Right now, the hold-up is the economy and the slow season. The economy is terrible of course – we’re all painfully aware of that. But every year from mid-December through maybe March or so is the slowest time of the year for trucking and most companies, especially in this economy, will do very little hiring during that time. They will be hiring – but slowly. More opportunities will be readily available in the spring.

Also, because there is such a flood of new drivers coming into the trucking industry these schools are overwhelmed with applications. In order to get a shot, you have to get their attention. I always suggest calling every company you applied to at least every other day until you can get someone in recruiting on the phone and get them to pull up your application and process it. Otherwise it will likely sit on a pile collecting dust forever. Be persistent. Apply to all of the company sponsored CDL training programs you can find and keep calling them until they process your application. It may take some time – it’s hard to say. You may not have a ton of luck right now because of the slow season but the persistence will certainly pay off. It’s mostly about being in the right place at the right time so stay after them and keep your fingers crossed. Best of luck!

Hope this helps!

We have a huge truck driving jobs database which would be a great place to start. Tons of jobs, it’s completely free to use, and no registration required. Fill out all the apps you like!

There are companies that allow a male trainer to have a female student but understandably not everyone is comfortable with this idea.

Otherwise it’s just an unfortunate matter of circumstances. It’s not that anyone is being prejudiced towards women, it’s just a simple imbalance of supply and demand – not enough female trainers for all the new female students coming into the industry. Keep trying different companies and be diligent – sooner or later (hopefully sooner) you’ll find a female trainer and you’ll be out there truckin along.

Everything that a company will request regarding your criminal or driving background will include a time frame. For example, “Have you ever had a DUI or felony?” or “Have you had any misdemeanors in the past 3 years?” – things like that. People are constantly trying to hide things in their past but I’m tellin you – it almost never works. Be honest with them when filling out your application – otherwise it will catch up to you shortly down the road.

Honestly, I’m not sure which companies allow 21 y/o’s – company policies change constantly. The running joke has always been that if you don’t like the company you’re at then give it 3 months and it will be a totally different company – and often times it’s true. You’ll just have to do the research to find out who is allowing 21 y/o’s right now.

Also, as far as the independent schools go (3rd party) – there are a lot of trucking companies that will make your tuition payments for you as long as you work for them. So if you can get financial aid for your schooling – that is an option worth considering.

First and foremost, I’d like to thank Brett for this amazing website- it’s always the first hit when I google anything related to trucking. I’m 21 years old and currently researching truck driving schools, as the possibility of finishing my college degree seems to quickly be vanishing from my near future. I’m fresh out of college and needless to say, broke, so what I really need is a company that will pay for my school. I have a spotless driving record & have had steady employment since the age of 15, but with the job market the way it is- I desperately need to start thinking “career” and not just “job,” if y’all catch my drift. I was born & raised in Dallas and I’m aware that a few large companies have training centers in and around TX, but I’m having a hard time finding one that will take a 21 year old. I’ve called Stevens & Swift, but each seems to have raised their age requirements to 23 due to insurance restrictions. I have yet to talk to a Prime Inc. representative (or Werner for that matter), but they’ve called & left me voice mail messages letting me know I’ve been pre-approved.
My question is the following: out of the few companies that offer a “free” driving school of their own, which of these would accept a 21 year old with no driving experience? Again, I’m not looking to attend a 3rd party driving school- I don’t exactly have 5 grand to invest right now.
Your comments are much appreciated.

Be safe and God bless,

Gus

There are a lot of regional opportunities, though, which will get you home most weekends. It’s hard for new drivers to get on with regional fleets – often times you may need six months to a year of experience before finding this type of opportunity. Of course there are local jobs that get you home every night but they tend to pay less and require even more experience because so many people would love to be home every night.

The larger dry van companies like Werner, JB Hunt, Schneider, US Xpress, etc are the ones that generally have the most regional opportunities available.

USA truck has a fine program and would be a good place to start your career. Your DUI shouldn’t be a problem for many companies, but some companies do have a policy of not hiring anyone who has ever had a DUI, so you will face that issue at times. If you can get into a trucking company that offers training, like USA Truck, then you should be all set with the DUI. You wouldn’t be brought into the program if you didn’t qualify to work for the company. Just make sure you don’t try to hide anything during the application process because as sure as death and taxes, these companies will find out everything about you – I guarantee it.

Best of luck and keep us informed. We’d love to see you join our trucker’s forum, if you haven’t already, where you can get to know a lot of drivers and ask all the questions you like!

First of all, dedicated runs are not easy to come by, but they’re out there. Experienced drivers shoot for em of course, and they don’t always pay quite as well as over-the-road. They usually entail either going to the same place or group of places on a regular basis. The best chance of finding work that gets you home on a more predictable schedule is to either find a dedicated run, find a company that runs a regional fleet that can get you home regularly, or find a local job that will get you home every night, or at least almost every night. You can find jobs like this from companies like Sysco Foods, a beverage distributor like Pepsi or Budweiser, or a company that delivers to local grocery stores and convenient stores like dairies, gasolines trucks, and snack vendors. A typical dedicated or regional run will get you home most weekends, where a local run will get you home most nights. The amount of experience a job like this will require depends on each individual company.

As far as running team with a company and not knowing who the other driver will be – most companies have a simple matching system in place that will try to match you with a driver that has similar traits – like smoking/non-smoking, outgoing or quiet, wants to get home often/stay out long periods, etc. Then once you’re out on the road with that person, you can always request to be placed with someone else. Companies aren’t going to trip over themselves letting you go through 20 drivers in a year or something ridiculous like that, but if you get with one and you have some genuine concerns, they’ll surely match you up with someone else.

Keep that goal fresh in your mind at all times – “One full year here – perfect safety record” – make sure everything you do revolves around accomplishing that goal and you’ll find yourself with a great start to your new career. Best of luck to ya!