Truck Driving Jobs

golfhobo · Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 2:59 pm Post subject:

Copious:

I don't want to sound negative, either. But, the fact is that this industry is designed around OTR for newbies. There have been a few exceptions on here, who got local gigs right away, but if you're serious about making a career out of trucking, you should be prepared to pay your dues and go OTR.

1) You say having a CDL will never leave you stranded. Yet, MOST local companies don't give you ANY credit for having the license if you don't have the OTR experience. i.e: if you get a local gig now, then lose it for some reason, the NEXT company will start all over denying you as having NO EXPERIENCE. Of course, they don't treat you much better if you HAVE 2 years OTR but NOT within the last 3 years. So, if you go OTR for 2 years, then local for 2, you might STILL have problems getting another local gig. Just things to consider.

2) If your school is "assuring" you that there are local gigs just waiting for you to pay them the money and go through school, ASK them for the names and contacts! Check with the local companies to see if they will do what the school "assures" you they will!

Recruiters on this board may sometimes get a bad rap, but the ones "out there" are the ones that deserve it! Don't believe everything you are told by ANYONE in this business!

You say you have no wife or kids, and don't mind being alone. You're PERFECT for this! :lol: You say that having someone to talk to would be nice. You're even MORE perfect for a team operation!

There are MANY team companies (smaller ones) who will get you all over the USA and back in ONE WEEK! I understand the concern you have for your parents, but if you could get home for a couple of days EVERY week, wouldn't that be enough?

My parents have said the exact same thing that yours did! And, regardless of how much they like having me around, they really did MEAN it! Parents are usually MORE concerned for OUR lives than for their own. Besides, they got along without you before you were born! Give them some credit.

If local is what you want, and you can get it, more power to you! But, be sure that you are considering your FUTURE chances without having the OTR experience. I think it is best, before your parents get any older, that you pay your dues and get the 2 years of OTR out of the way now. By teaming, it will go by fast, and you'll still be around much of the time.

there are a FEW people in life who made it to the level of CEO without a college degree. But, the odds are against it. Why set yourself up for a struggle if you don't have to?

Find a company that will let you drive TEAM for the first 2 years, and get you home weekly. They are out there in big numbers! Then, get a local gig that let's you go solo if you want. Life will be so much easier for you. Run this by your parents, and see what they think. Believe it or not, even at your age, THEY are much smarter and wiser than YOU.

But, if your heart is set on going local out of the gate.... do NOT pay a dime to a school until you have "checked" their story!

Just my 2 cents.... which, adjusted for inflation, would have been worth the cost of CDL school a few years ago! :wink:

copious · Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 13

Golfhobo, thanks for all the excellent information! I understand most newbies need to start OTR for a couple of years to pay their dues. If that's what it takes, then that's what I'll have to do. My guess is that if you can make it through the first two years, you'll be OK. That's probably the toughest part, but I'm ready for that. Originally, I thought of starting with OTR for that reason, plus it seems like a great way to see lots of neat places from coast to coast, that I probably would never otherwise make a special trip to visit.

I don't think I'd do wrong by going with a company like Schnieder that would train me further and start me out driving team. The regular, and decent sized paycheck (especially compared to what I get now) would keep me going. Of course I'd be worried about my parents. Their health isn't getting any better and they do count on me to help them out with more and more things as time goes on. They say not to let them hold me back from taking a good job, so maybe I would. Get the two years of OTR under my belt then look for a local job.

