CRST Exit Oppurtunities???

Smart c says

My employmenthistory isn't terrible (just a lot of jobs, some overlapping, never fired) or anything...

That's not what you posted in a different thread a month ago.....you said

When they look back at my 10 years however, I'm wondering how heavy a weight that will hold. The biggest (maybe only) issue is that I've been fired from a few meaningless jobs while in college. These were jobs like Jimmy John's, luxury hotel, grocery store. The reasons were mainly atttendance because I was always studying.One job I opened a snack in line before paying....

Not trying to nitpick but we cant help you if your not honest with us.

Why start off your potential driving career some place where the goal from the first day, actually prior to day 1, is to leave there ASAP? I fail to believe you would achieve any type of success. This is NOT a normal job. It's a way of life and a different lifestyle than nearly any other occupation. You have to be committed before, and during, schooling, the first month, the first year and in the future from tomorrow on. Anything less is a waste of time and money. Are you prepared to be totally, honestly committed?

Hi All,

If I end up at CRST, how easy is it to get on with a company where I can become solo OTR? I really don't want to team, however, I'm willing to stick it out for the ten month contract as my options are limited.

As others have mentioned, you might wanna look eslewhere. I worked for CRST and did just fine. I spent some time reading about what I was getting into. And it really blew me away to hear everyone talking about how to "get out of the contract" once I was in the facility at Cedar Rapids.

You just rode a bus to get to a job you don't even want? Now... All those people just got trained and were put into trucks with other drivers that want to be there.

Case in point my first codriver drove himself home while I was asleep. He woke me up and I drove myself some place to park and sleep for the rest of my off time.

Now I'm on a team load by myself. Just save yourself some time and money by getting a job you want. Not to mention the same for someone else.

Smart c says

My employmenthistory isn't terrible (just a lot of jobs, some overlapping, never fired) or anything...

That's not what you posted in a different thread a month ago.....you said

When they look back at my 10 years however, I'm wondering how heavy a weight that will hold. The biggest (maybe only) issue is that I've been fired from a few meaningless jobs while in college. These were jobs like Jimmy John's, luxury hotel, grocery store. The reasons were mainly atttendance because I was always studying.One job I opened a snack in line before paying....

Not trying to nitpick but we cant help you if your not honest with us.

I was referring to my LAST THREE YEARS OF EMPLOYMENT (What they told me is all they verify/care about.

Hi All,

If I end up at CRST, how easy is it to get on with a company where I can become solo OTR? I really don't want to team, however, I'm willing to stick it out for the ten month contract as my options are limited.

As others have mentioned, you might wanna look eslewhere. I worked for CRST and did just fine. I spent some time reading about what I was getting into. And it really blew me away to hear everyone talking about how to "get out of the contract" once I was in the facility at Cedar Rapids.

You just rode a bus to get to a job you don't even want? Now... All those people just got trained and were put into trucks with other drivers that want to be there.

Case in point my first codriver drove himself home while I was asleep. He woke me up and I drove myself some place to park and sleep for the rest of my off time.

Now I'm on a team load by myself. Just save yourself some time and money by getting a job you want. Not to mention the same for someone else.

I'm not that kind of person however. I'm not going to drive myself home in the middle of the contract. I said I'm willing to stick it out for 10 months and I'm a man of my word. I'm college educated and plan on going to grad school after trucking. I'm a very disciplined person and feel I'm making the most intelligent decision for my life moving forward. My concern is about what to expect at the end of the 10 months not whether or not I'll make it...because I surely will.

I'm not that kind of person however. I'm not going to drive myself home in the middle of the contract. I said I'm willing to stick it out for 10 months and I'm a man of my word. I'm college educated and plan on going to grad school after trucking. I'm a very disciplined person and feel I'm making the most intelligent decision for my life moving forward. My concern is about what to expect at the end of the 10 months not whether or not I'll make it...because I surely will.

I'm new here and am not even going to CDL training until March but...it seems to me that a Master's Degree is your goal. You should just go for that. I think your situation is one where you should consider taking on some debt to reach your goal. I don't see how trucking will help you reach that goal.

There is no way they are the "only" company that will take you. You have not checked them all. You need to look at all your options. Have you talked with CFI, Prime, Swift, Millis to name a few of the big ones. CFI doesn't even team train. Seems like you are nervous. Maybe you tried a couple of companies and they turned you down and now you jump at the first one who accepts you. Good luck.

My concern is about what to expect at the end of the 10 months not whether or not I'll make it...because I surely will.

You can be confident that if you complete 10 months with CRST and you have a solid work and safety record you'll be able to land a job at most of the companies out there. Every so often you'll find a company that requires 2 years of experience, but the overwhelming majority will take someone with 10 solid months of OTR under their belt. That you can count on.

I don't know how many times we've had new drivers in here begging for some secret way they can break their contract at CRST. Those guys don't play. They are serious about this. You agreed to let them pay your way through training and they want to see you help them get their investment in you back.

If you break your contract with CRST, every time a company tries to verify your employment for the next 5 years they will get a letter like this:

And CRST will wait the full 29.5 days before verifying anything else. Those letters just tell other companies that trying to hire this driver is a waste of their time.

Doug, Why did you choose CRST? Do you have specific reasons to want to team? Just curious because I know only one person I've ever met that I would consider teaming with. Getting assigned a total stranger would be a risk I couldn't take a chance on. You seem to be a very thoughtful guy, so I just wanted to see what your thought process was on this matter.