Salutations.

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Welcome!

 

*Welcome*



Best of luck!

 

Hello S2S

I will try to help and answer some of your questions.

1st off you will have to be 21 to be able to get your CDL. You should be able to enroll in classes just prior to your May 2010 birthday.


I would recommend that you check w/ your local Community/Technical College Truck Driver Training Program. Funding is available to pay for the training that you choose.

This will allow you the flexibility of picking a company, that will hire # 21yr.
I would avoid contracts w/ any trucking company.
Contracts do not give you the job security that one would think that they would, could or should.

Minimum age is usually 23 for most companies.

The schools will have information about who they are placing students with. This will give you an idea of the hiring potential in your area.

You can do some search and research on this site, Homework
The tool bar at the top of every logged in page, has a search option. Just search what companies that you are considering and do your homework.

The information compiled here can help you to play catch up and learn what is really going on with trucking today. The good the bad and the ugly.

Best to you

 

Hello S2S



Yes, you can obtain your CDL prior to turning 21 for intrastate only.

You had stated on your other thread that you were considering Schneider or Roehl, which would be interstate (OTR).

I was suggesting that you wait so that when you do graduate you can be placed immediately with a company.


If you would like, start a thread under schools and post your experiences with your training so that we can keep up with you and your journey.

Best to you!!!

 

Greetings and Salutations Forum Members!

Name here is Stephen, outta Missouri. This is an introduction, but also a little mini-essay on myself, and what I have learned through my experiences in the industry as a whole. First, the basics.

I hold a Class A from Missouri with the usual HazMat, Tanker, and Double/Triple endorsements. I graduated from a truck driving school in Missouri, centered around a 160-Hour, 4-week curriculum. What the school did, essentially, is help me to get my license.

Now, the more-than-basic:

I had a short stint with Werner that started out well enough, but due to family issues, was forced, by proxy , to stick around the homestead for two years. As we had only been married for about a year and a half, I can understand my new bride's reticence at having an on-the-road hubby who wasn't around to cuddle. (Truthfully, the matter was a bit more serious for her, emotionally, but is too personal to share here. Suffice to say it was in my best interest to spend time with her, get to know her better, solidify our Union, and come back now to see about getting another job in the industry.)

Well, two years have gone by, and we are more secure in our relationship. These past two years have proved to be a blessing in disguise, not only allowing me time to become closer to my wife (We're coming up on our Fourth Wedding Anniversary in December!), but also letting me look over the trucking industry as a whole, and scrutinizing the industry like never before.

Here are the conclusions that I have come to, for me, regarding trucking. I'll list them in no particular order, they're all important in my eyes.

1. Make sure your spouse can take your being gone for weeks at a time. If you're a young couple, it would pay to train together, or not at all. Spend some time to get to know each other, solidify your relationship, then, after a few years together, if you still want to 'go trucking,' do it then.

2. Research every school you are considering attending! I cannot express this enough! I went through two schools before finding one that I felt I could trust. Next time around, I'd use the Community College Programs exclusively, and forget about the rest!

3. Within yourself, demand exactly what you want, and don't do anything unless you feel good about it! This is more important than you think! Unless you feel confident about a decision regarding a company, don't even blink. There are too many fly-by-night's out there.

3a. As an example to the above: I have concluded that one-on-one driver training and experience is the only way that I will ever gain experience in the proper manner if I'm to learn anything in this industry.

4. Believe in yourself. (Perhaps this should be #1!)

5. See beyond the money, and toward the goal you wish to achieve through being in the trucking industry. Don't be short-sighted.

6. Have a sense about you that you wish to serve your fellow human beings through the trucking industry. There are many charities that deliver food to the hungry, clothes to the needy, and lumber with which to build houses. Put that flatbed experience to good use by hauling something for nothing when the opportunity arises, and drive just for the love of it! (I mean, isn't the love of the movement why we wanted to become truckers in the first place?) This will make you feel good to the core of your very being beyond words!

7. Express concern for others in need on the road. Don't let anyone go hungry if you can even feed them for a day. (Just don't let them take your wallet or purse after the meal's done...be ever watchful, as well!)

8. Don't place yourself under the authority of morons.

9. Keep yourself above water by having a Very Large Boat, with twin diesel engines, and enough cabin space to live in comfortably for extended stays from land. (This is a metaphor for planning ahead, but also for not having to depend on hand-outs from Habitat For Humanity; Make Your Own Way!)

10. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, overall; Don't Ever Let Others Tell You Your Business! I can't express this poignantly enough! You and you alone know what is best for you. Not another human being understands your own needs more than yourself. You have one life to live, so why not be the Captain of your own ship for a change, eh? (Last word - Michigan Twang, revisited ;-])

So that's it, people. Nice to meet everyone. Thanks for the opportunity to introduce myself and share my thoughts.

Warm Regards,
Stephen

[Oh, and just a note for the Moderators: A word of advice to the wise from a 43 year old who's been on the 'net since the days of Gopher, Archie, IRC, and USENET: I'm new here, but definitely not new to forums-in-general. Having all these 'number of posts before being able to post' posting requirements (50 before one can post to a Moderator?): Ditch 'em! You're not helping anybody--especially in this industry--with this kind of limitation. I had a legit need to post a link, and it wouldn't let me until I had at least two. This kind of limiting factor only makes people frustrated, especially when they're new to your forum. I attend other forums with no such limitations, and they do just fine.

Your rules clearly state that a person shouldn't post multiple posts just to be able to post, then you put up a limitation for new arrivals that leaves them no choice in the matter if they desire to post. You see where I'm going with this?

I had a few multiple paragraphs going pretty good, hit the Post button, then it tells me I need at least two to post a link. So I made a post in another forum about something or other, came back, and posted my link. To me, this type of setup serves no useful purpose. I spent about ten full minutes on that post, and then I had to spend about ten more on another just to post the one I wanted to post in the original thread.

Just a thought (or two) I'd like you to consider. Thank you for your consideration in reading this. I shall end now. Again, I thank you courteously *bow*.

Warm Regards,
Stephen