New career path, burned out on academics want life experiences.

As long as you have been in school or college your work history is not important. You are a full time student. Once you get out of driver training you will be able to go to any company where you are a good fit and they train newly minted drivers.

 

My unsolicited opinion is that you should get that college degree now, since you're so close anyway. If you've spent the past 4 years in college, you must be pretty close to that degree? Another semester to go? Once you have that degree, you can be proud to put it on your resumé for the rest of your life, regardless of what you do as a profession. You know it's probably true that if you leave the life of being a student now, you'll probably never go back.

So, why not stick it out for another semester or two, get that college degree, learn everything you can about the professional driving industry, and then go for it?

Best wishes.

 

Job placement means nothing when the send you to an OTR company with over 100% turnover. Ask the recruiter how many drivers they sent to these carriers last year then ask the carrier how many trucks they added to the fleet.
Fleet size stays the same but they have orientation classes every week. What's wrong with that picture?

 

Since this recession, thousands of college/university grads have turned to trucking. What you are doing is not uncommon at all. If you plan, you will make more money trucking than most college grads make in other fields. As soon as you graduate from trucking school, you will be employed. You don't have to go with a mega-starter company either, so forget that. Get your endorsements; tanker/hazmat, passport, TWIC so you will be more marketable for the better paying jobs. Need the passport for Canada/Alaska runs and the TWIC for entry into seaports and chemical plants.

Schneider will hire you for their tanker/hazmat division.
SVTN just hired a new CDL grad; this was posted this week on here.
Maverick drivers average a grand a week so do Melton Truck Lines and System Transport drivers.

None of these companies are CDL mill starter companies and they all hire new CDL grads. In fact, none of them have their own CDL schools.

There are a few coast-to-coast refrigerated outfits also where you can make a good living and they aren't the mega companies.

 

Wanting to start a family; get with a tanker outfit eventually. Can make a very good paycheck and be home every day with some or at least home 2-3-4 nights a week with some.

As for pay, cpm isn't they only thing to look at. Assessorial pays add up quickly, such as, stop pay, layover pay, fueling pay, detention pay, loading pay, unloading pay, tarping pay, etc.

 

Lack of a post high school education, and a general lack of anything for that matter led me to getting into this truck. Given my situation it was the best option, but once I get settled a little bit 6 or 7 months from now I plan on enrolling into online college courses. They can take the truck away, take my money, take my shoes if they wanted to, but in life once you get an education, no one can ever take that away.

jelow, you seem to have your head on straight, if this is want go and get it. Make sure you browse around this board a lot, there is a ton of really good information on here. Yes, you will see bad information, and there will be people stopping by to tell you not to do it and proceed to give you horror stories. But honestly, there are just as many who will stop by and do the opposite.

Good luck