Starting A New Path In Life With Driving. Long Story Inside But Looking For Advice

Sorry if this ends up too long. It's early and I just downed a pot of coffee.

So I've worked manufacturing for almost 20 years now. Used to be the bee's knees but now is a horrible way to make a living. I was making $20.95 an hour at my last job at a food plant but one thing I learned is that with the cloak and dagger stuff, back biting and the unethical things one needed to do to advance, I find it is no longer for me and if I ever wanted to get on the show Survivor I'd probably win. I thought my last job was a place I could retire from but found that not possible. I worked just over 2500 hours last year and 2600 hours the year before. I always strive to learn everything I can about what it is I do as doing so makes the job easier. I have a family to care for and a level of pride to maintain and a work ethic that wouldn't let me do any less. So here I am neck deep in the process of getting into cdl school. Being I am unemployed now with five kids ( two of which live on their own now) the work force here set me up with training and testing to pay for my class. So now I am 95% through that to get funding. I already have my medical certificate and just need to take the test for the permit. I have no desire to try and get that while taking 40 ours a week of school. Now looks like hopefully August 1st if there is enough room for me at that start time.

My goal is this. Start local (preferred) or regional. Would like to be home once or twice a week if possible. As the kids get older and move on with their lives OTR then becomes what I want to do. I've been married to my wife now for 21 years. We met when I was 16 and traveling with a carnival. I do have experience around these big trucks but not much on the legal side. Trucks were so over what the DOT would have allowed that we drove many sketchy roads late at night in the mountains of Colorado avoiding them. You learn solid bladder control on those roads. Anywho I see us going full circle and drive OTR with here to retirement. Not sure if this is possible and just a pipe dream and am deluding myself or not.

I have no real idea what I am really getting myself into here. I know I will miss things at home but working 500 and 600 hours a year more then a "normal" 40 hour a week worker did not allow me to go to much anyway. Frankly this whole thing is terrifying. Does not help with how I lost my job and that I am basically jumping into this all willy nilly with not one clue what I am doing and where this will lead me but has to be better then the nonsense I just came from.

I know my first year or two is not going to make me feel like I am Julie Andrews spinning around on a grassy field in the mountains. Although the countless hours of studying, researching the best I can into what I am basically tossing myself into and way too much coffee has me feeling like I may jump out into my yard and twirl around like that. Probably just the coffee though. Hopefully this caffeine/stress fueled block of words makes any sense what so ever. Any advice?

Thanks Jeremy

Welcome aboard. Your story isn't much different than mine. I studied the high road training on this site. It matches perfectly with the state tests and relieves the anxiety of wondering whether you'll pass. I started OTR. The jobs available in my area all wanted 1 year experience so OTR sort of became a requirement for me. I chose a company (Swift) that paid for my training in order to limit my out of pocket expenses.

Jeremy, have you read the stuff that was posted in your earlier post?

Those links will help you learn what you're getting into, and the High Road Training Program will help you pass the CDL test.

Rather than drink all that coffee, start checking into Trucking Companies now and figure out which Truck Driving School might work for you.

Thanks for the reply. OTR would be very tough as I still have a 16, 11 and 1 year old at home still. I guess that is where most of my anxiety is coming from. I am reading that more and more that OTR is what I may have to do but I do have some local companies here that I have made contact with that want me to contact them once I have my cdl. Guess it helps knowing a lot of people. Not sure I want to do those jobs but will get me time behind the wheel.

We posted the same time. I have them on my favorites list. Been studying for the testing required by work force so much I had not had time to go through it yet. Even put 800 miles on my car to do the testing, Thanks for the reminder as I totally forgot about that.

Jeremy, here's the thing with the local companies you spoke to; most of them are not equipped or experienced at training new CDL holders.

The schools teach you the skills required to pass the CDL tests, not much more. Road training post CDL, is crucial to learning how to perform the job of a truck driver. Unless you want to be thrown to the wolves, I suggest proceeding with caution. When you get to a point of decision time, I'd ask these local companies how they intend to train you. Details.

Good luck!

I guess I am just talking out loud to see what I hear back and find what I may be missing. It's been a long few weeks and I've been spending 8 to 9 hours a day staring at a laptop screen studying to take this test for the iowa work force so I can get help with funding for the school I trying to get into. Also spent many hours including 4 just this morning reading everything I can about trucking companies and how they hire and learning the lingo. That's where the pot of coffee came in. Storms woke me up and so I drank coffee and stared at this screen. I'm nervous about the whole thing. I became unemployed suddenly and now looking to start a new career where I can retire and that led me to trucking. Also not wanting to miss my kids growing up adds to my anxiety. Hopefully I can find a regional or dedicated lane where I can be home once a week. Although a long shot perhaps I still have to hope. The local companies I've heard from do do training after cdl class. Although not the best pay and physically demanding. I want to do this to retirement not put myself into disability.

I have gone through most everything on here about starting in this business. When I went back when the kind admin reminded me I realized I had. Just that OTR is not an option for me and everything points to that. Sure I could do that for a year or two but it's just not feasible to me right now.

The standard "pipeline" for new truck drivers is from school to OTR. Though there is no "law" forcing that to happen. In respect to your case, I met Swift drivers that went directly from school to a shuttle assignment.

Shuttle work is something you might like - good miles daily, and home every day. A 4 on/ 2 off schedule, too.

There are no guarantees, though, it's just whatever the company needs at the moment.

You certainly can go from school to a local job. This is a different pond of water, though. Smaller companies, less driver support resources, and city/ local driving requires much more backing and docking - two of new drivers' biggest PITAs.

You might look into fuel hauling. Daniel B recently got off the OTR road and is doing that locally, and loving it. Start looking on Craigslist, or even pound some pavement walking into trucking offices around town.

Thanks. I learned a new term to look for. I've never heard of shuttle driving so something to look into. I know little of the lingo and such. Will say local is not really interesting to me After the turmoil of the last month and the work I've put in I'd hate to do all this to make $16 an hour. I can do that or better being a factory worker. Which I no longer want to do. I'd have no problem being gone a week at a time. Maybe a bit more if needed. Like I mentioned before I worked a lot of long hours and really only came home to sleep at my last job. I just have am very ignorant of what I will be able to do and get in this line of work.