Anytime someone as yourself takes the time to advise and help others, as you are helping me, it also says a lot about character. There's no doubt that you will have many successful stories to tell one day.
Do you think that any steel company would hire me out of school, or do you think I will have to wait? There is a steel mill in Lorain, and it would be perfect if I could land a job like that.
BOL!

Sidewinder

 

My company currently handles the maintenance at O'Hare and that is why I mentioned it. I can transfer to Chicago, but this would mean living there. We also maintenance JFK and Newark, However, Neither of these locations are hiring. The reason I'd rather drive is because I hope that it will lead to a local (Lorain) job later, and the door is always open to return to maintenance in the future. However, if I transfer to O'Hare it would mean moving there and still trying to find a job later; closer to Lorain.
Also, I've checked three different CC's and so far none of them allow me to keep my job. Schedules are just horrible!
Thanks for the advice man!

Sidewinder

 

Do you think they would hire me coming out of school (Roadmaster)?
Thanks for the advise!

Sidewinder

 

Sidewinder if you are going to get into this business you need to prepare yourself for the worst. Then anything good that happens will be a bonus. You will most likely have to start out OTR. That will mean being gone a few days at a time. We are in a decent freight area so you could find something that gets you home on weekends. You will work extremely long hours to make what you make now (40K ish). You will probably go thru a phase where you regret leaving your good job for this. Good jobs go to more experienced drivers. Even then the good jobs have their pitfalls because the work goes to the senior drivers first. Its always something in this business. When you want off you can bet there will be a complication. When you think you got something good there will be a complication. There are alot of bad jobs in trucking and only a few good ones. It will take you some time to learn (1) what the good ones are, (2) decide what area of trucking appeals to you, (3) be in the right place at the right time to get the job you want. It can be feast or famine. Sometimes its just dumb luck. There are many sectors to trucking and each have their own pros and cons. General freight, fuel, dumps, heavy equipment, tankers, flats, reefers, food service, doubles/triples, and on and on. Anything that pays well and lets you sleep in your own bed is a hard job to get and usually requires experience. If you are willing to do OTR and run hard then you should be able to find something decent (relatively speaking) that pays 40-55k a year with a little experience (6-12 months). If you want to be local it could take years to first get the job and then earn the seniority to get steady work. The bottom guys are the first to get called off in a slow down. Bottom guys work the crappy hours and the weekends. If you think you are going to work 8-5 and make 50k a year you are in for a rude awakening. Those jobs exist but can take years to get. You may find yourself missing out on commitments to your daughter because work gets in the way or you cant get home when they promised you. Again, feast or famine. Keep reading these boards. There is so much information here that you will never stop learning. But like I said, be prepared for the worst. That does not mean I dont enjoy what I do. I and others actually like being a truck driver. But we sure put up with alot of sh1t that most people cant or wont take. Some people do it because they cant do anything else. But the turnover rate is over 100%. There are legitamate reasons why. Not saying don't do it. But open your eyes and ears and think with your brain, not your emotions.

 

Try FALCON. They are based out of Youngstown,OH. They do alot of steel.

 

I think Pepsi is right off of 57. It used to be there. I know they consolidated the cleveland and twinsburg plant and moved it all to twinsburg. I am back to fuel. After 6months at Upsf my boss called me and offered me a sweet deal to come back there. Been back at it over a year now. How are things going for you over there. Do you still have guys laid off?


sidewinderf16;
Do you think they would hire me coming out of school (Roadmaster)?
Thanks for the advise!


Sidewinder;

I don't know how Pepsi operates in Ohio, but I was watching the local news on TV just a little while ago, and the Pepsi distributor in San Antonio, Tx. just FIRED over 30 of their drivers for failed drug tests!! According to a spokesman for the distributor, they all tested positive for COKE !!

:lol: :lol:

 

I've been doing just that Snowman! I've been really reading a lot of the stories posted throughout this forum. It does make me a little nervous, but speaking with my daughter's mom and her husband, they are really willing to support me and help make this happen.
I am very hard working, and therefore I think I will do well. Besides, after spending so many years (8) working at Orlando International Airport, I am kind of looking forward to it. If with any luck, I get to work with individuals as the ones that I've met here (like yourself), I will be just fine.
Thanks Fellas!

Sidewinder

 

Thanks! I've made a note of it.

Sidewinder

 

As a former steelhauler I would say its not the greatest job in the world. Typical OTR, lots of waiting, mediocre pay, physical dirty work. On the plus side as a newbie it pays slightly better than general van freight and you're pretty much guaranteed to get home every weekend. You will have to run a creative logbook to make money. Alot of <600 mi runs so you load and unload evryday waisting alot of time. It could lead to something local hauling steel but there are better paying sectors of trucking. There are a few steel haulers that hire newbies. Most guys get their experience and go on to something else that pays better. Lots of O/O's in steel. Pays better than van freight and they have alot of load choices in the rust belt while staying pretty close to home and getting weekends off. But as a company driver there are better jobs for experienced guys.

 

I am not a pessimist but, in this industry at this time, how hard a worker you are doesn't make much of a difference. You can be the hardest worker in the world, but if dispatch doesn't give you a load, you have no work to do. The freight right now is horrible. My old trainer is an o/o leased on to Swift, the largest trucking company in North America, they have a HUGE freight base, and he is sitting almost just as much as I am driving for a small 6 truck company. In the last 2 weeks, I have sat 7 days! The load I picked up yesterday, from Gettysburg, PA to NC (Less then 600 miles) doesn't deliver until Monday! That is 4 days of time to do a delivery that only takes a day. I have another friend who drives for Schneider, he did run on a dedicated account, but they downsized that dedicated run so he was forced to go all 48 again, he too has been sitting more then moving. Another friend of mine that drives for Werner, is doing better (He drives team), but is still only getting about 3000 to 4000 miles a week, which is what a solo driver SHOULD be doing when freight is good, as a team they should be doing 5000 to 6500 miles easy a week.

All that being said, I have no doubt in my mind you will land a driving job, OH is a big freight lane, and there are a lot of companies out there. But expect it to be rough going, and slow to start. Plus a big risk for you as well is the lifestyle. You can read all the stories on CAD, all the stories on other trucking websites, but it only gives you a small taste of an idea of what life on the road is like. If you plan on making any money the way freight is at the moment, you might be lucky to get to see your daughter once a month, because you will need to be on the road to make enough money.

Hopefully, by the time you complete your training, and are ready to start looking for a company, freight should pick up a little. You may get lucky and land something regional or dedicated, or a local job. But as others said, expect the worst, and if things are any better then we nay sayers are saying, then that is just a good bonus.

BOL!