Don't give up as I know you won't! I did not give up, and now I was finally able to quite my parts job and go work for a company named Swift Transportation! I am overly joyed and it was well worth me holding on til I knew I was in. I said all of that, to say this, if you have what it takes and you know you do, then don't give up and keep pressing on, cause pretty soon you are going to be truck driving and you will look back and be amazed at what has happened since that time.
I really hope that you can find a job quick and enjoy the new job! Gods blessings to you and I will pray that you will get that job quickly!
Thanks for the encouragement Victor, I have resolved to get this going but I had to vent, it certainly has been emotional for me. Luckily I have supportive family and there are plenty of openings for drivers here so once I find the ones who will take an inexperienced driver I'll be a lot more confident. Also I just re read my post and I'm glad someone was able to make sense of it lol
Talked to a vary experienced veteran driver the other day and one of the things he said really stuck with me. If you were a good driver in 1950 you'll be a good driver in 2000. He was talking about how even though trucking changes its your attitude that makes you a good driver. It doesn't really relate to your post I guess.I'm sorry just some "words of wisdom" I thought about after reading your post. Good luck to you and your new career!
Just an update , I'm starting school April 24 no more doom and gloom. I'll try to share my Canadian perspective on the process in case anyone is interested :)
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I am writing from Ontario, Canada so things are a little different from the US when it comes to training opportunities for a CDL. As far as I've figured out company training setups here are few and far between however recently I'd learned that Hyndman transport a Canadian sub of Celadon trains there own drivers In Canada. I applied with a company that trains through a government sponsored apprenticeship for AZ drivers, had a couple interviews with them and was waiting for government approval. I have completed all checks and tests required to get me in a truck and training for my road test but the government fiscal year starts April 1st so I had to wait longer than the recruiter expected, I had been waiting since mid February. I am presently unemployed and had been budgeting carefully for this date, actual trading would start on the 24th. My last contact with the recruiter was an email I'd sent when I'd received the results on my criminal record check a couple weeks ago. Friday I called to see if she'd heard anything, I couldn't wait. Funding was approved but she didn't have any trainers available for me when I was done so I might have to wait till June to start school, wow it hit me like a hammer and it was my own fault for counting on this one job so much. Now I'm scrambling, I'll call Hyndman Monday and I've already resubmitted my application with another outfit that would apprentice me and had contacted me after the original recruiter, the big obstacle for me to just pay my own way at the school is $8,400.00 tuition but if it doesn't happen now it never will. I know it's not as bad as a lot of people have it but I was banking pretty hard on this, I've been out of work due to another sad story since mid November, and although I've been a carpenter for almost 40 years I'd found myself in the position of being over qualified or too old for the industry as it stands and I really was looking for a change. Thanks toTT I'm super motivated, I'll let you know how it goes.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
BMI:
Body mass index (BMI)
BMI is a formula that uses weight and height to estimate body fat. For most people, BMI provides a reasonable estimate of body fat. The BMI's biggest weakness is that it doesn't consider individual factors such as bone or muscle mass. BMI may:
It's quite common, especially for men, to fall into the "overweight" category if you happen to be stronger than average. If you're pretty strong but in good shape then pay no attention.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.