New To The Industry And Looking For Help In Northwest Louisiana

I recently lost my retirement gig due this COVID madness and after weighing the cost/time of perusing a different education and career path, I’ve chosen the trucking industry.. I’m not willing to spend the thousands of dollars a school requires for four weeks of training, nor am I willing to obligate myself to 1+ years to a mega that offers company sponsored training.. That said, I’m going the solo route, will have permit in hand by week’s end, and was hoping to find someone semi-local that would allow me to ride with them for a couple of weeks while I brush up on the ole driving skills.. If you’re willing, I’ll trade my time driving for your time and patience with coaching me along.

You will be looked at by insurance companies as the ultimate, high-risk liability, and therefore not employable.

Insurance rates are doing nothing except rising in this industry. The only way to enter into this profession is going to be through professional schooling, with a certificate gained at the successful completion.

Your going about it in probably the worst way you can to try and start a trucking career. With out a certification from a certified school no reputable company will hire you and finding any insurance company to cover you should you try and be a owner operator will be next to impossible.

As for finding someone to let you ride along to gain experience driving again you are uninsurable for the most part. If their insurance company did allow you on the policy it would cost a fortune, so more than likely they wouldn't put you on any insurance and one accident no matter how minor could result in jail time for both of you.

I would consider scrapping your plan and trying either a private school or a company school.

Soooo, would you be implying that I was lied to by the Maverick recruiter who said they would be more than willing to take a person who obtained their CDL on their own?

You will be looked at by insurance companies as the ultimate, high-risk liability, and therefore not employable.

Insurance rates are doing nothing except rising in this industry. The only way to enter into this profession is going to be through professional schooling, with a certificate gained at the successful completion.

As others have pointed out your plan is quite flawed. If you're not willing to pay for schooling or sign a contract your pretty much dead in the water. Maybe try seeing if theres any box truck type jobs in your area. Keep in mind many local jobs require you to unload your truck whether it's a pallet jack or by hand.

Soooo, would you be implying that I was lied to by the Maverick recruiter who said they would be more than willing to take a person who obtained their CDL on their own?

Did they tell you that there would be no contract involved? Most carriers will require a contract to train you. It takes time and money to turn you into a safe productive driver. They want to know that you're not going to get trained then bounce to a different carrier 2 months later before they can recoup the investment in you. Anybody can pass the state exam in a controlled environment. It is very different out on the road with things constantly changing.

Soooo, would you be implying that I was lied to by the Maverick recruiter who said they would be more than willing to take a person who obtained their CDL on their own?

You will be looked at by insurance companies as the ultimate, high-risk liability, and therefore not employable.

Insurance rates are doing nothing except rising in this industry. The only way to enter into this profession is going to be through professional schooling, with a certificate gained at the successful completion.

I'm not implying anything, and I'm not here to play word games with anyone that asks for answers, yet holds back pertinent information from the onset.

Once again, nobody is going to allow you to jump in their truck and tool around the area for a few weeks, while you "brush up on the ole driving skills". That is what company training, or a private school curriculum is for.

You asked for advice, then recieved advice from actual drivers. Do what you want with that factual information.

Michael, we are all professional drivers here. We also make it a point to teach "best practices." There are, on occasion, a few drivers who get in the industry by your path. We will be honest with you and tell you it's highly unlikely that you will have success with your path.

You asked for help. We gave it. So far we've given you solid advice. You don't have to take it, but my experiences in this business teach me that you'll someday soon wish you had.

Soooo, would you be implying that I was lied to by the Maverick recruiter who said they would be more than willing to take a person who obtained their CDL on their own?

That does surprise me. When I went to Maverick, if you already had your cdl, it needed to be from an accredited school with the 160 hour course. They actually checked.

We're you clear with Maverick that you would not have a school certificate? If so and they meet your needs of no school and no contract, jump on their offer. I would be surprised if you were correct on that. They may be talking about you going through their training then be under their contract for one year. That one year does go by quick.

We don't play games here, we give truth from experience. For some that truth is hard to swallow.

Good luck.