Thanks to everyone who has given me a response in this thread. I'm hoping by October or November to go to school and then be on the road by the following month.

If money is a concern, you can sign on with a company that has there own trucking school. Trucking is just like the real world as far as budgeting. You budget how much you are going to spend on various things and put aside the rest. As far as a reference, just put down the company. If it asks for name just put HR they can call HR. They are only allowed to ask certain questions anyway, so HR would have that info.

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Even if I have to live a nightmare, it is still my dream to drive.

I had always been a local driver, then decided to go OTR last year for more money.
I make a good bit more now than I did as a local driver.
I have paid off several credit cards this past year, and a decent chunk off of my house.
It is very possible.
Some of the training companys are not too bad. They do look at drivers more as a number than a person at times though, but part of getting past that is good comunication with dispatch.
I have been at Central Ref. for over a year, and they are not too bad.
New students get 425 a week for first 2 weeks with a trainer, 500 a week for second 2 weeks. And they pay 50 a week for a year to pay off the school. If they go to the company school.
You would make money, and if they were not right for you then you can leave, just make sure you pay them back the balance of the school bill.

Vector?! Glad you got out while you still could! They're a whole lot of "rah-rah-rah" and then reality sets in ...I think some trucking companies are like this?? vector came to my university (along with student painters and college pro) and students started throwing things at the guy and booing him.

Anyway, i worked my ### off in college part time/full time/anytime i could. had a business during the summer painting/doing construction. but, except for the construction bit, when someone asks me what i did with my life for 3 years, "College" is a totally acceptable answer. Were it me, instead of trying to list the 3450898584 jobs I had on campus, I would just say "I was a Student at _____". For everyone I've run into, that's a good enough job description.

Good luck ... have you checked out training with a company? No/little cost up front and you're already hired provided you pass. they take tuition out of your checks every week. just a thought.

BTW, I would die for a spouse that was as nuts about trucking as myself ... go get yourself a big truck truckin girl and team and make the real money...and then try not to kill each other because you spend so much time together in such a small space ... i guess.

by the way, what were you in college for? And why trucking?

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And it's official: I Start school in Lewiston, ID - 15 Oct 08

I was in college for a youth ministry degree. As far as the 'why trucking?' I guess it's because it's something I see as a way to experience the country a little more. Somebody correct me if I am wrong, but an OTRer has a moving office

Right now though I am still considering the trucking option, but I'm also exploring getting a better paying position in another department with the employer I am at right now. I am also considering looking at trying to get on with UPS part-time as a package handler. If none of these options play out then I'll actually do something about becoming a driver, but for right now I am keeping it on the back burner. I would like to eventually become a trucker but I'd prefer that I start with little to no debts that I would have to pay off. Although I've noticed that life doesn't always turn out as one would hope.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ahutchi1 Has anyone been able to go from having debt that they could manage but couldn't pay off with a non-CDL job but was able to pay off said debt after they got a CDL?

As a newbie driver, your first 14 months to 2 years will be OTR (over the road), and you're paid by the mile, or by the load. Unlike hourly pay, you're not entitled to overtime pay over 8 hours. Regardless whether you put in 10 or 16 hrs, you're paid the same rate. The OTR drivers who succeeded in paying off their debt were single or divorced, had put all their furniture & personal belongings in storage, and just lived out of their truck. The $$ they saved from not paying rent (or mortgage) went into paying off their creditors.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ahutchi1 If one goes to a private truck school and has an offer of pre-hire with a certain company or decides to sign-on with a company that sent a recruiter to the school during the course of the class, how long after graduation from the school and obtaining the actual CDL before work begins? And, since I saw a mention of this in another post, how often does it happen that a company will pre-hire them before they get their CDL and then turn around and tell them that they can't work for the company after the person gets their CDL?

You'll go out with a trainer for 3 to 4 weeks, before you're assigned your own truck and be a solo driver. Driver recruiters get paid for each person who signs on, then gets paid an additional bonus when you clear a background check. Thus, they have an incentive to lie, or not tell you the negative aspects of being an OTR trucker. Trucking schools only teach you how to pass the written and driving test of each state's DMV (dept of motor vehicle) criteria. Trucking schools don't teach you what's expected when you pick up a load or deliver to a customer. They're forbidden from discussing topics that may discourage you from becoming an OTR trucker.

