What can I do?

Assuming what you say is true- probably no big company will touch you or possibly even the schools will not touch you. The unfortunate problem is the stigma of your rmisdemeanor. Have you even thought how you would pay for school to get your classs A?

I am sorry but with this conviction on your record you probably won't be driving a truck until if it comes off your record-if it does. I would see if the court can get this conviction overturned or whatever.

Good luck.

 

Have you researched "expungement"? Many states allow you to petition the court for expungement of a criminal offense. The judge will seal the record where nobody will know about it. It's for first time offenders, but there are many crimes that are excluded like sexual in nature or violent crimes like murder.

Do a google search on it. It might get you back into IT.

 

Refer to the post http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...for-those-legal-driving-record-questions.html

I gotta disagree with sammycat and agree with Condo. Most apps I've seen don't ask about misdemeanors unless they're about theft or drugs. FELONIES will blackball you from the trucking industry.

Take Condo's advice and try getting your record expunged if possible. (Might have to wait X number of years then give $$$$ to a lawyer though.) Getting back into your pencil-pushing desk jockey job would be best, since your family is used to you being home every day and new drivers have almost ZERO chance of getting a local trucking job where you'd be home every day. Your best bet in trucking would be to get with a company that gets you home at least 1 or 2 days a week.

Talk to the guys at a CDL training school (it costs between $3000 and $4000 though) and tell them about the misdemeanor and see what they say. Also, using a fake name, call a recruiter at one of the big fleets and tell them the truth about everything except your real name. Pretend you already have a CDL, just to see what they will say. If they start asking you to fax them your MVR or fill out an online app or something AFTER you mention the misdemeanor, then you're good. Just tell them you'll send the fax or whatever and just don't call them back. Try several different companies.

Another option for if you can't afford CDL school, is to ##### yourself out to a trucking company that will provide the training in exchange for signing a contract that requires you to drive for them for anywhere between 6 months and a year. And during that period you're legally bound to drive for them, you're gonna be treated like ####. But that's the only way into the industry without going to a private CDL school and coming up with the tuition on your own. I was lucky enough my dad loaned me the $3250.

Read through the thread in the link I provided and get some more opinions from other people and decide what to do next.

 

I'll agree with "I HATE MINIVANS" on the part about your misdemeanor record... it probably won't matter to the larger fleets. I'll agree that you're not going to get a local job most likely - unless you hook on with one of the oil field outfits, but that is a long shot. Most local outfits require 2 or 3 years of experience due to insurance requirements. And that will be difficult on you and your family - you already have some stress in your relationships, and OTR driving doesn't make it any better. In my experience, if the family isn't on board with this, you're going to have some difficulty with it.

As far as being treated like "#####" by one of the training companies - well that depends on which one you go to. You need to do quite a bit of research on these outfits - talk to drivers at a local truckstop - before you make a decision on that.

 

You're probably better off doing your research right here in this forum. If you're wondering about a particular company, there's probably a thread for just that company. I was just arguing with ironpony in the Prime thread, for example.

 

I want to confirm what "I Hate Minivans" has said. Misdemeanors aren't deal-breakers from what I've seen. There will be some highly selective companies that won't hire if there is any non-perfect background info to consider, but they are maybe 10 companies out of thousands.

What I would strongly advise is you note the difference in this industry versus the regular world, first line up a potential employer that seems to be mutually agreeable and then decide on how to get training. Unless you are especially untalented or especially difficult to be around you will get the training/license and you will get hired somewhere. But companies that hire brand new rookies/newbies/students are very particular about what school/training they recognize.

DO NOT GET THE MOST CONVENIENT TRAINING AND THEN LOOK FOR A JOB. If you do that you automatically limit your employment to the random trucking companies that work with that school. There is a universe of difference between various trucking companies in this industry. Picking the wrong company, and sometimes that just means a good company where the company/driver fit is bad, is the best way to incur training debt and be unemployed with a suspicious work history which makes getting a second job very difficult and causes an employment death spiral.

