Local jobs for trucking school grads?

I'm not there yet, but I can tell you what I've been told over and over and over... your chances with local are not good. You need to do 6 months to a year tractor-trailer OTR or regional to be considered "experienced" enough to get a better pick of employers.

That aside, local is not impossible. Look for city jobs like garbage collection, or check to see if UPS has a distrabution center near you. Don't expect to be driving for them for a while. Newbies work the docks until they can move up the line. Not sure how that will affect your social life though.

My advice? Find a company you can live with for a year and shoot for regional if it's available. You might try Roehl with their 7 on 7 off program.

 

See if Conway has a terminal near you. Also maybe some cement haulers in your area or some sort of bulk companies usually hire trainees.

 

you need some kind of exp. it's due to insurance reasons.

 

Greetings,
Being an old man I am researching this stuff from one end to the other before I get going. From what I see you are all correct. Minimum six month OTR before you get that sweet local job. Southern California has dozens in every sunday paper that all say six,twelve, eighteen, twentyfour months OTR with clean DMV for the big pay. Some of them even do hourly because the freeway from San Diego to LA and back will take all day and it is only about two hundred miles. (round trip) I have evenseen rigs totally parked off the shoulder with the guys sleeping waiting for traffic to clear rather than idle for twentyfive miles.

Good luck digging around for that local job. Bang some doors and shake some hands. You will eventually get there. Good luck!!

 

you got some dumptruck companies that hire newbies, city recycling trucks hire newbies, some straight trucks, almost all beverage companies hire newbies....they require alot of lifting though. and most of these jobs are not going to pay squat. my future is far more important than my social life. if i can't land a sweet local job within 6 weeks of my graduation...i'll have to prioritize and go otr. your gaining a skill you can take with you for the rest of your life. even with alot of local jobs...you might as well kiss your social life goodbye...after a 12 hour day...i don't think i am going to want to hang out at the bar and shoot some pool or watch the game. i''m probably going to just eat and go to bed.

 

obviously you have just admitted to not being able to "pay your dues", and you want a job that someone else has already "paid dues" and should get...........is this my correct way of understanding you....???

sorry but you "gotta do your time" like everybody else. its not "social sucicide" its something else, and i believe its "homesickness" and we all get it or got it at one time or another. either that, or you still live at home and you miss the comforts of having someone fix your meals and make up your bed and do your laundry while you go out and have fun....???

its tough, we all did it, now its your turn to "pay" in order to get what you want. sounds to me like you want an "easy job" with easy hours just because you hold a CDL. it don't work that way for INEXPERIENCED drivers.

 

Most of the guys at my tech school are talking about going local ,from the get go,garbage ,pepsi beer etc, someone said something about a beer company starting at 17 an hour ,I dont know if its true ,But I plan to go heavy haul for Gordon and earn my stripes like a man and I will be home 3 weekends out of 4 per month ,like an earlier reply said .you will be gaining a career you will always have if needed

 

There is nothing wrong with wanting a local job right out of school. OTR driving is not for everyone. Don't feel bad about it. There are a lot more local outfits hiring out of school now than the were when I started. Usually the ones that hire trainees won't pay quite as well though, not any different than trainee pay for being OTR. I know Conway has a training program because I sent one of our dock leaders there because he was wanting to get a CDL but didn't want to start OTR. He worked the docked while he trained and in about 4 months he passed his test and they use him as a fill in driver. He makes pretty good money too for a beginner. He said he will probably do about 42,000 his first year. He is a go getter though and he doesn't turn down any work either!!!

 

hi, like you i am a newbie. I didnt want to go over the road and i didnt, i am in training with a food company. Yes you unload your own truck so this is not for everyone but i am 33 and 2 kids and wife so i dont mind the work. My father works for another food company and told me before i got into it my first year would make min. of 55,000 talking to different drivers with the company they say the same. I have been in training for 5 weeks now making 900.00 a week not to bad most want to give you 300 or 400 a week. I am home any where from 3-4 days out of the week some times a few hours other times day and half. as far as i see the local thing you have to be in the right place at the right time. This company dont hire newbies but they are down 30 drivers, So i applied and got it. A friend of mine same thing, went to a local company who had just fired a driver and that morning 2 drivers came in and quit. Hour later he applied and they told him they dont hire newbies but if can start then its is. Keep your chin up and keep looking if they need drivers bad then who knows you might get it. If you dont mind unloading your trailer food service companies pay just as good as otr drivers. I know for a fact my father brings home 70,000 a year i have seen it.