Young new driver
 

Hello CAD, my name is Larry I'm 17 and I live in Southern Illinois, East of St. Louis to be exact. I plan on getting my CDL when I turn 18 in July. I thought about going to the DMV and paying the $65 but I plan on going to CDL Training Services in Granite City for my training. My driving record is CLEAN along with my criminal record which is also CLEAN! Just curious how I could get my foot in the door. Also I plan on taking coop at my high school so I can go to school for half the day and work the other half of the day. Thank you!

Until you turn 21 you will be limited to intrastate driving. (Must stay within your home state.)

For work you might try lumber yards, garbage collectors, soda pop distributors, construction companies.

Here is one thing though you want to keep in mind.

If your plan/goal is to go OTR (longhaul) once you turn 21 be prepared to be told that any local driving experience you have does not count and that you will need to go back through CDL school again since too much time has passed between you getting a CDL and taking your first OTR job.

I don't want to do otr I rather do regional/short haul to where I'm home every night or every other night. I wish I knew some farmers around here but I plan on going to the school in hopes that it'll help me get a job driving.

More than likely the school wont be able to get you a job because most schools only deal with OTR (over the road) companies. Your best bet is to look at Garbage trucks, tri-axle companies, wholesale tire distributors, excavators, a small company that does local work only.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

Thanks, as you know with where I live I'm surrounded by alot of farmers so I'm pretty sure one of them would give me a chance. But I will keep you guys updated.

As I said earlier, until you turn 21 you can not leave the state in a commercial capacity, so if you do find a job do not let your boss tell you that it is OK for you to hop the river for a short trip into MO.

hey ,you can only get cdl when u turn 18, im 20 I got my cdl weeks ago luckily i haven been pre-approved but cant go until i turn 21 so 4 months to go and there i go, but trust mewait until you turn 21 dont be like me get with 20 or 17 because will be hard to get a job , like i said i got luck and 1 company pre approved me, got luck.

You may want to check with lumber and home improvement companies, such as Home Depot or Lowe's. Lumber yards or any other type of business who may do deliveries. They may have local delivery jobs available. You will be severely limited until you at least reach 21. Many companies won't hire you until you reach 23 due to insurance. I would encourage you to continue your education and get your degree while you wait for a few years. If you find a driving job, great. If not, you won't have wasted your time. This is a very demanding business. Not everyone enjoys it once they get a taste of the realities of the job. It never hurts to have options. You may still want to pursue driving as a career, but with a degree, you have additional options available. Some major universities have business degrees with concentration in Logistics. It could give you a much different perspective of the industry. You will find quite a number of well educated drivers today. You will also find much of the opposite. In any case, I don't think you have have too much education. Good luck.

Thanks and I'll for sure keep you guys updated!

Even though that sounds tempting, it's not worth losing my CDL incase dot decides to stop me. Thank ya Gman for the advice, I'll try a lumber yard or something like that and your right I will be limited ALOT until I turn 21. But I will keep my hopes up and will take whatever becomes available to me.