Question???

I am going through a private sector for grant money to obtain my CDL. In the mist of the informational interview the guy hands me some paperwork to complete by Monday Dec. 16th, 2013. There are 14 questions to be answered by Drivers or Recruiter in the trucking industry. I have contacted my brother who's an owner operator but I am still 2 Drivers / recruiters short. Does anyone have the time to answer these questions for me?... Drive Safe and Thank You... JC

Of course. Post them here or send it to me as a private message.

Yap, same here. Either post them or send them to me with a private message. You can send someone a private message by clicking on their name which will take you to their profile page. You'll see an option there for sending a private message.

Company Name , Position ,

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Are there jobs in your field (explain)?

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Within your company?

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Within your Community?

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What skills are required

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What training is required?

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In example software equipment and etc

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What certification or license is required?

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From which schools do you hire? (maybe as a company driver when you 1st started with your cdl)

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what do you feel are the satisfactions or advantages of the work?

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What is the potential for advancement?

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what is the salary range for entry level? $ amount only?

I know this is a lot of questions but it will help me out ton's.

Is it bad i havent drove with a clutch since I was in my late teens?.. I am in my 40's now..

Merry Christmas and Be Safe Out There.. JC

Company Name , Position ,

Central Refrigerated Services. Over-the-Road Driver.

Are there jobs in your field (explain)?

Trucking is an industry that is always hiring. Having a CDL is one of the best investments you can make for yourself simply because of the job security. All the companies are hiring safe drivers. This is an industry where you are interviewing the company as much as the company is interviewing you. If they don't want you, there's likely a line of other companies that will.

There are many different types of jobs out there. It all depends on what you want to haul.

If you have a CDL, you have a job. I'd like to see the outside world try and say that.

Within your company?

There are many jobs within my own company and every other company out there. My company is constantly desperately hiring drivers, and getting on their knees and begging a driver to be a lease operator.

Within your Community?

I live in a large city so there are many opportunities in the transportation industry. You can be a local driver, hauling food to local grocery stores and unloading your small truck and restocking the shelves. Or you can drive in a few states around the area. The opportunities are plentiful in trucking and it boils down to your personal goals.

What skills are required

According to the government, this is a skill less job and requires just as much skill as a janitor. But anyone who doesn't have a mosquito swirling inside their head will tell you that this job requires a great amount of skill, patience, and determination. We are required to operator an 80,000 pound vehicle traveling at high speeds going through mountains, snow, ice, water, rain and just about anything you can imagine. Meanwhile, we have tiny cars under our wheels all day with children and families in them.

One mistake on us, and we can end a family. Its hard to digest, but its true.

We must be patient. There's a lot of waiting with me job. We depend on others in order for us to be successful. We sit all wait for hours on end at customers, we sit and wait for hours during traffic. We truckers have the best patience in the world.

We must be determined to do our job safely day in and day out. Its so easy to just sit inside your truck because its too cold outside to inspect our equipment, but we must be determined to be safe and always put safety first. We go through a lot of trouble every single day, we must be determined to push through the obstacles and the stress of our lives in order to provide food for our families that we see once a month.

This job requires a tremendous amount of skill. I could write a 10 page essay on this topic.

What training is required?

Good question. Lets say you were the owner of a trucking company. And you're hiring rookie drivers that have never even set foot in a truck before. You must trust a rookie with an expensive truck and trailer and with usually 100,000$ worth of freight.

Now, having said that. How would you train someone to handle all that stress?

I can tell you from personal experience. The training is brutal. The hours are long, the stress is high, the pressure is over the top, and the responsibility is greater than anything you've ever had.

You spend weeks on a yard just learning how to move back and forth at idle speeds. You spend long days learning how to back up such a giant vehicle. And then on top of it all, you're then put on a strangers truck and expected to get along with him/her for the duration of your training period.

In example software equipment and etc

As far as software equipment the only thing we really have is a Quallcomm. Which is a satellite device used to communicate with your company. We receive messages, receive loads, can review out performance, and a whole list of other features on the Quallcom.

What certification or license is required?

Firstly, you need to study the operations of a tractor trailer combination vehicle. Then take and pass question tests. Upon completion, you will receive your permit which enables you to operate a commercial vehicle only in the presence of a certified driver.

You will then learn how to drive and take the test for your license. The test requires you to pass a driving test and many tests in which you must back up the trailer to a designated location.

From which schools do you hire? (maybe as a company driver when you 1st started with your cdl)

This is company specific. I don't know exactly which private schools my company hires out of, but I do know that most of their drivers go through their company sponsored school. A company sponsored school is basically a schooling program that the trucking company operates. They train the drivers to drive for them for a faction of the usual price, as long as you sign a contract to work for them fora certain amount of time.

what do you feel are the satisfactions or advantages of the work?

Well, I love my job. The majority of drivers don't. The advantages are monstrous compared to all the other work I've been in. I used to work in retail. Here's some of the advantages that I have compared to retail.

I get paid three times more. I get to usually choose my hours that I work. I don't have a boss looking over my shoulder. I operate a giant truck (how manly is that). I have peace and quiet in my life. My lifestyle is challenging, but its very rewarding. I get to see the entire country. There's so many advantages!!

What is the potential for advancement?

Unfortunately, there really isn't much in the way of advancement. I mean, you can become a driver but the only "advancement" is hauling more expensive loads.

As I current Over-the-Road Driver, I would consider these positions to be an advancement:

Switching to a higher paying dedicated account.

Becoming a certified trainer.

Hauling hazmat , tanker, or oversized loads.

The best advancement is whatever pays more.

what is the salary range for entry level? $ amount only?

I believe, and others will disagree with me. That the average starting salary for a driver their first year is 30-34K. Anything above that means you have a much higher paying job than the average rookie.

Is it bad I haven't drove with a clutch since I was in my late teens?

Absolutely not. Its actually a huge advantage.

Driving a manual on a car isn't even remotely similar to driving a manual on a truck. If I were to drive my truck like I would drive my Mitsubishi Lancer then I would break my truck down.

Not having any previous experience with manual transmissions is actually an advantage because you don't have to unlearn all the bad habits you obtained from driving your car.

I never drove a manual car in my life before trucking. And here I am.

Thanks For You Time... And I AM Greatful For This.. God Bless JC

Thanks Guys for your Time.. I turned in the papers and they want me 2 do more... I was like really.. But I can see they want to make sure I am serious about this Career Choice.. I could use a few more if anyone has the time.. Merry Christmas..

Thanks Guys for your Time.. I turned in the papers and they want me 2 do more... I was like really.. But I can see they want to make sure I am serious about this Career Choice.. I could use a few more if anyone has the time.. Merry Christmas..

My schooling starts January 2014

I emailed mine back to you. Did you get it?