South Florida Resident - Get Paid While Getting CDL - Paid Training

Looking for options........I'm not paying $3-5K for any schools. I'm fine with signing a contract as long as it's a good company with a decent starting salary.

What are my options. Most places / most good places are not hiring out of Florida.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Looking for options........I'm not paying $3-5K for any schools. I'm fine with signing a contract as long as it's a good company with a decent starting salary.

What are my options. Most places / most good places are not hiring out of Florida.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Make that most IF NOT ALL.

Check out McFatter/Sheridan VoTech's course. Still under $2K - though it's a 9 week full time course.

I believe Stevens, Werner and Schnieder are hiring a recent grad out of this area - as well as CRST and Armellini (though the latter two are team only).

Considering I see Swift & Prime trucks down here pretty regularly - you'd think we could get a hire out of them. Prime told me they'd hire a TEAM if you CAME IN with a TEAM MATE from this area.

VERY VERY FEW hire out of this zip code area (actually, south of I-4 - but really, north of where the turnpike ends), because of the lack of decent paying freight coming out of SoFla. You would think, considering all the trucks we see on 95/75/turnpike - it would be different, but it hasn't really changed.

BE CAREFUL if you're looking at schools down here. Ask who is recruiting from the school you're looking at - and CALL THEM to verify you can get a hire out of this zip code.

NO SCHOOL EXCEPT A COMPANY SCHOOL is going to be able to guarantee you a hire on completion. Basically - if you make it through Phase I of a company training (where you get your CDL), you have to screw up pretty bad to get shown the door.

Best of luck - let us know what you find out...

Rick

I'm moving in with family in Indy. Once I change my license Swift will hire me. I will have to see it in writing first.

I'm moving in with family in Indy. Once I change my license Swift will hire me. I will have to see it in writing first.

Actually - THEY are going to want to see a license, with an address in a hiring area.

I have a friend in Inverness (Wildwood - where tpke meets 75) that is willing to let me use his address. All I have to do is change the address on one of my bank accounts and bring in a statement mailed to his place to DMV , and I can do an address change.

BE ADVISED - while a lot of states will allow a regular drivers license to change their address ONLINE - most states require you to SHOW UP IN PERSON to do anything with a CDL.

From Indy - you should do just fine.

From Miami/Fort Lauderdale - we're pretty much sucking wind.

Rick

Wildwood is Ocala. (i thought). Anyway, over the phone with the recruiter, which can not be a record of what he said, that "if i move to Georgia you will hire me?" "Yes" was his answer. So i'm thinking this guy is doing stuff with his right side brain while talking to me with his left side brain, so i reminded him that "my husband who works for you over a year now, who i will be teaming up with, who lives here right where i'm sitting in Lecanto Fl. and gets sent to this address on hometime, and you wont take my application?" He said NO. "And i will drive myself to Memphis?" No. There's nothing he can do. I ask if i could speak to a supervisor to plead my case, he says someone will be in on Wednesday. Wednesday comes around and thru emails i remind him who i am and my special request, and i forget what he said exactly but the gist of it was No, they are not hiring anyone with a Fl. license. Phew, gotta calm down here a minute. Just make sure things are said in an email. It's a record that can be looked back on. A phone call can't. And don't blame the company for this. It's a great company. Keep us informed on how it goes with you. And i will do the same.

To clear this up (in my own head too) they were going thru with the hiring process until they saw I did not have my license yet. (btw, both Errol V. in person, face to face and I, over the phone, stated that I have my permit) If I had my license they would have hired me. From right here where i sit. But, again, that was a phone call conversation that isn't a record of what was said. Am I missing something?

To clear this up (in my own head too) they were going thru with the hiring process until they saw I did not have my license yet. (btw, both Errol V. in person, face to face and I, over the phone, stated that I have my permit) If I had my license they would have hired me. From right here where i sit. But, again, that was a phone call conversation that isn't a record of what was said. Am I missing something?

Hiring areas and policies can change at the drop of a hat. Seems kind of silly - since you will end up teaming with your spouse. But there's still the first few months of training that they have to try and get you back to your home zip code.

I had one company that was OK with hiring down here - but wanted me to turn in my CDL and come in on a regular drivers license. I don't want to lose my passenger endorsement (have to re-test for it) so that wasn't acceptable. A month later, they said my CDL was OK - but I would have to ROAD TEST when I got there.

Lecanto "should be" far enough up into central florida to be OK with most companies - but the move the line so often, dependent on how many drivers they have that need to get into florida.

In general, Florida is just a poor place to get a hire with majors.

They'll take you if you have experience and are going to LEASE - because the LEASE DRIVER pays the FUEL to deadhead in/out of home time from their last drop (meaning, you don't get paid to drive home versus a company driver may not get paid MILES to drive home, but they aren't paying their OWN FUEL).

Rick

Sorry, Mighty Mike. I don't mean to make this thread into something about me. It's more about helping Floridians step up to make a better life. And Rick S., are you in the process of doing this address change and do you have it written somewhere that Wildwood is acceptable? I'm asking 'cause I have a friend in Baldwin, which is up by the Georgia border. And come to think of it, when my husband first took me out I parked my car at the Ocala Terminal for 2 months. The main reason he brings the truck home is for the thorough cleaning it gets.

Sorry, Mighty Mike. I don't mean to make this thread into something about me. It's more about helping Floridians step up to make a better life. And Rick S., are you in the process of doing this address change and do you have it written somewhere that Wildwood is acceptable? I'm asking 'cause I have a friend in Baldwin, which is up by the Georgia border. And come to think of it, when my husband first took me out I parked my car at the Ocala Terminal for 2 months. The main reason he brings the truck home is for the thorough cleaning it gets.

Still trying to figure out what I'm going to do. I have one company in mind that does hire out of here - but they're not my first choice for pay & equipment. I'll be going 100% homeless anyway - but I have some other reasons why I want to maintain FL as my "residence of record".

Rick

My reason is my $25,000 exemption. I know snow birds have this covered. Not sure how though.