Any Advice?

Sgt, I was an electronics technician. When things got tight, I would just hook em up to Seattle and work for a few years. Now I can't do that anymore. Electronic Tech jobs are just as tight in Seattle as they are here now. All the companies in TX shipped the manufacturing part of electronics off to Mexico or Asia. Then to add insult to injury, they established foreign owned/operated job shops right here in Texas to do those manufacturing jobs such as making circuit boards, assemblies, etc. These shops are foreign owned and hire Africans, Asians, Mexicans and people from all over the globe. Occasionally they hire the token white guy. Electronics Manufacturing here in the DFW area has been almost non-existant for 10 years--except for the job shoppers. The Motorola plant right up the street shipped all it's manufacturing jobs (cell phone infrastructure) to Mexico a couple of years ago. Here's what the front part of the building looks like during the day.

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I understand her wanting to stay close to the kids.

But be advised, that as a new driver you will only make about $300 a week during mentor driving with many companies. Making 40-50K during your 1st year or so is unlikely, at least according to what some of the newer drivers that post here report.

Spend as much time here on this board as you can, this is without a doubt the best trucking board I have ever seen.

Ask a lot of questions. Most folks here will give you the straight scoop. At this stage in your decision making process the best thing you can do is gather as much information as you can thus allowing you to make an informed choice before you spend any money on a school.

I wish I had found this board sooner than I did. I'd have an extra $4K in the bank right now.

 

85% of new drivers never last a year? You've got to be kidding me. You mean they switch companies or they get out of trucking altogether?

 

Most of them get out of trucking altogether. Why do you think that most of the big carriers are always hiring? Folks get into a truck not knowing what all it entails and decide it ain't for them after a few months.

 

85% are no longer driving a truck !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

There are millions of CDL holders, that are Not driving anymore.

Stick around this board and watch.........it's true !!!!!!!!!!

 

Very true...

 

You must have close family ties there, and really that is a good thing. I've never thought of Jacksonville, FL as being one of the most desirable places in the world to live, but really it is what your lifestyle is there. I can understand your wife wanting to be close to the kids I guess. I've never been married, so it's hard for me to empathize. I just remember going there by ship once--went to sunset or sunrise mall? Then I drove there once. Hot, humid, lots of traffic, but I'm sure I only saw a small portion of Jacksonville.

I can understand why you think this is your best shot at a decent career. I have thought the same thing myself. I can't get a government contractor job as an electronic technician anymore because of my bad credit. You will find too I think that the bankruptcy will prevent you from getting good government or government contractor jobs. No, it isn't right! Heck, having bad credit is almost like having a criminal felony record now days--except the trucking industry doesn't care.

I feel for you man about the struggle you're having right now. But your track record seems to speak for itself. That is you seem to have been a very loyal and dependable employee for many years. Surely that is working in your favor. They can't take that away from you.

I went to a WIA (government thing) seminar here in Ft. Worth a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to get government funding for being a truck driver. The lady there (Mexican lady) gave her personal testimony about moving from a small Texas town to work in the DFW area. She said that about 10 or 12 years ago, the way you got a job was pretty simple. She said you visited the employer and filled out the application. Then the secretary told you to wait and she gave it to her boss. The boss would then come out and interview you, and if he liked you, he would tell you to start tomorrow or Monday. But, she said now days everything is done online. She said that when she and her husband arrived in Dallas, she submitted hundres of resumes to everyone she could think of. She sent them to different companies, WalMart, Target, and fast food places. This lady was in her 50s. She said that for 18 months she didn't even get a single phone call! She eventually got hired at a resturant called Cheddar's as a waitress. But, she said she had a hard time keeping up and learning how to do tickets on the computer screen. Then she went to work as a waitress at a small Mexican restuarant and she eventually got a job at the Texas Worforce Commision thingie there. I don't mean to be negative, but people don't understand how tough this economy is. At least I don't think they do. But I'm not saying you can't get a job if you look hard enough.