I have had my CDL-A for a year now I went over the road after school for about 2 1/2 months but decieded to leave after the company I was with made me miss out on my first child birth. I have been working at temp spots and have been looking for work driving a truck localy and realy would love to get a local job but im geting nowhere I even forgot that I had a CDL-A for a while. Got laid off now and back to the drawing board its so bad my last job was a seasonal position at pepsi and they where hiring for drivers but laid me off someone please tell me what should I do.

Hmmmmmmm ------

Any chance of you getting back with the company you decided to leave?

Realizing that walking from a truckin' job after only 2 1/2 months
probably wasn't the wisest choice . And, quite possibly, will be a blemish
on your records.
If they'd re-hire you, it might look a tad better than it does now.

Hopefully you didn't burn any bridges there.
(Another un-wise choice.)

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Pontificating Dogmatist

T O.. A L L.. R O O K I E S : Never believe a dptchr. When or if it comes down to it, no matter how nice he may be, a dptchr doesnot have ur interests and well being at heart, is just looking out for himself and will leave you out in the cold before you can blink an eye, just dont do any special favors or anything to compromise yourself or job. Some will tell you(dptchrs) "dont listen to other drivers". True, if ur a rookie dont listen to another rookie or someone that has a few more months experience then u and thinks he isnt, cuz chances are u both have gotta lot of stuff you havent came across yet and/or figured out and your dptchr probly knows more about runnin a trk then both of you combined(a good dptchr) . But if an experienced, seasoned driver is tellin u somethin/givin u advice, you'd better listen.
Sorry if im ranting but some dispatchers are just rotten I tell ya, some of them should not have a job. And its sad too because there probably have been manya new recruited people that had the potential to be great drivers but failed because of a dimwit/dont give a #### attitude dptchr that didnot train them properly. Maybe theyre tired of the company theyre workin for cutting good drivers just to hire more students and dont care anymore..who knows.I tell u what, these corperate cluster fks of truckin companys are somethin else...lol. Ive come to the conclusion that the main cause behind their antics and the bs they do and are notorius for is the U.S. Government funding them via taxbreak for hiring/training new recruits

While the last post may be all too true ... it is also just as important ... to do all you can do ... to try and not make an enemy out of your dispatcher. Why? Because some of them also have the power to make your life a living hell on earth and make you work for almost nothing. Is this supposed to happen? No, it isn't ... but where I work at, the dispatchers also make out all the loads and designate which drivers carry which loads. You get on the bad side of a dispatcher and he can make sure that you will work all the crappy loads that pay darn near nothing. Every company has it's gravy loads and it's trashy loads and most every driver knows that he is gonna have some good and some bad loads ... but if you get on the wrong side of a dispatcher and you may soon find your good loads getting fewer and fewer and your crappies getting more and more ... sometimes to the point of starving you out ... just because you have someone up in the front office that don't like you.

__________________
Tanker Yanker ... You make your own safety!

Very true and well said sir. Ya,if u ask me, dptchrs have way too much power and think they are ppl of importancr bcuz of this. They just make me mad..little sick too.

yO!
ALN, ............ as long as we're offering advice here, let me run something up the flag pole to see who salutes it.
First, this isn't a blog, and you're not texting.
This is a Big truck truckin' related website where folks post questions, comments and information. As such, abbreviating words, especially key words, isn't required or necessary, ......... or appreciated by some of us.

For best results, type your posts with complete words and/or common abbreviations rather than in a texting style format.

Second, don't run all your sentences together without breaking the sentences up into paragraphs by utilizing the ENTER key. Your posts will appear neater and will be easier to read.

Now, you're advising folks here to "NEVER believe a dptchr."
I assume you make reference to 'dispatchers', right?
If so, IMO , the advice you're giving isn't the best advice. Words have meaning, and "never" means never. If it's necessary for y'all to NEVER believe your dispatcher, or anyone else for that matter, it's like saying dispatchers ALWAYS lie, --- which isn't true. Can it be truthfully said that you, as a driver, have your dispatcher's "interests and well being at heart"?
Or will you leave them "out in the cold before you can blink an eye"?If that sounds fair to you, wouldn't it also be fair if your dispatcher had the same philosophy?And here you are telling others not to listen to dispatchers. All that sounds complicated and difficult to remember. Experience has caused me realize that it's best to listen to everybody, then take into consideration what their level of experience is, as well as their abilities and aptitude, --- then apply common sense to the information they provided, and then decide if you can and/or want to rely on their advice. I don't recommend just dismissing advice based solely on some time frame.

If y'all can understand and remember;
Don't shoot the messenger and ignore the message, you'll notice quite a difference. It does NOT really matter who delivers a message. What REALLY matters is that the message got delivered.To listen is good. But to assume that an "experienced, seasoned driver" will always provide the correct response or always know the proper procedures or answers, is taking a risk. You might be surprised to know how many seasoned drivers, after years of driving experience, don't know much, if any, more than they did the day they started drivin', and possibly less than a recent graduate with what they've learned still fresh in their minds.
It's better to rant and blow off steam here, than out on the road somewhere. As for some dispatchers being "just rotten", that's your opinion.
And I agree with that opinion.
SOME sure are.

When it comes to dispatchers and whether they're good or bad, a Big truck truck driver isn't always the best judge. Unless the driver has a working knowledge of what dispatching requires to run efficiently, there's a good chance the driver will be more inclined to view certain situations through the eyes of a driver in need without considering that they're not the only one involved. A well seasoned driver realizes there are many involved who need to be considered.

If they didn't have a job they'd probably be receiving some form of government assistance in the form of money. Since the government receives it's money from the taxpayers --- us --- it's really us who are footing the bill. I wonder if we could get away with blaming dispatchers for global warming?

