Just Got My Class B License, But No Job!!!

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by haulinasphalt, May 30, 2011.

  1. haulinasphalt

    haulinasphalt Bobtail Member

    41
    11
    Nov 23, 2010
    0
    Just last week, I graduated from Mid-Florida Tech School in Orlando, FL. I've got my Class B CDL, my certificate with my transcripts, but I can't find a job. From what my instructor(s) made it sound like, I should already have multiple interviews lined up, and if I don't land a job immediately, it will get harder and harder to find a job as the weeks pass by. I'm just curious, could anyone tell me if a CDL actually has a "shelf life" to it? If I don't find a job within the next couple weeks, will I have just wasted my time and money going to school? Your help and advice is greatly appreciated.
     
    Eliel24 Thanks this.
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. freightlinerman

    freightlinerman Road Train Member

    1,287
    535
    Mar 4, 2011
    Florida
    0
    Read the papers, everyone wants experience. There's probably less than 1% that don't want any. Experienced dump truck drivers, experienced truck drivers, experienced bus driver, experienced route delivery, experience, experience, experience! Sound's to me that they are full of it. There's not really a shortage of class B drivers, now Class A drivers that are experienced and accident free are. Look on craigslist or careerbuilder, you will confirm pretty much what I'm saying.
     
  4. Rerun8963

    Rerun8963 Road Train Member

    3,917
    2,012
    Mar 30, 2006
    ova-hereee
    0
    does a CDL have a "shelf life"....yeah, about "up to" 90 days before you get told to go back to school......

    class B jobs "should" be more available then an A job, but then you do live in florida......that ain't exactly the 'job capital" of the world either.

    keep trying, i wish you well.
     
  5. Svoray

    Svoray Medium Load Member

    558
    194
    Feb 3, 2011
    Texas
    0
    Check with your city haul, maybe they nned waste haulers or dump truck drivers.
     
  6. Linte_Loco

    Linte_Loco Road Train Member

    1,618
    6,483
    Apr 24, 2011
    LA (lower Alabama)
    0
    Go to a day labor joint. Might get lucky and get a temp job driving for someone. Prove yourself and you might get some experience.

    Think outside the box:biggrin_25525:
     
  7. WitchingHour

    WitchingHour Road Train Member

    3,422
    2,142
    Apr 1, 2011
    Broomfield, CO
    0
    You kinda picked a more difficult way to get into it. I've never known anyone who owned a fleet of dump trucks and didn't require some kind of previous driving experience. You don't really see "mega dump truck carrier training companies" the way you do with tractor-trailers. You get into a dump truck, you need to know how to shift, the employer needs to be able to feel confident you can operate that thing safely. IMO, you'd have been better off to get a Class A, get some time in OTR, then go for the dump truck job.
     
  8. VIDEODROME

    VIDEODROME Road Train Member

    1,486
    1,296
    Jun 7, 2007
    angola, in
    0
    I've tried doing that. Have almost 3 years doing Class A and can't find a good local class B job.

    But then I am in Michigan.
     
  9. Allow Me.

    Allow Me. Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

    10,354
    11,160
    May 28, 2009
    Rancho Mirage, Ca.
    0
    Apply at 5 places each day. Get up early, hit the bricks, keep notes. Get out there and WORK to find a job. Make finding a job your job. Do not just sit on your duff at home hoping a job will fall in to your lap. It won't. Just do it. It WILL happen.
     
    LostOne9 Thanks this.
  10. WitchingHour

    WitchingHour Road Train Member

    3,422
    2,142
    Apr 1, 2011
    Broomfield, CO
    0
    It might be a blessing. I don't know what kind of Class B jobs you've been going for, but Michigan could be a less-than-desirable place to have a dump truck driving job, seeing as you can get a pretty nasty Winter season, unless they contract out to haul salt and such.
     
  11. haulinasphalt

    haulinasphalt Bobtail Member

    41
    11
    Nov 23, 2010
    0
    Believe me, I'm not exactly sitting around and just waiting for employers to pound down my door. I'm applying online, making phone calls, pounding the pavement, really working hard at getting a job. I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty, and I'm definitely not afraid to work. It just seems rather contradicting how a company wants you to have prior experience, when in theory, you need that chance to prove yourself in order to acquire said amount of experience. As for the "shelf life" of my license, how late is too late? I've been told by my instructors that after 3-4 weeks of having my license, it's extremely hard to find a job, seeing as how they want fresh students with minds to mold to their own liking.
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.