Jacksonville Fl. Noob.....
Topic 4595 | Page 1
Hello everybody. I just turned 50 & am considering driving a truck. Is it naïve of me to think that I can get a Class "A" CDL & find a job that will have me home every night? I have heard through the "Grape Vine " that most company's require 1 year experience & that first year will be mostly OTR. Any advice for this noob who lives in Jacksonville Fl.?
It will be a challange for you to get a gig that gets you home every night. you'll need to get your 1 yr of OTR to get more local options. Now you can through apps out everywhere and hope someone will give you a pre hire.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Pre Hire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
Hello everybody. I just turned 50 & am considering driving a truck. Is it naïve of me to think that I can get a Class "A" CDL & find a job that will have me home every night? I have heard through the "Grape Vine " that most company's require 1 year experience & that first year will be mostly OTR. Any advice for this noob who lives in Jacksonville Fl.?
It will be a challange for you to get a gig that gets you home every night. you'll need to get your 1 yr of OTR to get more local options. Now you can through apps out everywhere and hope someone will give you a pre hire.
Thank you for the info David.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Pre Hire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
Every so often someone will come by to let us know they found a local job straight out of school and it always seems to require a ton of digging, begging, visiting, and phone calls to make it happen. One time I think a chocolate cake was involved but don't quote me on that.
Most of the time the job actually came from a company that says they require experience in their ads but made an exception because they were so short on drivers. So it can also be a matter of being in the right place at the right time.
You can expect to find a regional (home weekends) or OTR job (home once a month) for the first 6-12 months before finding something that gets you home every night. You can try like crazy to find a local job straight out of school and you might have some luck, but don't count on that as a critical part of your plans.
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
I got very lucky myself and managed to get a local job right out of school. Most of my runs are within 300 miles of my home so I can get home nightly. However, It took my Father in law (who is an Owner Operator) giving me an intro to the company he's tied to that got me this gig.
Owner Operator:
An owner-operator is a driver who either owns or leases the truck they are driving. A self-employed driver.
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Hello everybody. I just turned 50 & am considering driving a truck. Is it naïve of me to think that I can get a Class "A" CDL & find a job that will have me home every night? I have heard through the "Grape Vine " that most company's require 1 year experience & that first year will be mostly OTR. Any advice for this noob who lives in Jacksonville Fl.?
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.