Hey ya'll first post, and I had some questions for all of you. I currently live in CA, and am changing careers. I am currently doing office work, and have always hated it, but when you have a family young, you kind of have to do whatever gets you a job the fastest, and i've been doing this stuff before it was legal for me to work haha.

So anyway, my wife daughter and I will be moving to just west of Ithaca, NY in the finger lakes region of upstate NY. I took a harvest position at a winery/vineyard up there, where i'll be paid sept-nov, then after that I have to find jobs in between harvest seasons, while i intern at the winery. I wanted a good backup job, in case i couldnt find an office position up there...or maybe even a main job, if it paid well enough. So after talking with my warehouse manager about getting a class A, because he had told me i shouldnt have trouble finding a job anywhere if i had that, I scraped some money together, and plan to go to the Dootson School of Trucking, so I'm finished with the school and hopefully have my license before we leave the last week of July.

My first question is, is the relocation going to be an issue? will i have to retake the driving test in NY? Since I will be licensed in CA what do i have to go through to convert it to a NY license? Should I just go to school in NY? I was hoping to be ready to work right when we touch down, so i was really hoping to finish the test before we leave CA.

My other question is if the work is seasonal up in that portion of the states, or if its a steady need. I also wanted to know if I will have a problem finding a job. Since sure, i will have my license, but I will not have any OTR experience to speak of. What are the chances of finding a local or regional spot, when you have no experience? I'm sure i'll have more questions, but those are all i could think of right now.

Thanks guys

PS-thanks to this forum I've already learned to stay away from company lease programs haha.

Emphasis on FORMER.

I got into trucking back in the mid-90s to pay for college. I went to an over-priced training school thinking I'd be in for only three of four years. Was I naive. Given the hiring conventions of trucking companies, I was in it a lot longer than I wanted to be. I was in trucking for six years, got my degree, drove for two more years, and got out. I even dumped my CDL when I said "widersehen!" to trucking.

Your situation sounds a lot like my own. The "working part-year as a driver and part-year doing something else" thing. For four straight years, I drove summers and went to college the rest of the year. For me, this didn't work out that well. This is because the GOOD companies I wanted want to hire on with would never hire me. I was always honest up front and always told 'em I was "summer only" on those early-May days I applied with them. Well, I never got those jobs. It's no surprise I never got those jobs, either.

You will have the same problem. No good oufit will want to hire you on for just "a few months" each year, especially when you're a newbie (a beggar). They will want someone who is committed to joining the company and staying on for years. Yes, you will have a hard time getting on with a good company, meaning you'll have to settle for a BS outfit, probabably a small desperate company that runs reefer. Been there, done that.

Go cheap on your training. Get it in New York at a community college. Also check into getting forklift-driving training at the same CC. You want a backup to your backup in case you get into trucking and hate it, like many do.

Good luck.

__________________
--Paved Dudley--

Yeah I drive a Swift truck
And that means one thing
It means she's slow
It's a typical company truck
It's just all show and no go

I'm gettin' passed by Yella
And even Overnite
I'm gettin' passed by ever' body in sight
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight

No, my hometown's nowhere in sight
And if you think I'm pissed off
You're right
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight


Love pissing off those trucking company insiders.