New to here

You would do better to look outside the field of trucking. The amercian trucker is the slave of today.
If you don't mind being held hostage in somebody elses truck while you wait uncompensated for 30- 40 hours per week.
If you don't mind being not compensated to fuel or inspecting someone elses property for a minimum of 1/2 hour per day.
If you don't mind risking your license by either driving or logging illegally.
If you don't mind not being able to take a daily shower.
If you don't mind urinating in a bottle or deficating in a bag.
If you don't mind being too hot in the summer months or too cold in the winter months because it is illeagal to run the hvac system in your truck or your company doesn't allow you to idle so you may rest in comfort.
There are even some companies that will let you lease a truck from them. ( rest assured you will get the miles to pay for their truck but most likely won't be able to eat or pay any of your bills often)
In these tough times a driver is lucky to clear $400- $500 a week.
You'll have to play games with approved fuel locations. This means it will be unlikely that you will be able to shower with the showers you get on your fuel cards because you won't have time to do it when you are fueling. That'll be $10 / day if you want to feel like a human being.
You'll most likely be away from those you love and the place you'd like to call home for several weeks at a time. You can't really get to most places for a healthy meal daily so you'll be eating at the truck stop or a fast food joint that is in or close to one. You should get to a truck stop and watch what crawls out of some of these trucks.
And you'll be treated like a criminal by DOT inspectors and Police.
The truck you will be driving won't be perfect and probably not well maintained (These carriers are cutting back on necessary repairs to save money).
Never-the-less it is you that will be held accountable for its disrepair.
You are expected to crawl underneath it on a daily basis to ensure you can safely operate it. (on the same surface as someone has emptied their pee bottle or tossed a crap bag or garbage out of their truck.
Your license is at risk if you don't do it.
I am sure I am leaving out a ton of reasons not to get into trucking

If you are really interested in getting a CDL in our area look at Northeast Technical Institute. They have a training facility in Scarborough Me and another over the border in Ma. If eligeable for unemployment you may be able to get a WIA grant for most of the cost. This way you won't owe a carrier for their training program. The school will help you get a job training after you are licensed. (you'll have offers while in training most likely)
after getting a license you will be at the bottom of the pile and for your first 2-4 months you'll be making next to nothing.
Hope this response was helpful! Nobody ever accuses me of sugar coating.

 

Hello EdgeCrusher and Welcome

Check this link to our subforum, "Trucking Schools", to find the answers that you seek and to get more exposure for your questions as well:

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/trucking-schools/

Also check this link for your other questions

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/questions-from-new-drivers/

You will find many bitter truckers out there but, you will also find many that wouldn't give it up for anything.

Search and research (homework) and set yourself up for success!!!

My suggestion to you would be to check with your local Community/Technical Colleges' Truck Driver Training programs. They utilize the WIA funding, so you could attend for free, if you qualify.

Feel free to ask questions and we will do our best to help you

Best to You and to Your Success!!!!!

 

Good afternoon Edgecrusher! Welcome to the Forum. I'm one of your fellow wannabes, except I'm twice your age! I've found the drivers who participate regularly in the forum to be extremely helpful. There are many who make it their business to share their experience and are genuinely concerned about those of us who are earnestly trying to make good decisions. Some are pretty "matter of fact" in their approach but, all in all, they do make sense.

Your clean record will be huge plus once you've finished school and begin to contact carriers in search of the right fit for you and for those who might depend on your income and support. You might google "CSA 2010" just to get a glimpse of what drivers and carriers will be adjusting to over the next several years and beyond. You'll see what I'm talking about if you read a little about it.

Selecting a school is a BIGGEE! There are carrier sponsored schools, schools offered by community colleges, and private schools. Research, research, research this topic before making a decision which way is best for you. You will find volumes written about this topic within the threads and posts here in the forum.

Ya know, Edgecrusher, I don't think I've written this much to a fellow wannabe in the 3 months I've been a member. But, the trucking industry is undergoing some major changes and I've benefited from the experiences and words of caution offered by these drivers who have "been there, done that". My motivation for making a career move into the trucking industry has changed since I first began looking into it.....I'm still very motivated, but my motivation has been molded into something more realistic and less fanciful.

Good luck to you, young man! I apologize for the long winded sermon. I have a son who is a few years older than you. I would have told him the same things!

 

Aw , don't be so negative . . I don't experience 90% of what you said above .
Is it really that hard to fuel at fuel stop during the day and find a fuel stop from that same chain to stop at for the night and shower ?
Are you an OOIDA member ? They are the ones crying about working all those uncompensated hours . Many of us have contracted times for loading and unloading and get detention time beyond that . Have a dedicated run and when you're empty you go home .
No driving or logging illegally . Safety audits every drivers log and sends out monthly reports to be signed .
That's the way it is for a lot of drivers and should be for everybody .
It's also why there is little support for strikes . Too many drivers have no complaints .