Fresh out of the penitentiary

Just to put it in perspective. I have a spotless criminal record (though I could have easily been in your shoes if you get my drift), not so much as a parking ticket in over 10 years, I was with the same company (before I started trucking) for 17 years and was co-owner the last 3, and I still had to jump through hoops all because of a 6 month gap in employment between when I quit my old job and began cdl school.

Keep in mind, as a driver you are responsible for tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of freight. That is a big risk for an insurance company to have a recent felon on his own with. Add in the drug charge (any drug charge with a cdl is lifetime loss of license) and you can kind of see their point.

You are going to have to start at the very bottom and if you are lucky move up. But hauling freight may be a pipe dream.

 

Also I just want to say I am impressed by your drive and intelligence. It looks like you will be some sort of success story. Your situation hits home with me because it could very easily have been me in your shoes. I won't go into detail but I have done things that would equal many years of incarceration and no hope of a cdl had I been caught. I was lucky enough not to get caught and get out of the game. I cleaned myself up, quit all substances cold turkey. I don't really even drink anymore during my hometime. I used to pound beer and shots at the club with my girlfriend, now during hometime if I have 2 shots and a beer I'm done, borderline sick. Don't even want to party that way anymore. I still have friends in the game, most of them just weed smokers. I tell them they can smoke in front of me, I just stay away from the smoke. I don't have any urge or want to even join in. And it's not just the job, I just enjoy being clean.

Good luck to you and I hope it all works out. I like the look BTW. I made sure I got a company that doesn't make me fit in a mold. As long as I'm groomed and not dressed offensively. In fact I get many comments from shippers/receivers which are not negative in the least.

 

Im not going to tell you its impossible..Some of these guys are too negative. But Im not going to sugar coat it either. Its going to be tough finding a company to hire you. Definitely possible, but it wont be easy. I personally know of a few recently paroled drivers out there. They all work for smaller companies.

Do yourself one favor. Before you sign anything at that school, find atleast 2-3 companies that say they are willing to hire you despite your criminal background. If you dont, Id hate to see you go to the school, waste your time and money, and not even be able to find a job afterwards.

Best of luck to you.

 

Thats another thing I was gonna ask you about is tattoos.......Might hurt you with a few companies. Ive done a little time myself, no felonies. Hope you dont have anything vulgar, gang or drug related anywhere that cant be covered up by clothing. I personally have tattoos and dont have any problems with them, but its not up to me or you, its the company hiring you.

 

Good luck on getting your life straighend out.
How ever i think thatbecoming a OTR driver is will be a tough row to hoe for the near future. If you can find something, anything to do as a job do it and live on the right path some years down the road (5?, 10?) you might be able to go in front of a jusdge and get that record vacated.
If I recall correctly after that you can put None for felonies on applications.