For example, they don't teach you how to avoid getting hijacked when you carry high-value loads like electronics, cigarettes, heavy-alcohol beverage, software like video game CDs, etc.... A full truckload of any of these merchandise can easily be sold at swapmeets or the internet like Ebay. If you go to any local swapmeet in your area, you'll notice police, detectives, or PIs (private detectives) are walking around, watching out for merchandise that fit the descriptions of stolen or hijacked trailers. They don't discuss chaining up a truck during heavy snow in winter operations. Trucking schools simply focus on passing the written test & driving test, which is only 10 percent of the job. The other 90 percent is discussed when you go out with a trainer.

Drivers who are initially hired, then later dismissed during their training, had either lied on their application, or had understated the seriousness of a past criminal conviction. When you sign on with a trucking company, you sign a liability waiver, agreeing to be placed on a nationwide databank of CDL drivers; and you agree that this privately-held databank company will release your confidential info to any prospective employer you apply with. Should your confidential info fall into the wrong hands (identity theft), you agree to absolve them of negligence, and you waive your rights to seeking compensatory damages arising from the consequential damages of your identity being stolen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ahutchi1 If I were to go to a private school (I don't know yet if the community college offers a course or not) and get my CDL and sign on with a company for a period of time what's the worst situation that could happen in terms of pay? I know that the admissions officer/advisor for the school I've already talked to said that the starting is around .25 cpm (might have been .26 cpm) but are there companies that start less than .2 cpm? What's the worse case scenario on the average miles per week?

On a good week, you're hauling a series of drop-n-hook loads. You arrive at a shipper, drop your empty trailer here, pick up a loaded trailer there, then you're out the exit gate an hour after you've arrived. You arrive at the receiver, repeat the same process, but you're leaving with an empty trailer. You deadhead over to another shipper, & repeat the process over again. Because there are no delays, the wheels are consistently turning, so you're doing over 3,000 miles a week easily. This is a good scenario, then you wake up to realize it was only dream.

Now for the reality, and you begin to realize why trucking companies have serious driver turnover issues. You arrive at the shipper, & its a live-load, meaning you back into the dock, and you wait till they finish loading the trailer. You'll be leaving the gate 3 hours (or more) after you first arrived. You look at the manifest, and realize you're delivering to a grocery distribution warehouse (music background theme from the movie "Jaws" is playing). When you arrive at the grocery distribution warehouse, you find a long line of trucks waiting outside the gate entrance. You get on the CB radio to tell the other drivers you have a 6 AM appointment, and everyone tells you the same thing. You realize they had overbooked (music background theme from the movie "Psycho" now playing).

Sure there are enough docks for everyone, but there are only enough forklift drivers to unload half (or less) of the trucks scheduled to be received. You talk to the lumper foreman, and he tells you "Si señor, your company, Sodomy Trucking, has an account with us. You go take a siesta in your truck, and I call you when we're done." In which case, they'll restack your grocery merchandise & unload your trailer. If your trucking company doesn't have an account with the lumper, he'll want $400 cash in advance, or a comcheck (which he'll verify to make sure the authorization numbers are valid) before he unloads you.

In the trucking business, when you haul food & groceries, bound for grocery distribution warehouses, the trucking fees include the lumper's fee. However, some trucking companies will pocket this extra $$ and pay you $100 (or less) to restack & unload the freight. Which is why you should avoid companies who can't promise "guaranteed no-touch freight" in writing, in bold letters.

So it takes you an entire morning to manually unload a grocery load, and you're tired and worn out as you drive out the exit gate 6 hours after you first arrived. Delays at shippers and receivers will mean the difference between a good paycheck at the end of the week, and regretting you ever got into this line of work in the first place. I can't give you a quote of how much you'll make because it really depends on how consistent your dispatcher keeps you running, and if your trucking company has the decency to avoid doing business with customers who don't give a damn how long it takes to load or unload a truck.

Some companies offer delay pay, but you have to be vigilant in reading your paycheck to make sure they paid you. Some companies will claim "computer error" when you notice you didn't get your "dock delay" pay, and will consistently give the same excuse when you notice they neglected to pay you again the following week. They're hoping you don't notice your "dock delay" pay was never credited to your payroll account. If you and 20 other drivers fail to notice you never got paid for delays at the shippers/receivers, this means extra $$ revenue from lower payroll cost.

