - into an already saturated market. Cha Cha Cha...

[TimberWolf]

Hey Golf Hobo,
If you saw my juvenile record you would really have fun with that, Thank God for the abiltiy to expunge.. a couple of high school incidents with the Idaho Springs & Georgetown Colorado police departments, but hey I was young and dumb and full of .......
I also hold the proud distinction of having my DL suspended at age 17, Racing my brothers Mustang down Colfax Ave in Lakewood, CO, age 25 racing my mustang down Colfax, and age 31 my DUI... WOW go ahead folks have fun with this one.
All of these incidents have nothing to do with how I act, behave or drive now. People can change if they want to it comes with age (I think). I had some kid this last weekend try to talk me into a street race with his dads 08 Mustang GT and my 67 mustang I proudly told him he would kick my ass and I was to old to lose (even though I think I could have taken him). At 46 years of age I have gone 10 years with no tickets, five years of commercial driving with no tickets or incidents and 420,000 miles of local driving under my belt, not to bad if I do say so...

I do miss those outlaw days from time to time... but family prevailed and I am happy for that...

Slick rick when I went to Mid FLorida Tech (the same school the op went to) I paid $1800 for 8 weeks of training and came out of school with a very strong comfort level including the ability to back up with confidence, 5 weeks of classroom and track practice to include daily trips and daily backing assignments, and then 3 solid weeks of highway driving at all times of the day, our class had 10 students and no more then 2 or 3 per truck while road driving.The instructors told me before I paid that I may have difficulty finding work with my DUI they also said local work was going to be even harder to find. I came straight out of school into local work and have not looked back since. So it can be done.. I do agree times are harder now and companies are picking the best of the best so he does have his work cut out for him, but it can be done with some luck behind him...

Timberwolf

[SickRick]

Hey Golf Hobo,

<snip>

Slick rick when I went to Mid FLorida Tech (the same school the op went to) I paid $1800 for 8 weeks of training and came out of school with a very strong comfort level including the ability to back up with confidence, 5 weeks of classroom and track practice to include daily trips and daily backing assignments, and then 3 solid weeks of highway driving at all times of the day, our class had 10 students and no more then 2 or 3 per truck while road driving.The instructors told me before I paid that I may have difficulty finding work with my DUI they also said local work was going to be even harder to find. I came straight out of school into local work and have not looked back since. So it can be done.. I do agree times are harder now and companies are picking the best of the best so he does have his work cut out for him, but it can be done with some luck behind him...

Timberwolf

It's SICK not SLICK. I'm a recent graduate of McFatter Tech (a Broward county school) - so we likely had very similar class sizes, equipment an curriculum. The difference between county schools and commercial (mills) is that you have a guidance counselor (not a recruiter or salesperson) pitching you on the class - they usually have NO CLUE about what the industry looks like (as far as current job availability - other than the usual "dire predictions" about the 100,000 driver shortage predicted for 2010 - yah, RIGHT!), and will tell you that the school does not do direct job referrals. The instructors were equally vague about hires out of the south florida area - but I had ALREADY DONE my research here and on other boards before signing up - so I KNEW that I wasn't getting a "Mega Carrier" hire for OTR work. I have a couple of connections for local work - but loading and unloading pallets of Pepsi and making pretty displays in supermarkets with stacks 100's of 12 packs just really isn't my idea of truck driving..

I'm just saying that I went INTO THIS with NO ILLUSIONS as to what my job opportunities were when I signed up for school - even with a CLEAN RECORD. Companies have "pick of the litter" right now, as far as the available "talent pool" of drivers - and frown on "past indiscretions", when they have plenty of "pure as the driven snow" candidates to choose from at the moment.

If you're north of I-4 - I DID hear that Covenant and CRST are hiring - EVERYONE ELSE I HAVE SPOKEN TO SO FAR, pretty much stays out of FLORIDA completely.

I'm waiting to wrap up some personal business (foreclosure & bankruptcy), then either relocating to Ga. OR buying a rig and staying down here.

Rick

[TimberWolf]

Hey Rick,
If you don't mind pulling fuel check with Florida Rock in Ft Lauderdale, a few of the guys from our terminal are running out of there to help with a shortage of drivers and I quess a fair amount of work. I hear it is a pain in the ass pulling fuel out of Port Everglades but that they seem to be clearing some decent cash.
Just a thought I know FRTL does not have the best reputation but they have done just fine by me so far...

Good luck with the personal life bull**** I know that has to suck to go through...

Timberwolf

[AntLuke]

Price tag Ted....lol...Yes he was one of my instructors. Big Buddy is retired now. But yes I did tell them my situation and Ted was upfront when I told me that my chances were slim to none in finding work in this inkdustry. But someone else paid for the class so I took the opportunity to learn a new trade. I will keep you informed on my search and if you run into anyone who would be willing to give me a yell. The charge happened two years ago and most companys go back ten, except, Swift who said five. But, I need to be on the road yesterday if you no what I mean. Thanks for the input.