Of course, if a local or regional job came along right away after finishing the truck driving school, I'd jump on that instead. The trucking school I've been in touch with seems quite confident that there will be more local jobs, but of course they can't guarantee it. They're a well respected and established school, and probably wouldn't have said it if they didn't mean it. I can call up those companies they said hired people right out school, but either way, I want to get started, local, regional or OTR, ideally local. But, we'll see what unfolds... Thanks again for all the input! :D

choperbob · Joined: 30 Mar 2005 Posts: 703 Location: Tucumcari,NM

gosh josh! good to hear from ya. waking up the the refreshing aroma of 110 degree asphalt soaked with urine, the clean smell of diesel smoke, burning oil and rotting food. add the scent of waste cooking grease. just another beautiful morning. it does take a special kind of mental illness to be able to enjoy and thrive as an over the road driver. very few families are prepared for the reality of otr. me i love it. done a few tattoos on people i have met. i have friends all over the usa so i get to visit occasionally. not for everyone. a door got blowen into me by the wind. i came to a few minutes later covered with blood. luckily i had wd40 to clean the cut and duct tape to hold a bandana in place until i made it to somewhere i was able to properly bandage it. out here we really are on our own.

copious · Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 13

choperbob wrote: gosh josh! good to hear from ya. waking up the the refreshing aroma of 110 degree asphalt soaked with urine, the clean smell of diesel smoke, burning oil and rotting food. add the scent of waste cooking grease. just another beautiful morning. it does take a special kind of mental illness to be able to enjoy and thrive as an over the road driver. very few families are prepared for the reality of otr. me i love it. done a few tattoos on people i have met. i have friends all over the usa so i get to visit occasionally. not for everyone. a door got blowen into me by the wind. i came to a few minutes later covered with blood. luckily i had wd40 to clean the cut and duct tape to hold a bandana in place until i made it to somewhere i was able to properly bandage it. out here we really are on our own.

Hmmm, sounds like fun. :roll:

Hearing stuff like that certainly doesn't inspire me and make me look forward to it. Keeping in mind, no job is perfect.... but it IS making me wonder... Sometimes it's better to experience something one's self, and sometimes it's better to take the advice from others. Right now I'm torn...

choperbob · Joined: 30 Mar 2005 Posts: 703 Location: Tucumcari,NM

awww, wd40 will work, but, that boo boo helped me get the rest of my first aid kit together. smells around truck stops, well during the winter they ain't as bad. lol. point i was making is that ya gotta be sorta self reliant out here. this industry does not take us to the nicest places, we also have to be at peace with ourselvs for long periods of time. me i kinda prefer my own company than putting up with anyone elses b.s. knowing what is expected of me and not having anyone looking over my shoulder, seeing some beautiful country, and being pretty much my own boss is just a few of the great things about being otr.

copious · Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 13

Tonight I went to an informational session at a local trucking school. A few trucking companies were there, including Schneider's. The guy dispelled a few myths. Although the pay isn't as high as some other companies, they really do take you by the hand and help you get started in your first year. It gave me new hope in this! Although I still wanted local, I realized you honestly need experience since city driving is more challenging. For example, with OTR you may back up once or twice a day, with local, you might be doing it 20 times a day. Or so they say...

So, a few things to think about and maybe reconsider my thoughts on OTR, local and regional, or at an extreme, perhaps considering not getting into this (not likely though).

choperbob · Joined: 30 Mar 2005 Posts: 703 Location: Tucumcari,NM

somehow this thread got hijacked by a bible thumper. didn't it start out with something about warning new truckers not to expect life as a trucker to be all it is blowen up to be? maybe i'm wrong. maybe it is about god loving us in spite of whatever. personal religious beliefs should be another thread. i respect everyones right to love any god they want, but, ...........

copious · Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 13

choperbob wrote: somehow this thread got hijacked by a bible thumper. didn't it start out with something about warning new truckers not to expect life as a trucker to be all it is blowen up to be? maybe i'm wrong. maybe it is about god loving us in spite of whatever. personal religious beliefs should be another thread. i respect everyones right to love any god they want, but, ...........

Yes, so moving right along... (and this is a serious on-topic issue), I could be starting a truck training course in 10 days. Before, I'd have jumped on the opportunity. Now, partly due to the reality of it setting in after reading these posts, I'm not sure about it.

