New driver in TX

[TxChristianDude]

I am thinking about getting into trucking. I have no experence and plan to go to community college for my CDL here in Houston and have a clean driving/criminal record. What is the driving opportunities like for a new beginner from Texas? I have searched the board and read about how other new drivers from other states are having a hard time getting hired.

I will also get my HAZMAT. I know I will have to get on with some of the crappy companies to get my foot in the door.

Thanks for your help guys.

[GMAN]

This is a difficult time to get into this business, but there are carriers who are hiring. I think it is wise of you to go to a community college for your CDL rather than one of the CDL mills. Having the hazmat endorsement would give you additional opportunities. I would not go into this with the idea that you need to work for a "crappy companies" to get your foot in the door. How well you do with any carrier will have more to do with your attitude and willingness to learn than anything else. Many of those who complain about a carrier fail to keep the lines of communication open and follow the rules. There are some bad or incompetent people at most companies, but I think that most of them want you to succeed. It is in their best interest for you to be successful. I have met happy drivers with Swift and other carriers who have been with their carrier for many years. If you talk to others they constantly put those same carriers down. No carrier is perfect, neither are drivers. You need to make your mind up that you will do your best and stick it out for at least a year or two. Drivers who move around a lot are finding it difficult to find a decent job. In fact, some are not able to find work, period. At least in this end of the business.

[geeshock]

Well, being in texas is prety good. I see a lot of bussiness in TX. Not sure how things are with things being slow but if I could count on anyplace being busy, it was tx

[Justruckin]

Get the HazMat and your TWIC card along with anything else you may need to get into a port along with your passport a sealed copy of your birth certificate.

I'm in Michigan, and cannot find work to save my life. Twenty years under my belt, a few million miles with a squeaky clean record and no accidents. Good luck!

[RootHB]

I got mine at HoustonCC NE Campus/ Driver School. If you can, do the 7 week PTDI course - still cheap and definitely worth it.. Outstanding Program/ facilities. They will get you through the HAZMAT ordeal, I don't know about the TWIC, but they should by now.
Get Every Endorsement. This is the last time you'll find it Easy!

Go for it.

HCC brings recruiters in: From the cooliecarriers to OOs, graduates o the program are welcome back at any time to Testify - and they're seriously informative. I'm a Texas driver but I hired out to an out-o-state carrier with a TX terminal that sent a recruiter in... 4.5 yrs later, still with'em.

[GMAN]

The only thing you need to have to get a TWIC is a fairly clean background and $132.50. There is no test as with the hazmat.

[dle]

Where about in TX are you?
There are a number of CC's that offer CDL training.

[Sealord]

go to community college for my CDL here in Houston RTFP. BOL

[dle]

Personally my wife and I went to Alvin Community College.

Their program is connected with the Houston Community College. They use their trucks, instructors and facilities.

[Cluggy619]

How is your MVR for the last 5 years? If it's clean, you stand a good chance. However, if you have tickets, it's going to be very hard. Trucking companies are very picky now, and will not hire those who will increase their insurance rates.

I know. Untill the points clear off, I'm selling computers. Hopefully by then, the economy will have changed for the better....

[Joey Shabadoo]

Why do you young guys want to waste away your youth with a trucking job? Nothing but a dead end. Plenty of risks and liabiliites for very little reward. Some of the worst benefits around, unless you go union. You'll be as high on the pay scale in 2-5 years as a guy that's been doing it 50 years. Why not go to a trade school? Plumbing, electrician. What about healthcare: X-Ray, MRI, Cat Scan, PET Scan technician. $20-40 per hour with 2 years at a community college. Nursing pays $20-40 per hour. Paralegal work can be lucrative. Land surveying is a nice job. Goverment jobs are usually easy with great pay and retirement. Certified auto/diesel mechanic. All the aforementioned gigs allow you to sleep in your bed everynight and enjoy a life outside of and away from the big truck.

Don't WASTE a minute of your life even thinking about OTR trucking. Why hold a steering wheel the rest of your life? Too many, much better choices out there. Put some research and physical, mental effort into it. Go hang out around a truckstop for a day or two, that should cure you of trucking. Why WASTE school money on a $10/hour job with no benefits? To reach the magical 50K/year (Nirvana to so many) in trucking....you will have to just about live (24/7) at work. Remember, trucking is NOT a good paying job unless you put in 2-3 times the hours of normal workers.