I'd check online for the name of local trucking companies. Call them under a false name, if necessary, and ask if they are hiring recent CDL school graduates with a clean record other than a recent misdemeanor. You might get the name of a nearby CDL school or check with the local community college/vo-tech. Like I said any half-awake zombie will get the CDL.

The one thing you have to do is be honest on the application. Most decent trucking companies consider a lie on an application a firing offense, even if the truth would not have prevented you being hired. It's best to have a actual company application in advance before the company knows your real name and details. Then you don't get your application and name put in the penalty box that may keep you out at a future date. But only answer the exact questions they ask and keep other stuff off the table if possible.

As for local jobs, not very likely unless you drive a cement truck or a few other similar daily jobs. You might look into driver leasing companies that are temp agencies for drivers. The quality of the job depends entirely on what companies they send you out to drive for. They may send you OTR (over-the-road) or use you locally. They may assign you to some broken-down company not worthy of the name "failed East German boondoggle" or they may send you to a top notch company for a few days or months. OTR jobs are the most common entry-level CDL job and many new-hire move to local work ASAP after they get the necessary experience for local employers. That's usually 1-2 years OTR. Local employers have their pick of driver applicants. OTR employers are the ones more likely to hire the next guy through the office door. OTR is a hard life the more you want to be with family.

My background is not trucking and I'd suggest you enter trucking as a last resort. You can make it into a good or bad experience, although the default isn't very good. But one bad aspect of the business is that once you are in it for a serious amount of time you have a hard time getting out. Employers pigeonhole you and your pre-trucking skills atrophy. IT is probably where you will face this the most. You lose touch with non-trucking fields and people. But you do have lots of free ear time, or time to listen to anything you can arrange to be in the truck while you drive so you can use that time to improve old skills or learn new skills.

Lastly, get the idea of the "open road" out of your head. It's anything but open. The job is more like sitting in an apartment-sized bathroom all day, every day for weeks, except there is no toilet. It's a more claustrophobic job than is ever portrayed in media. It's a day filled with one car after another trying, and usually succeeding, in forcing their way in front of your truck and then making a panic stop for no #### reason. If you don't hate your fellow man now, wait until you have to drive around your fellow man all day.

You might watch a documentary on Hulu.com called "Big Rig." It gives a fair representation of the job, although I'd caution you to ignore the first scene of two drivers waxing about the imaginary trucker strike that is perpetually about to happen. That's like the fantasy little girls comfort them self with about some handsome prince riding into town to sweep the girl away from her troubles.

 

from your own statement, you were stressed out and then spanked your kid hard enough to leave bruises. i bet that made you feel like a big man to take your personal aggressions out on a small child. i don't feel that you should be black listed from working because of it because then your really not doing anything for your child/children. but i think mabye some prospective employers should be able to leave some bruises on you with a tire checker before considering you for employment.

 

Another example of someone getting into trucking for other reasons than a chosen profession.
First off, how are your driving skills? Are you prepared to stay out on the road for weeks at a time in your 1st year? Can you handle the hours that are involved in this industry?
I know times are tough but the last thing we need on the road is another steering wheel holder with a 4 wheeler mentality. There's a lot to driving a tractor trailer than....driving. Do your research. Know what you're getting yourself into and what's required and expected from you.
Your best bet is to get your record expunged and get back into the IT field. Show the judge what you have done to vindicate yourself from those charges and there shouldn't be a problem.
Your reasons for getting into trucking are all wrong. It's a completely different lifestyle than you're used to and requires a lot of stamina and sometimes physical labor.
If you have anger issues, get them resolved. There are other ways to punish a child than by the hand and they work more effectively.
Get your personal issues worked out before you opt for any career change because being a truck driver isn't going to do that for you. It only adds more stress to your family life, something that you could probably use less of right now.
Good luck.