And you cant forget the load planner who got directions to your delivery from the receptionist who drives a 4-wheeler, and never noticed that the railroad underpass she goes under every morning on her way to work is only 12 ft tall. Then there's the wait after you get unloaded because your reload won't be ready till the next morning, but by the time you get out of the receiver, all those other trucks who were in line ahead of you when you arrived have already filled up all the parking spaces at the only truckstop within 50 miles.
And, Lord forbid you should refuse a load because you are almost out of hours, because then you end up on your dispatcher's #### list and only get the crappiest loads for the next week or so, depending on how long he or she holds a grudge.

But despite the headaches, its not all bad. Its an adventure every day, you get paid to see the country, and you have your very own corner office on wheels.

And if you are smart you can get all your debts paid off pretty quickly.

My husband and I, driving team, got some pretty hefty credit card debt paid off in about two years, paid off nearly half of our mortgage in the third year, and still managed to squeeze in a trip to Hawaii.

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A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

-Robert A. Heinlein

Thats hilarious. lmao

Real truckers don't need sleep anyways.

What you are thinking about doing is risky. I don't know the turnover rate for newbies but the industry avg is 130%. I would be willing to bet that newbie turnover is twice that. There could be a good chance that you would join the "churn".
Churn is an industry term for washouts and turnover. Most people don't want to work 70-100hrs a week for so little, with so many liabilities, and away from everybody they know.

If I was in debt and looking for a way out
it would be irrational to spend time/money to possibly makemore money.

Btw you will not get paid for every mile you run, maybe 95% you will. The math is easy. Also there labor law for the transportation industry are not in your favor.

As far as the worst case scenario on miles. It can get real ugly. You could be spending thanksgiving or christmas away from everybody you care about in some truck stop with the stench of urine in the middle of nowhere not making a dime because freight is real slow that time of year.
But at least your truck will be warm, assuming the heater works and your truck is running.

Trucking companies protect themselves from the worst case scenario in time and labor by lobbing the gov't to exempt the industry from minimum wage and other laws that protect workers.

Have you ever worked 80-90hrs a week for $200-500 in a small area with someone you despise a lot of "trainees" have.

But hey. It is "what you make of it" words of a trapped man living a life of quiet desperation.

btw, I like being OTR and I even work for a "good" company but it is what it is and it isn't anyway to live, unless you want to live to work.

I'm Goodtogo not negative

Working 70-100 hours a week would not be much of a problem. And being away from everyone I know would not bother me much either since I don't know that many people to begin with anyway. As far as being part of the "churn", well doesn't that happen in just about any industry? I work in the food service industry right now and the turnover rate is much higher than 130% if I recall correctly.
Good point. That may just be one of the deciding factors that will keep me from pursuing the class-A license route.

Another good point.

Most holidays I spend with direct family whom I don't always care for much anyway, but then again right now I don't have much of a choice.

No surprise here. I wonder why more truckers haven't spoken out about this?

I can't say I have worked in such a condition, but I can say that I have worked 30 hours a week (if I'm lucky) for about $500 every two weeks before taxes and deductions. Although now that the summer is over I'll be lucky if I work more than 20 hours a week for a little less than $400 on my bi-weekly paycheck.

Can't argue there.

I'm not sure if I want to "live to work" just yet. I am only in my early to mid 20s so that may be what I'll have to do for the next two or three decades, but I haven't really decided yet.

Becoming a trucker is I guess what some might call my version of the "American Dream" however it all comes down to whether or not I could afford it. Also, I have an uncle who was a trucker for a short time and he didn't care much for the lifestyle. His story is that he was ripped off a lot of the time and that there were to many homosexuals for his tastes. And he didn't like the fact of not being able to attend worship services on Sundays as well as other factors.

I want to find a job that I'll enjoy and be able to do for a few years and be proud of, but I'm just not sure now if trucking would fit for me. I am one of those types of people that can't stand being stuck in one location, so for me a truck driving career sounded like something I could handle. Now though, with the economy the way it is and my uncle and grandma discouraging me about the idea I'm beginning to have some serious doubts.

Maybe I'll look for another job that I can come to tolerate that will pay the bills and support a family (when I finally do decide to settle down) but can never really make me happy. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks to months.