Work smart, not hard. Work less for more. You people kill me that think the only way to make 50K a year is to drive and live out of a truck. Folks that come into this industry and accept pay for double the hours perplexes the hell out of me.

[TimberWolf]

Once Again Joey Jobs are just that a way to support yourself. Why do you care what others choose to do as long as they are happy, at some point they may not be happy and then they can choose to leave.
I come from a job as an Executive Chef with Classical training from Johnson & Wales along with a BA from the University of Denver in Hotel Restaurant Management. The hours I put in at any one of the hotels I ran far out reach anything I have ever done driving local. This year I should break 57,000 as it looks with my last 1/4 bonus and at most I put in 55 hours a week, and yes i am in my bed every night, with Sun & Mon off and most holidays even pulling fuel. Lets see now a nurse puts in over 60 hours plus, any medical job requires at least 55 to 60 hours, yes you are home every night but you deal with sick people all day long sick and rude and hurt people that has to take a toll on the mind. Paralegal work have you ever spent time with a lawyer the ego alone will drive you nuts, they will put all the grunt work on you and they get the majority of the cash from your hard work, how is that different from driving other then being home every night? The same will go for any job you choose to do they all suck at some point or another.
I love pulling fuel and I make great money doing it as much as I did being a chef plus I do not have to deal with idiots on a daily basis, it is a great job and I might add much better then my teamster job at UPS Freight.
Dont bash others for what they choose to do whats works for you may not work for others and visa versa.


Timberwolf

[Mackman]

Originally Posted by TimberWolf

Lets see now a nurse puts in over 60 hours plus, any medical job requires at least 55 to 60 hours, yes you are home every night but you deal with sick people all day long sick and rude and hurt people that has to take a toll on the mind.

My GF just got out of school and is now a RN. She makes 28.50/hr with the best benefits you can ask for. But think about how much a nurse really makes even at 60hours a week.

28.50 x 40 = 1,140.00
42.75 x 20 = 855.00

So for 60hr week she will gross 1,995.00. Now this is at a very busy hospital outside of Philly. So that helps with her rate. She went to 4 years of college but to be a RN all you need is 2 years. BTW that is just 1st shift. If she work 2nd or 3rd they give her shift pay which is a couple more bucks an hr. I think i could deal with sick people for that kind of money.


I'm just sayin thats all. I understand not everyone wants to be a nurse. If you want to drive a truck more power to you.

[Joey Shabadoo]

Originally Posted by TimberWolf

This year I should break 57,000 as it looks with my last 1/4 bonus and at most I put in 55 hours a week, and yes i am in my bed every night, with Sun & Mon off and most holidays even pulling fuel.

Be honest here.
How many people going into trucking are going to end up with a local gig like that?
Don't BS the newbies on this board.
Most are going to start and end up pulling for the McMega carriers at less thatn .40 cpm on HHG rip-off miles getting used and abused trying to win the company's idle reduction contest.
Many more will get fed up with the low pay and never seeing home and leave the industry a little less poorer.

The statistics say that over 50% of 1st year drivers will be involved in some type of low-speed backing accident.
Good jobs like Wal-Mart, FedEx, UPS, fuel-hauling, etc want whistle-clean MVR/DACs.
And there are only so many of those jobs available since the guys that have them never quit.

Put it to you like this: out of my original driving school class of 20 there is only one still employed driving a truck.
And the only reason for that is because I was fortunate enough to move on to a LTL job
Where I'm paid and treated like a human being.

Be honest....how many will end up with jobs like ours?

[Double R]

Originally Posted by Joey Shabadoo

Be honest here.
How many people going into trucking are going to end up with a local gig like that?
Don't BS the newbies on this board.
Most are going to start and end up pulling for the McMega carriers at less thatn .40 cpm on HHG rip-off miles getting used and abused trying to win the company's idle reduction contest.
Many more will get fed up with the low pay and never seeing home and leave the industry a little less poorer.

The statistics say that over 50% of 1st year drivers will be involved in some type of low-speed backing accident.
Good jobs like Wal-Mart, FedEx, UPS, fuel-hauling, etc want whistle-clean MVR/DACs.
And there are only so many of those jobs available since the guys that have them never quit.

Put it to you like this: out of my original driving school class of 20 there is only one still employed driving a truck.
And the only reason for that is because I was fortunate enough to move on to a LTL job
Where I'm paid and treated like a human being.

Be honest....how many will end up with jobs like ours?

He's back!
CFM that is