A little guidance plz?

Can't help you on the CDL info cause I'm too old But I do know about high paying trucking jobs Plenty of good paying trucking jobs in your area. $22-25/hr. Oil field work and pipeline jobs. Hope that helps you out some.

 

Welcome to the TTR Forum and the industry.

1) I believe 3 weeks.
2) A personal choice.
3) Most don't want to team and I think it's hard to double the miles of a solo. There is no way I would place my life in another's hands and sleep comfortably.
4) No training, no recent OTR experience and no civilian experience equals no job.

Have you considered oilfield driving jobs in North Dakota? It might be possible to get your CDL if you could rent a truck and then get an oilfield job with your military experience. You would need to call companies and see if they would hire you under those conditions before taking that approach. Here are a couple of threads you should read that has some company names in it and lots of good information:

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/trucking-jobs/87919-jobs-in-nd-oil-patch.html

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...g-jobs/118320-so-you-want-haul-crude-oil.html

Since you are new I'll give you my standard copy and paste advice. Take it for what it's worth.

You need to research and find out what the important questions are. You can make an above average living but you will make sacrifices that other jobs don't require. Read the "good companies" and "bad companies" section on this forum and get an idea of what company you want to work for and what kind of trailer you want to pull. Don't just go to school and then try to figure out where to go.

I don't know your financial situation. Don't take training from a company if you can afford it or get it with financial aid. You will be their slave for up to year. If you leave they will trash you DAC and credit record. Check out your local community colleges and employment office.

Just know that most training and trucking company recruiters will do nothing but lie to you. They will let you talk about what you want and then tell you what you want to hear. Trucking is about moving freight to make money for the company. Your home time, family, paycheck and everything else comes second.

It is not like any other job. Local is usually backbreaking delivery work 10+ hours a day, 6 days a week. Often you unload dozens of times a day or you are a salesman. In my area most dump truck jobs pay less than a good factory job. Regional is lots of loading and unloading time, fewer miles than OTR and not as hard as local but will wear on you and push your HOS limits. OTR is out 3 - 5 weeks with 3 - 4 days home, less manual labor and more miles.

You'll probably have to pay your dues before you get the gravy job. Weekends off, if you are lucky enough to get something like that starting out, may be home Thursday afternoon and leave Saturday night or home Friday night and leave Sunday afternoon. Loads deliver on Monday early and you leave in time to get them there. Often your home time will be in the middle of the week.

Regardless of your driving choice, after school you will go through company training. For OTR this can be six weeks to three months with little or no home time. The first phase is usually $400 a week and the second phase is $500-550 a week. Some pay less. One company pays 12 CPM for training.

One last thing, you don't want to wait around too long after training or you'll have trouble finding a job. If you get out before you have a year in, when you try to come back a few months later you will find they want you to start over.

 

The nice thing about over the road is if you try it for a few months and decide you like it then you can get rid of your place and live out of your truck. You can really stash away money that way. Just make sure you like the over the road lifestyle first.

Good luck!

 

I don't know how close Fargo is but the housing is scarce and expensive close to the oil boom. There are plenty of hours to keep you busy and make money. If I were you and close enough I'd go for the oilfield. You can work about 12 hours a days, 6 days a week. You could make $70 - 80,000 a year.

OTR would be less but good money. It would also be much less work and would give you housing of a sort.

Just do the research and make a plan with realistic expectations. Figure out what fits you and your needs.

Good luck.

EDIT: How rude of me - You are very welcome!