If anyone with potential to be a great driver is enrolled in a training program that includes a "dimwit"dispatcher with a questionable attitude, I somehow doubt that driver's chance for failure will be increased as a direct result. It may complicate matters a tad more than if their dispatcher had more on the ball. But a potentially great driver would be more inclined to seek and find needed information on their own rather than just roll-over and whine about something that they could overcome.Beyond knowing that the possibility exists, "whiono" cares?
I'm thinkin' their chances for success will be better if they concentrated their learnin' attention on how to work around a problem that has the potential of causing problems.
The best way to cure a problem is to prevent a problem from forming in the first place.For me to even consider your theory could be correct, you'd have to provide data and statistics with numbers for me to compare for each company and/or employee that you've included in your conclusion. Then, after all information is carefully considered, a logical conclusion might be arrived at. As the driver though, is all that really necessary, --- and will it make any difference in the long run?

Frankly, I'd rather forgo seeking detailed information if it would have little or no bearing on my task at hand. We can, or should, only be concerned with that which will have a direct impact on our assigned duties. Anything beyond that point becomes useless information over-load.

If y'all haven't already heard it, let me repeat, ----- Big truck truck driving involves much more than just drivin' the Big truck. Actually, the drivin' is probably the easiest part, although your driving ability is what you've been concentrating the most on lately, expect that to change as y'all gain drivin' experience. When y'all realize that besides the importance of driving abilities, even more important is y'all's ability to THINK. An ability to drive combined with an ability to effectively think and reach conclusions during y'all's thought processes is the key to success. Not only true in the truckin' industry, but any industry as well as life in general.

Frustration
Dissatisfaction
Anger
Impatience
Are a few of the many emotions y'all will experience in a truckin' career, and can be useful when properly considered. When y'all reach the point where what MIGHT happen becomes just a passing concern because y'all have enough confidence in your abilities to know y'all can think your way through problems when they arise, congratulations are in order. You've graduated to the next higher level and deserve to be addressed as such.

Complaining is a way to blow off steam and relieve pressure. Just about every driver I've ever known does that from time to time. But there comes a time during that time when complaining becomes whining. My advice is to not let it go that far.

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Pontificating Dogmatist

why dont u quit being a troll, how bout that! gezus crst!

and when your typin with one hand its a little easier to abreviate u ahole

Are a few of the many emotions y'all will experience in a truckin' career, and can be useful when properly considered. When y'all reach the point where what MIGHT happen becomes just a passing concern because y'all have enough confidence in your abilities to know y'all can think your way through problems when they arise, congratulations are in order. You've graduated to the next higher level and deserve to be addressed as such <- I AGREE
AS FAR AS ME WHINING, SOUNDS LIKE U ARE WHINING ABOUT ME COMPLAINING
AND WHEN A DRIVER MAKES A COMPLAINT TO HIS SUP AND NOTHING IS DONE AS THE DPTCHR IS SIDED WITH, THERES NOT MUCH TO DO AS NOT ONLY IS THE DRIVER NOW STUCK ON A DPTCHRS BRD HE HAS A PROBLEM WITH, NOW HE IS ON SOMEONES BOARD THAT IS GONNA GIVE HIM SHT AND SADLY BUT TRUE SOMETIMES THE ONLY THING TO DO IS QUIT. IVE TALKED TO DRVRS BEFORE THAT HAVE HAD TO DO THAT CUZ THEY HAD NO CHOICE. YOU WILL MAKE 2BIT COMMENTS LIKE : Beyond knowing that the possibility exists, "whiono" cares? AND GO AIMLESLY OUT OF UR WAY JUST TO PROVE SOMEONE WRONG TO FEED YOUR OWN EGO



YOU JUST HAVE TO COME INTO A THREAD AND PICK APART QUOTES, THATS ALL YOU EVER DO, SEE IT ALL THE TIME. How can you pull a direct quote and say things about it that has nothing to do with what was said before or after it..lol you are the truckers report troll if you ask me sir. And I dont have to provide a gd thing to you to consider what I said is true, some ppl believe certain things are a certain way for their own reasons that THEY have experienced. U got some good points tho, but mainly its as if you attack people. And I always thought the truckin industry was prety good about weedin ppl out, so wouldnt that make sense to say that a seasoned driver had to of been doin somethin right to have made it for as long as he has. And yes your right, I shouldnt have said that as ppl just startin out couldnt know what to believe, simply cuz they dont know. What I was tryin to say and cant believe im wastin my time defendin myself against such a person as yourself is dispatchers will tell you"dont believe other drivers" after you ask them about something you heard that you suspect is true and they know is, is it a possibility they are tryin to discredit honest drvrs speaking the ugly truth? and I have seen so many times thru out this site where you btch at ppl for using abbreviations, WHO CARES IF THEY USE ABBREVIATIONS U PSYCHO. I do appreciate some of the advice you gave that wasnt antagonistic or far besides the point, which wasnt much. whatever dude, im feedin the troll now so goodday
AND LET ME JUST SAY THAT WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY SAID HAS BEEN TORN APART AND ANY GOOD ADVICE THAT WAS THERE IS GONE AT THE EXPENSE OF THE "AFTERSHOK" EGO SHOW. SOMEBODY SAYIN SOMETHIN U GOTTA COME GIVE UR 2 CENTS ABOUT EVERY LITTLE THING AND MISSPELLED WORD THEY SAID JUST TO PROVE UR OWN, GO AWAY!!

Looks to me like someone got their feelings hurt. FYI Aftershock is pretty much correct in his evaluation.