Transitioning From The Marine Corps Thinking About Getting Into Trucking

Semper Fi Marine!

That being said, get with your transition counselor. Utilize the VA training programs, there are several out there. I personally recommend the local Community College for the CDL, let Uncle Sham pay for it all. As far as location, neither one is great in terms of freight rates, most of the ports have been taken over by Unions and that is a whole different battle. Are you looking for Local, Regional, OTR? Get the CDL and all the endorsements first, take your time looking for a carrier while in school.

 

If its possible at all, I would go ahead and jump head first into ownership once you complete your CDL Training. If you have a lot of bills, I would discharge them first. If you have your own truck, you can get more favorable conditions with a trucking company. Youd also have the option of getting your own authority but I would drive as an owner operator for awhile first before doing that so you kinda learn the business. There are plenty of owner ops, on here for example, who would help you get through the process. If you decide you want to start off as a company driver, you would just have to research some companies in your area and see which offers the best deal for your circumstances. A lot will require an inexperienced driver to go through their courses or either go to another trucking school to get started. Other companies just wont talk to you without some kind of experience.

I think your best bet would be to get your own truck if you can. Most dealers have financing sources for their trucks but you may have to look to other companies on the internet to find financing. Just keep in mind that if you get your own truck, you will have to run pretty hard to keep it going. Lease/Purchase plans by trucking companies is usually stacked against the owner so I do not recommend getting in the business that way, though some have started that way and been successful.

 

Drive for a year or so to see if you like it first. Every carrier has different requirements for equipment as far as age etc. You will make more getting the CDL yourself first. Most carriers that offer CDL training will pay a crap wage for the first year, basically to pay for the school.

 

Semper Fi!


FWIW I would never advise anyone to invest in a business they know nothing about. Go to a school then work for a few companies doing different types of freight unless you have an idea what you'd prefer. Get some experience and develop your preferences as to equipment, types of freight and geographic areas. That way you don't make expensive mistakes...like buying a truck and finding out you hate trucking!

Use the companies to figure things out...they are using you until you figure out that they are....make it mutual.

 

REALLY???????? You're being sarcastic right? In all seriousness, if you really are planning on doing this, go through your VA for COMMUNITY COLLEGE funding....I was fortunate to get my training in the Marine Corps 3531/3533....In trucking, everything is "stacked against" you and there is no easy or sure way of making money.. The great majority of students, some 75% are out of the industry in the first year. The great majority of owner op's, probably around 70% also fail in their first year.. With all due respect Devil Dog, you know absolutely nothing about the industry. You should start out as a company driver and I would even recommend against that since your first year over the road you will probably make less than 36k.. Oh, one more thing, if you did buy a truck and plan on living or even going to California, it will have to meet all the CA emissions laws... Think about this, the trucking industry turnover is over 100%..

 

Here's my take on it. Use the GI Bill for a good 160 hr. CDL school. While there, get all the endorsements, TWIC, passport. Go to the top of this page and click on "CDL Practice Tests", those are the questions on the test you will take at the DMV. As for TWIC, Google for the nearest TWIC office and apply there. All these I mentioned will make you more marketable.

As for location to live, pick a state with no personal income taxes; there are 7 or them. Texas, Nevada, Florida are 3 of them. I moved to Nevada last year; Las Vegas/Henderson (cheap houses).

Florida is good for tanker work. All the good tanker companies that recruit new CDL graduates run through Florida or have terminals there. There are 7 of these companies.

Southeast Texas is excellent tanker country and pretty much all types of trucking.

If you decide to relocate from California, study the Redfin website and city-data website.

 

Before we even get into that, what's your perception of the trucking industry, and what's the particular appeal to you? I'm not going to give you a lecture about do it or don't... that's your decision to make... but in the event that there's some misconceptions you might have, we should probably go ahead and get those cleared up, first.
Are you a family-minded person? Are you trying to settle down or be more of a sojourner? Do you have long-term goals and what are they? I think the most important thing to get out there is what you're hoping to get out of it.