Retiring from the military

Welcome to the forum MGunz13! You'll probably be getting some "Semper Fi's" soon enough from the other Marines here. There's a very active group of 'em. I'm a wannabe also so I won't answer your questions but I will assure you that they will be answered! There's literally 1000s of years of combined experience among the members of the forum and soon enough they'll be all over your questions. You might go to "The Welcome Wagon" sub-forum and introduce yourself to the membership. Give as many pertinent facts about yourself as you are willing to disclose (family, goals, etc). This will help the members address your questions more subjectively. But, above all, have fun with us too!

 

You'll have the advantage of not being desperate like many job seekers . Stay away from any company with over 2,000 trucks .
Just watch the posts here , especially regarding leases . There is NO advantage to them . The best way to get a job is to have somebody you know with a carrier get you in the door . There are far more applicants out there than there are jobs for .

 

do your CDL school at a local tech college.....even FT Irwin used to have one so im sure 29 stumps does do......that alone should save you a few grand compared to a company school (GI Bill and tuition assistance should pay for most of it for you) company programs run around 5k, and 1 year of service to them

theres a few compinies that have a VET program, roehl comes to mind....i think tmc does too

DO NOT DO A FLEECE.....if you want to be an O/O...get a few years in, then BUY a truck

being your so close to LA, you shouldnt have too manby problems getting a dedicated route, after some experiance

use the search feature to get more detailed result to your specific questions

 

Congrats on retirement. I am retired USAF and if you have not already figured it out, get ready for a big pay cut. My full time driving and retirement pay equal only marginally more than the Ar Force was paying me when I got out. BUT...I would not change it for the world. Best decision I ever made.

YES. GO to school as soon as you can. Getting a first driving job is already hard enough and nearly impossible without it. I was lucky and got my CDL training free where I worked when they needed someone and had already hired and let go several idiots. Where to work??? For everyone who has a positive experience with company A there are two with negative experiences. I would go with a smaller company if possible. I work for a small east coast millwork company and run OTR 2-3 days a week and run locally the rest of the time.

Good luck

 

I also retired and it's nice to have some benefits to fall back on. I wouldn't go to school until you're out. The reason is because they always want fresh drivers out of school and if you show you have a 6 month period there with no driving they may not take you.

You can go to a community college for your CDL or a school where the Gov. pays for it. I would never suggest going to a trucking company owned school. They'll take you to the cleaners for tuition and then you're forced to work for them and they know it. They are the bottom feeders and you have an advantage being retired with some income coming in.

There's lots of seasonal jobs down where you're close to with all the fruit that comes out of Indio and Coachella Valley or I should say there was a few years back. However, you're in a good location to find work within 50 miles.

What I suggest you do now on your off time is go out and find some companies that you might want to work for. Make yourself a list and goals of what you'll be expecting from a company and where you'll want to be down the road maybe 1 yr, 5 yr, and on to retirement the second time. Ask some of the drivers that are coming into the base to off load. If you work around ordnance maybe you have some Tri-State trucks coming in. I would recommend them. I've talked to them before and they are very military friendly.

I did have a jump on you because I was in the Seabees and already had my CDL. But I still had to work at the crap companies so you'll really have to hit the bricks if you want to avoid them as much as possible. Be real careful thou, some people and companies do not like the military and our old ways. You have to feel them out. But if you find a company that does show advantages for your service then you'll most likely move up because of what you're accustom to. Then you have to watch the drivers that have more time than you do and did not have any military service. There's alot of jealousy. Good luck to you and keep us posted.