I am working on getting into driving school in St. Louis. I have been denied by a company for hiring with assistance on the reimbursement for the schooling. The school is almost 6k and I can't afford nothing like that so I am trying to find a company that will hire with the repayment for schooling plan. My problem is (or at least I think) that I have a felony for theft that is over 10 years old. Is there anyone out there in a similar situation as mine ? Should I just give up on trying to drive ? I am a 48 year old Carpenter with no other skills that would enable me to get a decent job and the construction business is terrible right now and I am looking for a change of career. I am sure there are drivers out there that have at least somewhere in their life had a felony. Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks In Advance.

Theft is going to be a difficult item to overcome. Many times you will be hauling freight valued over $500K. Companies get real nervous with these loads. Even with squeaky clean people.

You can apply for a student loan, with a favorable repayment schedule. Many companies will offer to pay these loans for you, while you work for them. There are time tables to meet, IE 1 year or more of employment.

Just another option for you there. It's easier to get a job once you have your CDL.

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Team Players.....
It's hard for me to play professional team sports. On a minor league salary.

I have the same problem. I have a 29 year old conviction for manslaughter. Can not get anyonre to hire me because of it. I have tried all companies I can find that hire recent graduates.

Your conviction may not matter so much. If you can just get a cdl you most likely will overcome this problem.

I have my permits for combination, Class A, air brakes, school bus, passenger, and could probably get my road tests done to get my license. The only reason I havent completed that is because most all companies want someone out of school or with a least 2 years experience. I was raised on a farm and have drove all kinds of equipment so the test is not the problem. My main question is are there companies out there that will hire someone with a felony that old? Also I wonder what it takes to get a felony expunged ?

there are companies out there that will hire you. i'm pretty sure my situation is worst than yours and i got hired, right out of school. just be patient something will come along, it might not be the perfect job, but you will have one.

My friend drove a truck for the harvest crew. he did the same thing. once he had some experience he just went and got a permit and then took the tests and got his cdl.
He had no problem getting a job.
I am going to try the same thing , with the harvest crew, if I can find a job .

You will need that paper from a school. Unless you can find someone (owner op/small company) willing to hire you without it. ALL the majors will require it, for insurance purposes.

Yes, there are many. One that comes to mind, Southern Refrigerated in Texarkana, AR. Not the best by any measure. But as long as you are honest with them, they will hire you.

You'll need to contact local and state officials to get this done. You Representative can assist you with this. Be forewarned: This will NOT help you regarding shipments into Canada. It will still show on an NCIC report.

Also, being "charged" but not convicted, is grounds to disallow you into Canada.

Not an issue, unless the company requires you to be able to go to Canada. Some companies keep 2 list of drivers. Ones who can go, others who can not. SRT is one of those companies.

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Team Players.....
It's hard for me to play professional team sports. On a minor league salary.

I'm am aware of a similar situation where an individual had a felonious charge 12 years ago with 3 years probation related to theft. The individual had his case sealed, usually runs around 500.xx. What companies will do is check your record and if they see a record is sealed or expunged they then pull your arrest record and any notes the police officer had submitted at the time of arrest. They can clearly see the arrest date and the charge that was placed on you, court dates and date of court disillusion. Arrests records and police notes are public record. Police notes are about the conversations you and the police officer have before arrest, the situation, the offence, and reason he feels he should arrest you, "covers his rear end" Neither arrest record nor police notes can be erased they sit in you file until transferred to micro fish. If this doesn't sound right, I urge you to go to the city court house where they say you committed the offence and ask for a copy of your arrests or to review your file. Save your money on attorneys fees. Keep calling truck recruiters and tell them about that bump in the road see what they say. I heard if you apply with a less reputable truck service and get some experience under your belt,more reputable truck services will be more likely to hire you
Again that is information from an individual I know in a similar situation
Hope it helps.

hi
There is a foundation here in wichita that pays for the cdl classes. I did not use it but most people in my class did. It payed it all plus 13 cents a mile for them to drive to school , baby sitters, car repair.. They may have one in your town. If not perhaps you should move here.
Arbor 150 N Main Suite 300 Wichita Ks 67202 316-771-6700
They pay the 2500 plus the cdl fees at WATC which is an accredited school.

As far as getting a job , well good luck. You can get a job as a end dump driver or dump truck or mixer. They do not seem to care much. However I can not because I quit after 3 weeks because I sat home with no work for 2 weeks . Had to go make some money. This guy is now talking #### about me to the other dump companies around here. Small town they all know each other.
There is a lot of work around here though.

i would really like to know how much crap you had to go thru to get a co to hire you. Ive got a 19 yr old felony and it has been reduced to non-dangerous, case has been "set aside" ( thats as close as expunged as it gets) been model citizen, no dui's or traffic tickets. Also had all my civil rights restored too. kept my ### squeaky clean. Been a hard workin family man and am tryin to get a job drivin truck. Every recruitment agent i talk to is nice n all till i try to explain my case about the felony then they cop an attitude as tho i'd did somethin to them personally. they dont want to hear me out they just tell me NO HIRE and hang up. If anyone knows a co that has no problem hiring a hard workin ex-felon, or info i could use I'd be grateful.