What should I do, stay or leave for Old Dominion?

Go to Od hands down! If I did it all over again 20 years ago I would tried to go through an LTL company to get my CDL. I didn’t know much about LTL back then. Od is one of the most respected jobs in LTL.

 

Benefits are what you need to be comparing. Any company stock deals? Really wouldn't matter, that 5 weeks off you get now is nice. OD can't whiff anywhere near what you're getting on that. Only way I'd leave the job you're currently in is with much better health insurance and retirement.

 

I wouldn't count on what you're doing now being universally considered CDL experience. You're more laborer than driver. If your goal is to stay local and drive daycabs, where you're at now should be fine, at least while your body holds up. If, on the other hand, you plan to go out on the road in a sleeper at some point, prepare yourself for the brand new driver with no experience treatment

 

Personally, I don't know that I would take that leap on LTL in this economy, especially if linehaul were the side I was interested in. I'm definitely not one of the automation doomers who think 90% of trucks will be self-driving in 10 years, but if it does come for any slice of the industry, that's the exact point I would expect. P&D will always need humans, but he's already got one of those jobs

 

If that's what you really want, I don't think waiting will help. Might as well just roll the dice now and see what happens. As long as you leave your current employer on good terms and keep your record clean, I'm sure they'll let you come back if things don't work out.

Just keep in mind what I said in my other post about AI and the linehaul portion of LTL. P&D will always be human, though your body won't cooperate forever. It'll also be a long time, if ever, before automated trucks can get anywhere near irregular routes involving multiple companies. But an operation like OD running the same route every night between two of its own terminals, both located right off the side of the same interstate, is exactly the kind of edge case where automated trucks can shine.

 

Well it sounds like LTL is what you really want to do. That being the case might as well go for it.

 

Lot lizards should really be worried