Start A Trucking Career?

Welcome Joseph.

Most people have jobs lined up before they even graduate from school. Now if you have a rough background then you might be having trouble finding work. That's the only reason I can think of that you would be looking for a job for six months.

You're also going to run into another problem. Most companies want to see you begin driving within 30 - 60 days of completing schooling. Waiting six months is going to make a lot of companies hesitate to hire you. They're going to want to know why you haven't gone to work and many are going to want to see you complete some sort of refresher training.

Also, almost all new drivers start out OTR because local jobs are often more difficult. Often times local jobs entail spending a lot of your time in heavy traffic, finding customers that are difficult to get to, and backing into very tight places. Most local companies require some OTR experience before they'll consider you. And the fact that you're on Long Island means you really, really don't want to look for local work that's going to have you running NYC straight out of school.

My backround is all clean, Its just I've been working other jobs. Thank you for the advice, Maybe I should do a refresher program or OTR driving.

Joseph I wouldn't drag your feet too much longer, maybe these links will help:

• Article Category: Finding The Right Truck Driving Job
• Trucker's Career Guide: Choosing Your First Truck Driving Job
• Forum Topics Tagged "Choosing A Trucking Company"

My background is all clean, Its just I've been working other jobs. Thank you for the advice, Maybe I should do a refresher program or OTR driving.

Yeah, if you're going to do the trucking thing then the sooner the better. Don't sign up for any courses or anything just yet. If you decide to get started in trucking then fill out a bunch of applications and see what the different companies will require of you. Some companies won't require anything and most of them that hire students have their own training programs. So you really won't know what will be required of you, if anything, until you get accepted by a company. They'll let you know.

Thanks for all the info and thoughts guys and gals. After 20 years of the general public that wants it fixed, yesterday, for free, stress isn't an issue. I am sure that this career change is right for me, and it deserves a little more research. I like the idea of being out on the road, not so much in large cities, but I suppose that take patience and experience.

Thanks again.

Mike

Go for it! At 42 I went company sponsored and don't regret it. I love my company. Originally I figured I would do the year and try for a local job... but after a couple months I realized there was no point. Not married. ..no kids...so why go back ? My company is awesome I love my dispatcher. Not non driver there has been disrespectful. Claims.. safety.. payroll.. you name it. Every dept has pleasant people to help us.

I'm a control freak aND this is the closest to being your own boss as you can get... and I'm a company driver not a lease or owner op. Dispatch tells me where to pick up at what time and where to take it. They give me a route and tell.me where to fuel. They dont care what time of day I drive or where I stop... if I take a short break every couple hours or a 2 hour break once during my day. As long as I'm early and safe.. I'm left alone.

As far as the HOS... the elogs tell you how long you can drive and by what time you need to break. Only 9ncr since ingot my license in oct did I violate and that was actually covered by a 2 hour exemption ruke because the highway was shut down. I told dispatch 50 min before i violated i was stuck due to an accident. No problem. It's easy. As far as tickets fines and tows... that is on your trip planning. Drive safely... and you wont get a ticket. Inspect your vehicle thoroughly aND you wont get fined. My company letd me take the vehicle in for repairs pretty much whenever i want...I just ajve to tell them. Some things are majorly important and need to be done on the road... others can wait til i get to a terminal. Plan your day correctly and you wont need to be towed.in bad weather you just message dispatch "shut down due to snow will update later". This covers your butt with the Appt time on the load.

Some people are morons. This industry is performance based and you make what you put into it. With 5 months solo I'm making good money as far as I'm concerned without the stress and aggravation I had at the federal govt. I don't have to unload or load the freighr... if I know I'm going to be late I tell dispatch and they have someone else finish the load... but that takes me communicating with them EARLY so they can plan it. And you will know if you will be late. I usually know 12 hours in advance which gives them Plenty of time. It's when someone is an hour away from the place and says my Appt is in 15 min and I'm not going to make it that ticks my guy off.

I treat my truck like my own. If I see soemthing wrong I report it and make arrangements to get it fixed. We have a "road assist" dept for that. My dispatcher sees those messages and knows I'm taking care of business without asking him "what am I supposed to do?"

Don't listen to morons hahahh

Your reply is the first one I read, but it sounds like I am making the right decision to get my CDL license and start driving. I don't think I'm a moran (lol), so I should do pretty good. I am currently working as a cab driver in Phoenix, Az and I love the girls abd guys in dispatch that I work with. That's a good sign, right ?? Thanks again for your input.