Hey everybody. I have an unbelievable urge to drive trucks for a living but right now it seems hopeless. I live with my wife and she is pregnant expecting to have our child on 23rd of November. Well, we got news from the doc that she is going to be placed on bed rest immediately. This isn't good, considering that money was tight enough as it is. I was planning on going to one the company paid driving schools (Schneider,Swift, TMC) but I know we won't be able to go a whole month without a paycheck. I am so desparate right now to start my dream but it just seems so much is stacked against me right now. I really need to make some decent money and NOW!!! I realize that its my fault for us having a child under these conditions but you guys have to realize that my financial situation was much better earlier this year compared to now. I'm not looking for a magic solution, but I just need advice from you guys on this matter. I know somebody out there has experienced something similar to this. What should I do guys?

 

put off your dream of driving a truck until your wife can go back to work. The Training pay that you would be getting from those companies wont be enough to survive on with one of you not working.
Now, go out and find a job. We are at 4.3% unemployment. There are too many jobs out there. That should be your first priority, finding a ANY job with good insurance. Having a baby can be really expensive and that expense shouldnt fall onto the burden of the taxpayer.

 

It seems cut and dry to me! You have a MAJOR responsability now! If you don't have available funds to pursue your dream, the obvious would tell you that its out of the question right now. So my advise to you would be either get or keep a local job to keep income rollin in, have the baby, get on your feet financially, let the wife heal, ect.... Then pursue your dreams when its appropriate. And you REALLY need to consider the type of truckin you wanna get into!!! Having a family, a newborn at that, is REAL thin ice for an OTR position!!!

 

+1

Twice.

Any worthwhile advice you will get on this is to shelve your "dream" until it's feasible. Right now, it's not.

 

What state do you live in? This will matter a lot, as some states have more local jobs available.

If you happen to live in a area with a lot of driving jobs in the area, I would suggest you go talk with the local companies. Even though most will tell you that they require experience, a few will train you. Also, start out with a class b CDL job until you feel you can drive the big rig, then go get your class A.

Forget about going OTR while you have a family.

Forget about the McMega carriers, as the pay is rather low starting out. For that pay, you might as well stay local.

Now some of these "advisers" will tell you I'm wrong. I started out driving a class b vehicle hauler in May 2000, and got my class A about 3 years ago. I'm married, and had 4 kids at the time. Now I'm down to 3 boys living with us, my daughter out getting a nursing degree, with my granddaughter.

Always follow your dreams....it's the only thing you truly have that you can call your own. :wink:

 

I can feel you on that one man. I stay in Jacksonville, FL. The jobs here in Florida are on the low paying side as it is. Thats one of the main reasons I was considering truck driving because at least my geographic location wouldn't hinder me like so many other occupations here. I almost forgot about the Class B license, that might be my best option right now. The more I think about it you're absolutely right, OTR needs to be out of the question right now. I'm 26 years old right now so its not like the truck driving industry will be dissapearing any time soon. I'm just in a tough spot financially right now and I'm willing to try anything to get something positve going. You bring up that some local companies may be willing to train me. Would you happen to know which type of companies offer that?

 

Lowe's Home Improvement Wharehouse. They pay decently and will let you use their truck to get your CDL when you are ready. All you need to do is get a learners permit and learn your pretrip then test. Try to get a manual transmission truck to learn to drive a lot of their trucks are automatics but their tandems should be nine speeds. Some of the stores even have class a trucks and if you can learn to drive it on their dime you should. Lowe's has pretty good benefits and decent pay and delivery guys often do well on tips if they have good customer service skills.

 

Dreams are for Children...

 

Wellllll... The taxpayers footed the bill for my first baby, but I have paid it back many times over in the years since. I'm all for welfare for people who will actually get a decent job and work their ass off when they can, but I'm totally against welfare for the lazy parasites who want to lay around and milk the system forever.

Not sure what to suggest in this guy's situation. No easy choices. We have low unemployment, but you'd be surprised how abysmally bad many of the jobs are. I know well-trained, competent, professional people who are currently making just a few cents above what will eventually become the new minimum wage.

OTOH, the guy has no wife working, and that's a real problem. I'm so thankful my wife works hard, and pulls down a pretty good living. If we had to live on what I could make on trucking alone, even if I hired on with JB Hunt and ran 43,000,000 miles a week in their 198 mph rocket trucks (poke poke, rib rib, dig dig) we'd still have a hard time getting by with just one income.

 

You may also want to check with furniture stores and other types of delivery services. There may also be opportunities with some of the LTL carriers if they have a terminal in your area. You would probably start out on the docks and work your way into driving. It can often take time to get one of these jobs. Some manufacturers and distributors have straight trucks and do some delivery and pickup work. You may just need to put your dream on hold until things settle down.