Horrible employment history and criminal record

Maybe & maybe not. You won't know until you get the CDL and start applying.

 

I am coming late to the party and am puzzled by why.

I get you want to better your life and all that, that's great but no one is telling you the what ifs of this industry.

You get a CDL, that's the easy part.

You get hired by one of the big box carriers, and you are just a number to them, which is even easier than the CDL.

But what if you get into an accident? Driving a truck isn't as easy as people think. Don't get me wrong, it is easy to "drive" the truck but knowing the limitations of the truck and YOU don't seem to get through to most drivers.

But what if you get fired and on your DAC report, they say some nasty things? DO you really have to time to spend trying to get hired into another company if you are financially insecure?

But what if you get hurt? This is one of the most dangerous jobs around. People get run over just going to the truck stop. I've seen it happen; it almost happened to me. And there are several cases where people were killed because an idiot driver did not see someone walking in front of them. Or you are at a shipper and say you fall off the dock, which happens, then what?

But what if you don't make the money you expected to make? Then what?

You don't have to answer these questions; they are rhetorical and are there to prepare you for the downside of this.

And my thoughts, which are worth a little.

I didn't read every post, but don't be desperate to find something, and don't act this way when interviewing for a job. Be professional, be honest, and if you don't know an answer, say so.

Your past isn't as bad as others. I have a few drivers who have a lot worse.

However, I am wondering about some of it (you posted an overview) and how the behavior translates into problems in a highly stressful job environment. I feel (maybe wrong) this is where if you have control issues, it will work against you enough that you will be miserable and dangerous on the road.

You seem to worry too much. Take one step at a time. Getting your CDL will take a lot of work, even though it is really easy. Then the job itself, this is where I think you really need to think about what I am going to say.

DO NOT BOUNCE FROM JOB TO JOB. STICK TO ONE JOB FOR AT LEAST ONE YEAR TO 18 MONTHS.

 

"DO NOT BOUNCE FROM JOB TO JOB. STICK TO ONE JOB FOR AT LEAST ONE YEAR TO 18 MONTHS."

My concern here is....if she applies to WE...& ignores all the other carrier suggestions -- it will be VER-RY TOUGH for her to stay there anywhere near that long.

If she thought her fast food gig was tough -- wait 'til she spends a week or two (maybe) at WE....

-- L

 

The way you deal with that fear is you find the job FIRST that will hire you BEFORE you go to CDL school. I'm going to repeat that over and over and hope one day the people worried about not getting hired will stop rushing to get a CDL instead of looking at finding the job they will work after CDL school. It is hard to save money. That's why you should be wise in how you spend it. Almost not CDL school will turn you away even if your were convicted of murder, DUI, and had all 4 of your limbs amputated yesterday. The schools till take your money if you ask them to. So you should focus on FINDING THAT FIRST JOB, and only go to CDL school if you find the company that will hire you, not just based on a rumor they MIGHT hire you. Get an answer from the company first and then see which CDL school is best for that one particular job. BTW, almost every CDL school will find someone to loan you money for CDL school. And half of the trucking companies that hire newbies also offer tuition reimbursement to pay for CDL school, if you have a school loan outstanding. Ask any company about Tuition Reimbursement. I sure didn't have $3500 when I went to CDL school, but I had a job waiting for me the Monday after it was finished, so I had no fear of taking out a $3500 loan for school.

 

Lual is referring to the dumb things all of the rest of have admitted to and written on this forum. He's generous and supportive of newbies. He's not criticizing you or anyone in particular. ALL OF US are trying to offer good advice for you, but all of us have also had discussions with certain other users so some of the replies are directed at people besides just you. It's easy to mistake what people are writing online compared to talking face to face. NOBODY here is trying to insult you or shame you. We all want you to turn your life around. MANY of us turned our life around through trucking. I sure did. I was days away from being homeless when I left my former career to start trucking. I lost my car, moved states, and was sleeping on my brother's couch just after he had gotten married. I had maybe $300 to last me 1-2 months until I could get through CDL school, start company training, and wait for my first meager training paycheck. You can do this, if you listen to how to do this. Lots of people have followed this advice from the forum users. It works. Cheer up, relax. Work on your job history a little every day, even if it seems impossible. You don't have to have all of it done today, just add one entry per day.

 

I think trucking companies look at 5 or 7 year MVR. Have you had a driver's license continuously over that time period?

 

You must stop beating yourself up about the past. I thought I felt like toe fungus on a centipede before getting into trucking. 1) Beating yourself up doesn't help once you decide to change your habits and behave differently. 2) employers cannot tell if your comments about your past are you being overly harsh or are revealing your past is much worse than you have told them. Comments like some you have been making might scare them off. EVERYONE makes mistakes or worse. The past is over if you have changed what you do now. Trucking doesn't give a lot of pats on the back, so you should stop discouraging yourself and just move forward in the way we are suggesting. You may very well qualify for company sponsored CDL school in exchange for a 12 month contract of employment. Trucking companies have lots of people with worse background that what you've described. CDL schools have trained students with much less ability that you probably have. You are not helping yourself by running yourself down. The past is over. It can't be changed. Dwelling on it doesn't help anyone. It is what it is.

 

If trucking doesn't work out, go into nursing. Or Chinatown posts alot of cruise ship job links.

 

Talk about "off subject."