Been Forever, But I'm Giving Trucking A Serious Shot Now!

I actually posted just a little bit on here many, many years ago when I first looked into trucking, but then I put the pursuit of it on the shelf and moved on to other things. Not gonna spare you the many stories and heartbreaks I've had, but here I am now gonna go after my Class A CDL , get trained up, and hopefully prosper for many years in this lifestyle. Been researching it for the longest and I think it's time I take that leap.

The plan is to go take my written test next month, then go to my local community college and go after my full CDL. I haven't really thought much about what company I wanna start with, but let me get my name on a card that says Commercial Driver License on the top of it first before I worry about that.

Yall wish me luck!

Hi and welcome. In my opinion, that is absolutley the wrong eay to go about it.

We have seen so many times over the years that drivers attend CDL schools then cannot find a job due to something in their past. The schools take your money and time but do not care about whether you get a job.

Here are some issues:

1.) You can get a CDL, then not find a job within 3 months and your CDL is now stale. Some companies will make you go through schooling or a refresher course all over again.

2.) Companies can set their own parameters when it comes to medication. Therefore, just because DOT says a condition or medication is acceptable, a company can reject you. Hence, it could make life difficult if on certain meds.

3.) Past driving records. People think that if they have a CDL, it means that speeding ticket or DUI from 2 years ago doesnt matter. Wrong!

4.) Having your CDL could cause you to make LESS money and do MORE training at a company. For example... at Prime, a CDL holder would make $800 per weel the first month, then $900 per week during the rest of training They also have to complete 40,000 team miles rather than 30,000 team.miles if you went to.their school.

5.) Companies look down on CDL schools that often use old trucks and no safety equipment. The students often share the instructors with a dozen other students. Most companies do one on one training. Any student i took teaming that already had a CDL got very little hands on experience because of this. I on the other hand did 9,000 miles of OTR driving with my permit!

Bottom line.... save yourself time and money and go to company training. You will find out immediately if anything would prevent you from getting hired. It could save you a tom of time and money.

Good luck

Hi and welcome. In my opinion, that is absolutley the wrong eay to go about it.

We have seen so many times over the years that drivers attend CDL schools then cannot find a job due to something in their past. The schools take your money and time but do not care about whether you get a job.

Here are some issues:

1.) You can get a CDL, then not find a job within 3 months and your CDL is now stale. Some companies will make you go through schooling or a refresher course all over again.

2.) Companies can set their own parameters when it comes to medication. Therefore, just because DOT says a condition or medication is acceptable, a company can reject you. Hence, it could make life difficult if on certain meds.

3.) Past driving records. People think that if they have a CDL, it means that speeding ticket or DUI from 2 years ago doesnt matter. Wrong!

4.) Having your CDL could cause you to make LESS money and do MORE training at a company. For example... at Prime, a CDL holder would make $800 per weel the first month, then $900 per week during the rest of training They also have to complete 40,000 team miles rather than 30,000 team.miles if you went to.their school.

5.) Companies look down on CDL schools that often use old trucks and no safety equipment. The students often share the instructors with a dozen other students. Most companies do one on one training. Any student i took teaming that already had a CDL got very little hands on experience because of this. I on the other hand did 9,000 miles of OTR driving with my permit!

Bottom line.... save yourself time and money and go to company training. You will find out immediately if anything would prevent you from getting hired. It could save you a tom of time and money.

Good luck

Appreciate the response! I know that you guys advocate for company sponsored training here (looks like that hasn't changed haha), but I've already made up my mind that that is not the route I will go. I have known many people (including a relative and a friend) who have gone to the community college I'm going to and were able to find jobs shortly thereafter, so I'm not that terribly worried about not finding a job myself. There's also the thing that the community college has started recently, so I'm gonna take full advantage.

Sure, I plan on sticking with my first company for a year. But I do not want to be tied to said company for a year. I know anything can happen out there.

I had to get a letter from the VA about my medication I take basically stating it causes no issues to take while driving, the first time back in 2016 the mental health np wouldn't give me one... I been wanting to be truck driver since 2012