Hi I am completily green to all of this. I live about 45 min northeast of portland oregon in washington state. I have been in commission sales and need something stable. But I am married and soon to have a kid. So really whats the real scoop on this. Can you go to school and not have to work on a sleeper truck. Can you aviod this by buying your own truck and becoming a owner operater ? Any school ect advise would also be helpfull thank You.

 

Yes you can get a local job out of school, look and see what is in your area and start filling out apps.
I would'nt even consider buying your own truck till you understand this business first.

 

I've seen a couple of "city driver needed" signs in the NW area of Portland. One was south of Yeon, on 35th.

 

Well this is a kind of a slippery slope for the "new guy". IF you are fortunate enough to find something local right out of school and everything goes well, theres no problem. IF however, you go out with the local company and you HATE IT or you get laid off or something like that.. you now face the reality of not being qualified to drive OTR anymore either. This is also a worry for the local drivers such as myself who for the most part have 20+ years of experience and are no longer "qualified" to drive/live in a truck. So now I'm ready to drive local and stay close to home.

 

From my few months of research it seems possible yet unlikely? I would worry about getting the cdl then sitting for 3-4 months searching for a local job...

Wouldn't that pretty much negate your cdl without immediately applying the skills?

:?

I am planning on going otr for at least a year to pay my dues.

 

It all depends upon what you are looking for, but they're are several local jobs out there for people fresh out of school. Not all of the are combination, some only require a Class B, but it really depends upon what you are looking for.

Some of the places that I know of around here that hire right out of school are Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Toys R Us, Rent-A-Center, all the lumber yards and propane companies and several rock hauler outfits.

Good luck.

 

Absoulety.


The real question is, are you willing to drive around and fill out applications and get rejected and follow up on the phone and get rejected and possibly have to do this for 2 weeks straight and then get rejected some more but then eventually get lucky?


Been there done that.

(am doing that again now)

 

I guess my concern is that somebody told me that the problem is the insurance...that insurance companys wont insure people under 2 years..and that the companies that carry their own insurance are the big long haul companys...kinda of a catch 22..but its sounding better from what I heard...I know what the schools say..."no problem " but me being in sales I know what that statement is all about...thank you all...keep the replys coming !!

 

Many smaller companies can hire you as they already have high insurance rates due to employing recent DUI's and other high risk drivers. They generally will not have any benefits and poor to fair equipment and HOS "issues" - and low pay. I started at a local pool water company in the fall after the season with the expectation to drive general van freight two to five days a week until the spring when they do nursery stock - and then 80+ hours a week in the summer hauling water (all at 25% of rate). Their one presnet yearround driver was AA so they had no problem insuring me :shock: , I replaced a guy who went to drive garbage as he couldn't afford to make almost nothing during the winter. I starved through three month's worth of one or two days a week until january when it went to nothing and I had enough experience to go to a JB Hunt or other non-training OTR(or dedicated/regional) company - but found another local gig that was doing close to 60 hours a week from the start, paid hourly, and had no HOS "issues". I left the first mainly because they couldn't mentor me - I had no one willing to talk to me and answer questions! My second day at that first gig was a 48 footer run into Boston through city street construction - fortunately I didn't have work the next day as I would have quit right then (took a couple days to stop shaking :shock: ). The second gig (I'm still there after two years) had a few very experienced drivers and we all often sit around at the end of the day and B.S. over a couple beers (except for a couple guys that can't drink anymore :wink: which again is is why their insurance could cover me for no extra $$$). Anyways I've learned a lot and even do some overnights (a couple a month) to keep a bit of OTR on my resume. I was fortunate that I had a few bucks saved and could afford to not work for a few months while I went to school and then survive those first 3-4 months. It is much easier to get a straight truck job that pays decent around here but if you go right into a straight truck out of school you will have a hard time ever getting into a "real" truck again :wink: .

 

Thanks Im also A bit confused it looks like poeple are saying around here if you take a regular local delevery jOB..that you lose your right to drive OTR I dont understand how that works ? Or what you folks are referring too ??