Local Driving Opportunity?

I'm too old for Sysco and Upper Lake Foods probably. My 32 year old nephew warned me it's a young guys game. Much like beer distribution you're hustling unloading/delivering everything yourself off hours. I'm certainly not against hardwork but managing mine and my prospective employers expectations can be challenging even though i'm always upfront in the interview of there is one.

I simply want local then regional and someday otr driving experience in that order for not only easing into driving/familiar roads/rules but pay. I learned that there isn't much guaranteed otr UNTIL you have experience.

Adding linehaul, thanks North Pole Nightmare

Adding ABF, R&L & FedEx, thanks Hawkeye72! KwikTrip/Star is certainly on my radar once experienced. Good local company that we are very proud of in Sconnie! CDL/Truck/Driver was a little vague and I was constantly organizing by date posted to weed out all of the bait & switch companies like TA constantly posting spotter jobs @ $32 an hour. Every time you contact them that position was just filled and would you be interested in driving otr?

As always thanks ChinaTown, nice to know companies will consider lighter loads as experience. Do you, Martin or any of the other members here with back office exp. know if this will satiate driving experience in regards to driver insurance rates?

Also should have added that by no means are there not opportunities for new drivers and i certainly don't mean to come across as picky but i've poured considerable time and money into this new occupation and it's time to work! I'm fortunate to live in a good freight market, an hour south of Milwaukee and an hour and a half north of Chicago but don't really want to begin driving down there for lack of experience reasons. With that said at least i somewhat know the roads and it was much easier than Atlanta!

 

Appreciate the good info on terminology, Thanks!

Regarding my experience. Didn't want to do community college training time&money.

Knew that this "starter" company wasn't being forthcoming during training but knew i could get my CDL-A with them and didn't really care after that. If they would have been forthcoming with me I would still be driving there. No detention pay was the biggest deal killer even though detention pay was clearly stated in contract/employee handbook. Spoke with corporate HR, blah blah. Not my 1st rodeo. It's simply business= I lost $320 that week for 12 hour i could have been driving. Detention pay would have only been $230 but it's still something considering the low per mile pay.

Trainer was pretending he was in the Army still, trying to prove something while towing the companies hardest core rhetoric such as no idling and no personal conveyance. After an hour of sleep the first night on the bunk camper mattress pad in Indiana (low of 17 that night) i froze my ### of in the exact bag he told me to bring. Had the pleasure of him slamming the truck door twice when he had to pee. Zero consideration for others i guess, his truck. Following day drove my clock out through those Appalachians. The company has a clearly articulated policy on trainees and jakes. It was snow/rain mix and i violated said policy using jakes at his instruction. Technically i know what happened, he ran his clock out 1st and you can't predict weather. Pulled into Albany, GA day 3 and was so dehydrated that i was light headed and internalizing how pissed i was at this inconsiderate person. Never met a man so focused on themselves that's all they talked about. Day3 we went to WalMart and i stocked up on what provisions i could and the rest of the week was pretty smooth sailing all things considered. The most comical thing about this trainer was he had no clue i was former Army until he started along some tirade about his time in the suck, started getting specific with operations around/supporting The Battle of 73 Easting. I said to him oh yeah? I was doing EPW Ops between Hafir el Batin and Basra, where were you? His answer? The most used "stolen valor" response ever, "It's classified."

So yeah, acquaintance of mine through said same company sponsored training has a polar opposite trainer, good guy. Getting miles and taking good care of him team driving. I didn't have the experience this guy did and wasn't interested in learning how to drive while my trainer is in the bunk. That was coming the following week even though they have a policy against that.

I could ask for a new trainer sure.... but no detention pay? Moving along and will happily send them the full remittance for my CDL-A when they send it. So far all they sent was an exit survey but they neglected payment to fill that out. It's just business.

 

Also, i have no ILLUSIONS about making 100k. If i had ten years of experience and i needed that much... sure.
I'm old & wise enough to play that balance game.

Money isn't everything. Time, the most valuable of all resources you can't get back.

 

Therein lies the problem tscottme. Once i was "with" the company i had all sorts of access to other company driver opinions at terminals and docks. It was quite humorous listening to my trainer ask other entity drivers what they felt about equipment, pay etc. He did enough about facing, i could see the writing on the wall as far as what i expected, honor the contract/detention pay and TRAIN.

I know i have aired a lot of complaints now regarding the trainer and company. I would rather focus on the positive, i got a shiny new cdl-a license for 5 weeks of my time, a lot of research and about $3500, school+hotel & incidentals. A bargain compared to the $7500 my community college wanted this spring for their 1st openings. I see those guys out there on the range, milling about kicking the tires and putting out fires. I also have more jobs to apply to and call backs even if i do end up rejected based upon the same experience i list in my Resume. Apparently some recruiters don't read those.

I will be employed Monday statistically speaking. 3 interviews but only one of the jobs would give me CDL-A experience and let me play on their manuals and possibly test and lose that restriction down the road. We'll see.

GoldenFan, i've read a few of your posts and see where you are, i think. You really can't go wrong with Halvor, Roehl or Millis here in Sconnie. Out of all of the college credits i have earned only those in "Professional Communication" also known as Interviewing & Interrogation as taught by an ex-secret service/state dept. employee have i found EXTREMELY helpful throughout my working life. I'm sure any of those three lie to their employees and their employees lie to them one way or another. The beauty is in seeing through BS quickly and moving on if need be. Life can be one big dung heap we are all trying to climb.