Just Been Offered A Local Job

Hey everyone,

When I first got my CDL I always wanted a local job where I'm home everyday, today I got a phone call from a guy that runs a propane business telling me I start off with 15$ an hour and home everyday.

So far I have 5-6 months of OTR experience under my belt, I'm really thinking about taking up the offer and the pay sounds decent.

Would you guys take up the offer? I would appreciate some thoughts before I make a decision.

The biggest deciding factor I suppose, is - I WANT TO BE HOME EVERY DAY.

$15 an hour isn't a whole lot of $$. Not much more than flipping burgers. What KIND of "propane work"? Delivering BBQ refills to convenience stores - filling home tanks? How much manual labor is involved (compared to just driving)?

But again - you seem to be willing to make some sacrifices in order to be home every day.

Have you completed your contractual obligation to the company that trained you? If you decide to leave - do so PROFESSIONALLY. Give notice, return the equipment where you're supposed to, and clean it out. Leave on GOOD TERMS, in case you decide you want to go back to OTR.

Rick

I would not do it for $15/hr unless health insurance was completely paid for by the company. Then I would think about it. I currently work long hard hours for $15/hr. Maybe where you live that's great money. Give it some thought and look at what opportunities are available after 12 months of OTR experience. Good luck.

Rick wrote:

The biggest deciding factor I suppose, is - I WANT TO BE HOME EVERY DAY.

$15 an hour isn't a whole lot of $$. Not much more than flipping burgers. What KIND of "propane work"? Delivering BBQ refills to convenience stores - filling home tanks? How much manual labor is involved (compared to just driving)?

But again - you seem to be willing to make some sacrifices in order to be home every day.

Have you completed your contractual obligation to the company that trained you? If you decide to leave - do so PROFESSIONALLY. Give notice, return the equipment where you're supposed to, and clean it out. Leave on GOOD TERMS, in case you decide you want to go back to OTR.

Rick

Totally spot-on. Cory, I don't assume anything, but in the event you know nothing more than "it's a propane business" requires you to apply some additional due-diligence so you have a much better idea of what to expect and the company. At a minimum, if they have one, check out their website. Build yourself a list of questions that are relevant to the job, what's required, the equipment, their customers, training, etc. Look into the pool before you jump. Eyes wide open!

Good luck.

Thanks for the quick responses guys, the place that called me is Amerigas, if anyone is familiar with them I would like to know what they're like. They told me I would be filling up those propane tanks you see at gas stations and truckstops.

I would like to be home everyday but getting paid weekly is nice though I doubt Amerigas does that.

The biggest deciding factor I suppose, is - I WANT TO BE HOME EVERY DAY.

$15 an hour isn't a whole lot of $$. Not much more than flipping burgers. What KIND of "propane work"? Delivering BBQ refills to convenience stores - filling home tanks? How much manual labor is involved (compared to just driving)?

But again - you seem to be willing to make some sacrifices in order to be home every day.

Have you completed your contractual obligation to the company that trained you? If you decide to leave - do so PROFESSIONALLY. Give notice, return the equipment where you're supposed to, and clean it out. Leave on GOOD TERMS, in case you decide you want to go back to OTR.

Rick

I don't believe I'm under a contract with the current company, if I do leave I'm gonna give them back all of their equipments they gave me and thank them for letting me drive for them, I've heard drivers leave the company's truck in the middle of nowhere and I'm not gonna have that put on my file.

Part of me really does wanna ride this out thought with OTR til a year at least, but my last job that was a dietary job I made 9.15 an hour.

Guess I got too excited when I heard about 15$ though.

The pay depends on where you live. In NJ you need at least $25 per hour to live well. In Mississippi it might be much less. I see prices OTR that are half of what I pay at home. Cost of living varies. I left a $28 an hour job for prime and now clear more than I did there.

But propane is Hazmat. Do u have hazmat endorsement or any experience with hazmat? Are they training you or putting you on a truck that can explode after a couple days? They are a well know company where I live. But that doesn't necessarily me them good... just well advertised and marketed.

As for me, personally i wouldnt touch a local driving job for $15/hr. I could literally work elsewhere at home for that now and even waste management or rumpke (garbage services) start at 18 or 19 where i live in Kentucky where salaries are generally lower than other states to begin with.

Wouldn't you make more doing otr anyway?

I deliver gas/diesel to gas stations. You'll be driving a baby truck, but it will be hazmat. I work with hazmat all day, I wouldn't touch hazmat for any less than 20 per hour but then again I live in CA.

Congrats on the offer but don't sell yourself short. I did OTR for 3 years just waiting for that golden local job to come. In that time i rejected many locals jobs because what they offered was far lower than my high standards and expectations. Im glad I waited. If I were you I would get that year of OTR. The difference between companies that will hire 6 months experience versus 1 year experience can be 15$ per hour to 25$ per hour.