Is this a stupid idea?

companies keep records of applicants. hope you haven't tried applying yet.

find your nearest CRIMINAL BACKGROUNDS INVESTIGATION. pay the cheap fee. submit your fingerprints and ask for expungement.

THEN start thinking about trucking.

expungement is a real easy process. but takes a little time. clean up your history and your life will be much better off.

 

I agree 100% with Snowwy, get anything you can expunged!

There are no DOT standards or requirements for the training of CDL drivers only testing. You can walk into the DMV in your hometown and pick up the study manual, study the manual, pay the fees, and take the test. You will however need a truck to do the road test in and that's it.

Most companies that hire student drivers have a standard which is normally 120-150 hours from an accredited school. Every company is different so call around to a few companies you are interested in and see how many hours they require.

Why the short course vs. the long course:

Some students already have their class B and have been driving for sometime.
Some students are laid off or unemployed and need to receive min. required hours to find a job and return to the work force.
Some students have jobs and take the longer course to work it into their schedule
Some students want the full training and practice to have more jobs available to them and feel comfortable with the skills

Company sponsored training vs. non-company sponsored training

Their are far to many reasons to explain here why company sponsored/paid training is a very bad idea, if you really want to know there are a lot threads on this web site alone explaining the down falls and horror stories driver have been thru fulfilling those contracts.

So I will explain some of the benefits of attending a non-company sponsored schooling path.

1. Most accredited schools have FASFA and other financing options. Some state labor agencies even have free money.
2. Most schools offer lifetime job placement and normally know who is hiring locally before it is even advertised.
3. Most schools will have you pre-hired before you even finish schooling
4. If you attend a non-company sponsored training you receive all of the tax credits and deductions and NOT the company. Like tuition, books, maps, clothes, pens & pencils, notebooks, cost of a laptop/computer, cost of a printer, ink, paper, cost of the medical exam, permitting fees, meals, travel expenses, etc..
5. Normally you will start with a higher CPM rate than drivers coming out of their own school.
6. Most companies have tuition reimbursement up to $10,000 which is paid directly to you weekly or monthly with no contract.
7. You can leave the company anytime you want because you owe them ZERO!
8. When you are in school you may find you like hauling something different than what you thought or you may receive better job offers. You are not locked into one company for the next 12-15 months so you can do whatever you want.

 

I don't think your record is going to keep you away from all companies. How you go about it is going to make the difference. Of course going to a CDL school is better than just getting a CDL on your own. That's simply because of the insurance companies. They have something to back up their decision in giving you employment. The easiest way to a job is like this. 1. Go to a company paid school. 2. Go to a certified cdl school. 3. Get your CDL from DMV. Those are the ways from easy to hard but are not necessarily the best. You have to figure in your goals, place where you want to work, pay and benefits, and all your needs that you are planning ahead for. If you get out there and be aggressive you can go anyway you like. It just boils down to you and what you do.

Sit down and make a list of what you want to do. Decide on what type of driving is for you and where you want to do it. For example you want to haul flatbed and you'll move out of state if need be. Or you want to drive refers but do it with the state. If you think about it the list can be long, that's ok. Then think about your goals. You know your record is going to hurt somewhere. So maybe you'll take this low paying job until some good time gets under your record. Maybe you want to retire early so looking for a solid company is a must so you can invest in yourself. Or you can be using that company to gain items for your needs. Whatever you decide be sure to have some type of plan and never go into a business blind.


Any way you go it all boils down in getting that job. There are a lot of drivers that go to company paid schools then sign the contract and away they go. Some are happy and some are not. It gets down to how much you know about the company and how you planned your work. There's other drivers that got lucky and found a job right off the computer and hate their work. If you have no idea in what you are getting into do not spend a dime. Do as much research as you can and use all the avenues you can to seek employment. If you do then whatever job you get you'll know that you did everything possible to get work. If you don't and you get a job you hate then you're going to constantly think "What If" id gone there or saw those people. When looking for a job use as many resources as you can. Computer, newspaper, truck stops, magazines, word of mouth, one job to another (maybe that job can not hire you but maybe they know a company that can), friends, and just driving around in your car and stopping where trucks are and talk. You've got to be aggressive because it's your career and life choice. Good luck.

 

I have been seeing more and more independant thinkers getting into trucking on their own. Its not stupid, but continue this line of reasoning, if you can get in on your own why not skip over getting hired on and build a small start up on your own? It isnt impossible, it is just very difficult. Check out the DOTs web site-consider the agricultural section in the safety manual. Commercial trucking is little more than custom combine or harvest work. And just like those situations sometimes commercial trucking overvalues itself. Also, check out my other posts as I seem to have struck a fairly serious nerve in hammerhead lane. In short, I think far more of your idea than I do the corporate grist mill of debt and despair that usually accompanies the standard approach.

 

Getting into trucking is a STUPID IDEA!!!!


And No, I am not kidding either!

I WASTED 17 YEARS OF MY LIFE IN THAT GOD-FORSAKEN "LIFESTYLE"!!!!!

I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy, okay, maybe on my EX-WIFE!!!!!

 

according to the laws of georgia. on google. you can.

here's the application.

http://gbi.georgia.gov/sites/gbi.ge...rest-Record-Instructions-and-Request-Form.pdf