Best way to start in my situation?

Schneider would be a great place to start. Your first year is going to be TOUGH! No way around it. Schneider has many different options as far as OTR, Regional, Home weekly, etc. Speak to a recruiter and get the ball rolling. Just a word of caution. They have one of the quickest training programs in the industry. A couple of weeks with a "Training Engineer", sounds pretty fancy, then the give you the keys to the truck and basically throw you to the wolves. It is sink or swim over there. Be on your " A Game" at all times. Good luck

 

If you want to be a fuel hauler, call around. You might luck out and find an outfit that will hire you right out of school. Depends on the reputation of your school, and the desperation of the fuel transport company. Home every morning, just not for very long, and your days off will probably be Tuesday/Wednesday.

Food grade tanker companies might take you right out of school. Just need a tanker endorsement, they'll teach you how to load/unload.

If you let us know where you live, as in distance to nearest major metro area, other posters can be more specific.

I hope you're ready for a bunch more suggestions, you're about to get them!

@Chinatown


Try to find a company you can stay at for a whole year. It will make things easier for you if you keep trucking. Good luck!

 

Schneider would be a good place to get tanker experience as well. I have heard good things about their tanker training. Nobody will hire a 22 year old rookie to haul fuel. But they will hire a 24 year old with 2 years experience and a CLEAN driving record.

 

You're right. That came to me as soon as I posted it. My bad. Carry on!

 

You can try the Less-Than_truckLoad, (LTL) companies. As a city driver you would be home every day. Companies like Old Dominion, SAIA, FedEx Freight, UPS, ABF. You can also try Food Service such as Sysco, Reinhart, or US Foods. They would be regional.

 

I always tell newbies to try to find a mentor. Don't lock yourself into anything without taking the temperature of your situation. 22 and green is tough, but not impossible. Don't get disappointed if the first job doesn't quite work out as you would like. Some green drivers go through 3 or 4 carriers in those first 2 years. Welcome to the world of trucking!

 

You need to remember......these recruiters talk to/ correspond with 100's of potential new drivers per week. They have recruits that have finished school and are ready to go. They can not, nor should they waste their time with people that have not been to school yet. I'll bet 99% of the potential drivers that they talk or correspond with NEVER come through. I have only dealt with 2 recruiters in my 5 years in the business. 95% of the correspondence was through email. I would suggest that you do the same. Also with email, everything is in black and white, AND IN WRITING. You have time to reach out to a number of recruiters at various companies. The vast majority will need you to fill out an online application before they even take you seriously. Many of the larger companies use Tenstreet. Fill that application out once and send it to as many companies as you want. I would recommend that strategy. Good Luck

 

5 days with a TE. Not "a few weeks". Also...you don't take the truck home.