Making A Career Change And Trucking Is My Choice
Topic 15701 | Page 2
For those of you that went the sponsored route to get you CDL , did these companies give you the option of otr , local or regional? Home time is important to me so otr is not something I would be happy with.
If you are located by a swift terminal then after about 3 months otr you can go local. When you first start though OTR is the industry standard especially when you want a better job that will get you home, this isn't always the case however because another person on the forum hauls for a ltl company and never did otr. So it possible for options to get you home more or even be local but it will take more research. Side note, do not take a dollar store acct if offered one it is very hard work and you will have to back into places that are too tough for a new person. If anything be prepared to be otr especially if you live in an area like me where there is not a whole lot of trucks/freight.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
- FedEx Freight
- Con-way
- YRC Freight
- UPS
- Old Dominion
- Estes
- Yellow-Roadway
- ABF Freight
- R+L Carrier
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
For those of you that went the sponsored route to get you CDL , did these companies give you the option of otr , local or regional? Home time is important to me so otr is not something I would be happy with.
If you are located by a swift terminal then after about 3 months otr you can go local. When you first start though OTR is the industry standard especially when you want a better job that will get you home, this isn't always the case however because another person on the forum hauls for a ltl company and never did otr. So it possible for options to get you home more or even be local but it will take more research. Side note, do not take a dollar store acct if offered one it is very hard work and you will have to back into places that are too tough for a new person. If anything be prepared to be otr especially if you live in an area like me where there is not a whole lot of trucks/freight.
Just to touch bases on the dollar store accounts, I do know Werner has a few different dollar store accounts. If you get a free moment YouTube search Werner enterprise dollar general account. You will see what Devin is talking about. A lot of hard work. Brett was on one of these accounts and can testify regarding the hard work. I was offered that position at Werner and respectfully declined.
As far as your schooling goes, make sure you are going to a school that is going to actually teach you about truck driving and not just teach you what you need to know to get your CDL. I made the mistake of doing a CDL course and that's all it was good for. Granted I did get my CDL out of it but a majority of companies wanted to see that I went to an approved trucking school. My suggestion is whichever route you decide to go, either company sponsored or paying your own way, look at some companies and obtain a list of approved trucking schools for companies and see if the school you're looking at is on any of the lists. Just my .02! Best of luck!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
- FedEx Freight
- Con-way
- YRC Freight
- UPS
- Old Dominion
- Estes
- Yellow-Roadway
- ABF Freight
- R+L Carrier
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Hi all, My name is Jason and like the title says I'm changing careers and I think I really want to give trucking a try. A little background on me. I'm 44, married and I have 2 children. For the past 15 years I have been a programmer working from home and I just can't take being chained to a desk any longer. My wife and I open up a fitness studio a few years ago. It's emotionally rewarding but not financially rewarding so if I'm going to leave programming behind I need a job that pays well but I also need love it. I know it takes time and hard work to make good money and I have no problem with that.
The school I'm considering is MCCann (CDL.com). I went for visit last week and their program looks good.
Well that's where I'm at right now. I'm sure I'm going to have some questions soon and just wanted thank you all in advance. Regards, Jason
I work for FedEx Freight, just shy of a year now. I'll make about $48K this first year which is almost half of what I was doing in IT as a QA engineer working from home.
You may not realize it now but you WILL regret not working from home at some point. I did it for 12 years and thought I was done with it ... until I wasn't doing it anymore :)
Anyhow, I enjoy FedEx. Work the dock a lot but drive quite a bit too. Home everyday. Weekends and holidays off - with pay. If you live near a terminal that is hiring for Driver Apprentice you may want to check it out. They'll train you in exchange for working for them for a year. Hourly pay but road runs get paid by the mile, starting at $.50 and goes up the longer you're there, plus drop and hooks, refuels, etc. City drivers get paid by the hour.
http://fedexfreight.jobs
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Drop And Hook:
Drop and hook means the driver will drop one trailer and hook to another one.
