Ready to make a change... I think...

Trucking is what you make it... Look online for jobs to see what your area has to offer. At that point you can go about weeding out who will work for you. I would advise to speak with local drivers, recruiters,and terminal managers. As far as the other industries you can do the same kind of screening to get a feel for your area. If heavy equipment offer job placement and it’s long term good work that’s cool. But hey good luck...

 

I've read a few people on these forums that were able to get right into local. Hard, but not impossible. Easiest guaranteed path is go OTR for a year, then switch to local

 

I agree with @TravR1 ,if you can swing it financially, I would highly advise both the heavy equipment as well as the class A. I did both, never been unemployed and haven't had to settle working for peanuts like some people I know. If you can't do both, there's companies that do hire new drivers locally with no experience, probably not the best pay, get your experience and move on. Best of luck to you.

 

Check out Craigslist. I seen some local jobs in my area paying 2,000-3,000 a month for non-CDL jobs driving vans and box trucks. The local CDL jobs you'll probably be competing with other OTR guys that want to be home nights.

But, you know, maybe you can get in there, have a heart-to-heart with the hiring manager or something.

If you quit your job and find yourself dangling without employment, you can always OTR temp until you find something else. An OTR company will call you within hours after applying. Don't just keep doing a job you hate--it's bad for your health.

 

Why would you pay $10k to go learn how to operate heavy equipment, just go to the IUOE and see what they have in training programs.

http://www.iuoelocal18.org/

This is Cleveland's local and you can call them directly.

They also have a CDL program.

I don't support unions in general but I know the IUOE pretty well.

 

The most likely CDL jobs for newbies that are home daily are food service (delivery to restaurants & stores), beer, soft drinks, cement ready-mix, trash, construction. Also look for big companies using daycabs to pull trailers. A daycab is a truck with no sleeper compartment. Companies like Swift, Schneider, Estes, Saia, USF (they have numerous company names), YRC or Yellow Roadway, R & L Gator, and many others MAY hire drivers with little or no experience. Since you've asked one of the most frequently asked questions I'm thinking you haven't used the search function on the site. Use it, please. Also search Craigslist, Indeed, or Google focusing on your city. There are some local jobs, but you need to look for them. OTR drivers are companies' first choice for those jobs and newbies are accepted if necessary. I'll warn you what you are looking at is a lot of driving in crowded city streets with no experience. It's like learning to shoot a gun and then getting in a gun fight. It would be better to have OTR because you get highway miles to give you confidence before you get dropped into cities. Car drivers make kamikazes look relaxed and careful.