It is tough to find a job out here being experienced let alone being a newbie. I have been trucking for 2 years and I had to come off the road because the company where I was teaming couldn't give us enough team miles to make it worth being on the truck.

I myself have been having problems locating a job. I have a several companies who say yeah, we can hire you however we have no truck at the present time.

They are looking at your DAC (since you are new to the industry you won't have one), MVR (do you have tickets?), Location, Location, Location, (where are you located?, are you willing to relocate?), Do you have a criminal background, can you go to Canada, or Mexico? these are things they look at.

I have found that if you go to local workforce in your town, networking, and putting in applications is helpful. Depending on where you are at, local companies and expand out. But most of all talk to friends and family members and ask themt o keep their ears open to any driving jobs around them also.

I have to agree they want people with clean dacs and mvrs right now more than anything but they can afford to be picky about who they hire right now.

Good luck in your search

Problem is, if you look in some of your local papers, schools are still running full page ads
" see the open road. $40-50k a year guaranteed!, 99 percent job placement, no experience, industry in high demand" and to a guy making minimum wage, hell even a guy making 25-30k year looks at that and is like I'm all over that!. They leave there job, go to school get brain washed cuz they don't tell you **** real life on the road. But hey nobody's hiring noobs anyway so he wont find out anyway right. The schools are as bad if not worse then company recruiters because they'll hold your hand every step of the way to get you into class then they set you free once you graduate.
Better get use hearing " we need at least 6 months exp young man" or " hang in there" O really well where the hell are you suposed to go!
And **** in this economy you better take what you get, even 25 or 26cpm what ever werner and swift pay.

But what i don't get is how do they expect family guys to live on 350 a week training pay, not for 1 or 2 weeks but sometimes 4- 6 weeks!!!! Are you serious!

Can some one really tell me whats the insurance difference with 2 guys with the exact same driving record, 1 having 0-3 months and the other guy having 1-2 years or
1 year to having 5 years?

Is it really that mich?

Originally Posted by IndianG:
Thanks to all the people who replied to my post, ...I've been on the fence the last week after reading comments on trucker sites about jobs and newbies but i've come this far so i might as well go for it.
The school cost is around $1,200 + CDL permit $64.00 + Drug test $35.00 + DOT physical $35.00 and since i passed the Hazmat endorsement + Tanker & Air Brakes i believe this is a good investment besides i like to travel and work hard ....... There are a lot of opportunities with a CLASS A besides 18 wheelers ...... Cement trucks, Water Trucks, and a lot more in construction field so i believe there are many open doors with a class A .... so if i get layed off from my current 2 axial delivery job i'm sure the class A will help me find something.
Thanks again for your input and be safe out there.

those places are local and are even harder to get into

People often ask me why I have never tried to go to a trucking school or a community college and reading this thread would answer a lot of those questions. I've only tried to get hired by the mega training carriers because at least when you finish their school you likely have a job. I would never pay all of that money without knowing if I could even get hired. I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to "wonder" after paying $5,000. Here in Florida, my trucking aspirations get a little bit smaller each day. I would love to be a trucker but I'm not leaving Florida to do it. I will try for a couple of more months but eventually I'll find something else I would like to try. Yes I'm still unemployed. Yes I'm still without a CDL. However, I didn't have to pay 5 Gs to get the same results.

Originally Posted by SirCronus:
I recently graduated from :AR15:Western Pacific Truck school :badass: with my Class A & all three of my endorsments, but can't seem to get a break from any of the companies. All these compaines for the most part want at least 1-3 years of OTR! Im sure hoping something pans out for me soon since I spent $4690.00 :bigangry: on truck school and to date have gotten nothing but apps to fill out & turn downs! What does a guy like myself do? Any help or information would be appreciated!:bigthumbsup:

Hey there SirCronus, i live in the Sac area myself. Have been doing some research on companies myself and liked the look of Central refigerated srvice, terminal in Stockton and Watkins Shepard, terminal in Modesto.

I might also try Swift for training just to have a decent shot at work although seems like they have a terrible reputation.

Have you heard anything about the foodlink truck school? I am headed there November 2nd, wont be done until March but hey might give the economy some time to start heading North again.

Good luck with your job search

Originally Posted by seal3k:
P

Can some one really tell me whats the insurance difference with 2 guys with the exact same driving record, 1 having 0-3 months and the other guy having 1-2 years or
1 year to having 5 years?

Is it really that mich?

Most insurance co.'s don't want anything to do with an inexperienced, 0-3 months, driver. Think most of these Mega carriers that do in-house training are likely self insured, so they take their own risks,.