In order to speed up the pickup and delivery process a driver may be instructed to drop their empty trailer and hook to one that is already loaded, or drop their loaded trailer and hook to one that is already empty. That way the driver will not have to wait for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded.
For those of you that went the sponsored route to get you CDL , did these companies give you the option of otr , local or regional? Home time is important to me so otr is not something I would be happy with.
Here's the reality of the situation... MOST companies want 1 year OTR some want 2. I know people who paid $6k for school thinking it would get him a cool local job ... it got him local gig at a crappy company with bad equipment. He's broken down more than he is driving. After six months of complaining to me he is coming to my company. He gets paid $16 an hour which is half of what we made at our old job and not enough to live on in NJ.
Also keep in mind that no.matter where you go, once you get your CDL you are going to need training. Smaller local companies may give you a much shorter time in training than a major OTR carrier. Would you feel more comfortable with a week training or two montha training? If you go this route then be sure to ask about training. Trust me when I tell you that just because you have a CDL it does not mean you are prepared for the road. You need further training both for trucking and company policies.
Another issue is regional. Regional does not mean local and I keep seeing people posting saying they want regional. Ask the company what they mean by regional and what their home time policy is. My bf drove regional...in like 20 states (went to west coast twice).. but he was still home only every other weekend for two days. OTR I'm home 4 days straight a month. So as regional he gets home no more time than I do.. just more often.
Regional can be a toss up of if you get home in between official home time. Also consider the area of the region.. my company offers northeast where I live... but drivers are crazy and parking scarce. I didn't bother... and life on the road is more expensive in that area. Cost of living is higher. I pay twice as much at my home walmart than in MO walmart! They also offer southeast regional which has a ton of Atlanta driving. Atlanta where traffic can start at 0400 hahaha and I want the whole state nuked off the map.
The one year commitment in the company sponsored training is to insure the compnay profits from the training they provided. However staying one full year shows the next company you honor commitments. One guy from my class went from prime to cr England to swift and is now at PAM. All in less than a year. He's already complaining he wants to leave again. If you were the next company he applied to would you hire him? Probably not cause after you finish training him he will be fired or quit. Why waste your time and money?
Many people entering the industry have the same requests... more hometime and lots of money. Realistically you have to work for that and prove yourself. Money wise...during training I cleared about $400 to $500 (grossed $700). When I went solo I cleared about $600 for the first few months. At like 4 to 5 months I started clearing $750 to $1000 per week. If you search for "rookie pay" you will see my examples I posted. That's after my insurance vision disbility and life policy.
I get fuel bonuses safety bonuses and on time delivery bonuses as well as detention pay when a customer keeps me too long and layover pay when the truck is in the shop.... which doesn't happen often cause my company takes care of our trucks.
Good luck with your decision.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Company Sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
TWIC:
Transportation Worker Identification Credential
Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.
Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Very good advice Rainy! Take Rainy's advice. She is a JOIZEE GIRL, and will smack you down if you don't!
Thank you for the info Rainy. I have a lot to think about. I know exactly what you are talking about as far as cost of living, etc. I'm originally from Long Island. I left LI about 11 years ago and moved to PA for the lower cost of living.
Thank you for the info Rainy. I have a lot to think about. I know exactly what you are talking about as far as cost of living, etc. I'm originally from Long Island. I left LI about 11 years ago and moved to PA for the lower cost of living.
Being single OTR is great cause I gave up my $1200 per month one bedroom apt and live on the truck. I found lots of cheaper places to grab an apt if I want one.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Very good advice Rainy! Take Rainy's advice. She is a JOIZEE GIRL, and will smack you down if you don't!
I only smack if the guy enjoys it!!!
Oh wait. Somebody around here might say that's sexual harassment lol
Very good advice Rainy! Take Rainy's advice. She is a JOIZEE GIRL, and will smack you down if you don't!
I only smack if the guy enjoys it!!!
Oh wait. Somebody around here might say that's sexual harassment lol
Or "Enticement"
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For those of you that went the sponsored route to get you CDL , did these companies give you the option of otr , local or regional? Home time is important to me so otr is not something I would be happy with.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.