If I do go ahead with it, my plan is to take the truck training course, apply to Schnieder (or other large companies) that will do further training. Then do OTR for a year or two and "pay my dues." I like the idea of finally earning some decent pay, seeing all kinds of neat places, etc. Not so sure I look forward to living in a truck 26 days per month, eating on the run, showering and washing clothes at truck stops. Plus, I hate to leave my elderly parents alone, give up my house, let my leased car sit most of the month while paying the monthly lease and insurance payments. However, I'm so sick and tired of living well below the poverty line and look forward to a decent paying job with benefits, etc, and finally get ahead financially. It's pretty much a sure thing - both the money and the negative downsides if I go ahead with the truck training.

On the flip side, if I don't go ahead with the truck training course, there's a slight chance I might get ahead with something else I can do locally (the again, I could be back to driving the school bus part time and barely getting by). Or, move out west and start fresh in a new city where job prospects are supposedly good. I might do really well, which my friend seems quite confident in, or it could be a flop.

Aaaaaahhhh!!!!! What to do? I don't think anyone can make up my mind for me, I just wanted to vent. But if anyone has something to add that wasn't already mentioned, feel free to mention it.

larz0142 · Joined: 29 May 2007 Posts: 125 Location: Tampa

Copius just do it..If it's not for you just walk away.Have you taken a look at beer or coke or something like that.I'm finding out that I can get hired with just a permit and they will teach me the rest.Just commit to a year or so.Getting with Bud or Coke is not a bad job you just have to work a little...Home every night and some weekends off I think.

Ridge Runner · Joined: 18 Oct 2004 Posts: 2527 Location: North Ga.

OK, I cleaned this thread up a little. Sorry to those of you whose posts got deleted too. I tried to make the thread "flow" as best I could.

Ridge

Popeye · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 244 Location: IA

Ridge you Rock :rock:

Ridge Runner · Joined: 18 Oct 2004 Posts: 2527 Location: North Ga.

Well sometimes I get it right. :wink:

copious · Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 13

larz0142 wrote: Copius just do it..If it's not for you just walk away.Have you taken a look at beer or coke or something like that.I'm finding out that I can get hired with just a permit and they will teach me the rest.Just commit to a year or so.Getting with Bud or Coke is not a bad job you just have to work a little...Home every night and some weekends off I think.

This has been on my mind a lot lately. I think I'll go for it. It would be silly not to. The money will be great, even if the job isn't, and at this point, the money is what's important. No job is perfect, and there's always a transition phase. If I go with Schneider Transport, I'll be committed for about a year, and the pay isn't the highest in the industry (though still acceptable to me), but they seem like a decent company to work for.

I thought of driving a Coke truck or beer truck... and oddly enough a friend of mine got talking to a guy driving a Coke truck last week. Apparently most drivers don't stay more than 5 years since it's really hard on their knees with all the lifting involved. Maybe not much on a daily basis, but when it's done for an extended period of time, it takes its toll. The good part is that you can be home every night, and the truck training school I want to go to could probably help me get in with Coke or another local job. But, I've also heard that local jobs require more skill since they're usually in-town, with tighter streets, more traffic and lots of backing up. Whereas OTR has a lot more open road and highway and much less backing. I never thought of it that way, but it makes sense to get the OTR experience first when you look at it that way.

At this point, I'd say there's a great chance that I WILL take the trucking course, than not. I could take a few weeks break, although it's recommended to apply to some companies while still taking the courses and upon acceptance, move right on over to a company immediately after getting licensed or no more than a couple of weeks later. This life-changing thing could happen to me very quickly so I'm carefully considering all the pros and cons.

larz0142 · Joined: 29 May 2007 Posts: 125 Location: Tampa

I don't know if over thinking this is good.I talked to Bud and other dist. they told me to just get my permit and they train.I live in a hot area and it's hard to keep workers.Plus I talked with some recruters and they said tractor trailer exp.I asked is beer ok and he said yes..Go with coke get your degree and move to the sales part..But IMO don't think your way out of a chance for a better like....maybe. lol

copious · Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 13

I think if I take the truck driving lessons, I will probably hear about, or fund out more information, or I can always ask. I may look at things all together differently then, but you're right, we don't want to over-think things or I'll talk myself out of it! ;)

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