[Kevin0915]

I made a dumb mistake early in life to sell drugs, but, I never touched the stuff.

Nuff said. Kinda like a pimp and a prostitute...you going to tell me they've never 'tried out the goods'? LOL.....sorry....but good luck IF you can find it.

[TimberWolf]

Yea Big Buddy and Price Tag Ted are some good ole boys from Polk County,

Just to give you guys an idea of what Polk County is like, a year or so ago some guy killed a police officer and his K9 partner in the line of duty. When the Polk County Deputies caught up to him they blasted him with over 70 rounds, when the local media asked the sheriff why they shot the guy 70 times his response was "my guys ran out of bullets"!!! True story.. Sheriff Grady Judd one good ole southern bad ass.

Big Buddy got very mad at me once on one of our afternoon runs as we were driving through Polk County. We drove by a few old recliners on the side of the road someone had trashed and I came on the radio and made a stupid comment about how nice the Polk County truck stop looked, He and Ted both were not happy with me and I got a lecture on the proper use of the radio system...

Timberwolf

[AntLuke]

No kevin I didnt try the product that I sold.....That would be like a monkey selling bananas....but if anyone could point me in the right direction I would greatly appreciate it.

[Orangetxguy]

No kevin I didnt try the product that I sold.....That would be like a monkey selling bananas....but if anyone could point me in the right direction I would greatly appreciate it.

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[AntLuke]

Thanks OrangeTexasGuy but one of the requirements for C.R. England is that you dont have any felony convictions in the last 10yrs...most companies that I looked at have that restriction....If anyone knows any company that gives drivers a chance please let me know...Or am I just wasting my time....Do I have a dead CDL?

[SickRick]

Thanks OrangeTexasGuy but one of the requirements for C.R. England is that you dont have any felony convictions in the last 10yrs...most companies that I looked at have that restriction....If anyone knows any company that gives drivers a chance please let me know...Or am I just wasting my time....Do I have a dead CDL?

How many years has it been since your charges? Your SCHOOL (especially since it was a county Vo-Tech) should have "hipped you" to that facts that (a) newbie hires are tough to come by out of florida and (b) recent felony convictions make an "almost impossible" hire, even closer to impossible. My instructor went over EVERYONES MVR the first day - and asked (in private) about criminal convictions. Folks with "questionable" issues were TOLD UP FRONT that they were going to have a DIFFICULT if not IMPOSSIBLE time getting a hire.

INSURANCE AND LOCATION are the primary reasons for newbie hire difficulties - BAD DRIVING RECORDS AND RECENT CONVICTIONS almost PRECLUDE a newbies ability to get a hire AT ALL. Your instructor should have discussed this REALITY with you - if he DID and you ALREADY KNEW THIS - then whining about a "dead CDL" is really MOOT as it's yer own fault for getting it NOW, instead of WAITING UNTIL YOU WERE HIRE-ABLE...

Rick

[AntLuke]

My conviction is two years old. And, yes, my instructor did "hip" me to the fact that it would be very difficult to find employment. However, I'm not whining (because men don't whine). I'm only trying to find someone who would give me a chance and I'm using any and every medium that I can find to do so until that chance comes along. If anyone can help me let me know. And I'm willing to take a pay cut to gain experience. I'm serious about this. I'm also willing to travel anywhere on the east coast. Thank you

[Jackrabbit379]

McDonalds, and Burger King are usually hiring. I hear they have good benefits.

[Double R]

McDonalds, and Burger King are usually hiring. I hear they have good benefits.

Why does everyone aways forget to mention Wendy's and LJS. They are also hiring.

[bentstrider]

McDonalds, and Burger King are usually hiring. I hear they have good benefits.

Hope you guys never actually eat at any of these restaurants.

[Jackrabbit379]

Hope you guys never actually eat at any of these restaurants.

I stay out of there as much as I can.
I've never liked Burger King, but the only thing that's half-way good at McDonalds, is their fries. I bet there aint an ounce of beef on McDonalds' burgers. I don't know why anyone would want to eat a cheeseburger that looks like it's been run over, and covered with mustard and ketchup, and a dozen pickles on it.

[bentstrider]

I stay out of there as much as I can.
I've never liked Burger King, but the only thing that's half-way good at McDonalds, is their fries. I bet there aint an ounce of beef on McDonalds' burgers. I don't know why anyone would want to eat a cheeseburger that looks like it's been run over, and covered with mustard and ketchup, and a dozen pickles on it.

Then there's also the chance that someone will put something into the food out of anger.
The way they're slave-driven over there, I never see anyone happy when I walk in to any of those places.
I stick to In'N'Out, Del Taco, and Jack In The Box, they either get paid very well, or management is less demonic on their employees.