New to the Crew

Howdy...

Yep, I'm new, and glad to have found this forum. I was gonna go to the nearest truck stop and start talking to the drivers for info on the 'transportation industry', but this looks like a much better resource. I've been reading for a couple of days and already found answers to many of my questions. Of course, the more I learn, the more questions I have, so figured I'd introduce myself and get started.

At 40 years old, I've done a few things in my life already--soldier, carpenter, draftsman, architect--but the current economy and 'new world order' has forced me to take a closer look at my career choices. It's always been important to me that my job contributes to society in some way, and I love the open road, so ... I'm interested in becoming a trucker.

I'm just getting started on this quest, but hoping to get things rolling (pun intended!) by the end of the year. My grandpa always said that "the only stupid question is the one you didn't ask", so I'll probably ask a few. Many THANKS to everyone here for sharing your insight, experiences, rants, raves, and all the 'real deal' info that I'm sure will be helpful to newcomers like me.

Regards,

BAD

 

Thanks guys, (and gals?), I appreciate the warm welcome. Changing careers is not a decision that I take lightly, so I intend to make all due diligence while considering this field.

That said, I do take everything I read here with a 'grain of salt'. I may be new to trucking, but I'm not new to forums like this, and I realize that everyone has their own perspective on any given subject and human nature tends to focus more on the negative in a medium like this.

Glad to hear that some of you think it's still a good idea to get out and talk to drivers in person as well. I intend to do that. Gears, the idea of offering a meal or a cup o'joe is exactly what I had in mind. Figured I'd go hit the truckstop on a Saturday morning, look around, and talk to some people. There's a lot of great technical info here on the forum, but nothing that can replicate the real sights, sounds, and...um, smells, of the real deal. Plus, after reading here a bit, I have a little better idea of which kind of trucks and companies to focus on. Of course, something else my grandpa always said was "even bad advice can be useful if you're able to recognize it", so I'm open to a variety of input.

Thanks again.

 

UPDATE:

After spending the last couple of weeks researching sources for CDL training, I've decided to attend school at a local community college. Reasons for this are:

a) Curriculum. The 11-week program (2 weeks 'pre-class' to get all documents, permits, physicals, etc in order + 9 weeks training) includes 150 hours in the classroom, 60 hours in a driving simulator, 150 hours in-truck driving instruction.

b) Cost. $3K for tuition, fees, and licensing versus $6K at other private schools that I looked into. As a veteran I may get a break on some of the tuition, but not the fees ($1600 'lab' fee).

c) Instruction. There are 24 student slots, and 6 instructors (two classes of 12 students w/ 3 trainers, so a ratio of 4 students per trainer)

With so few slots, there is a lot of competition to get into the class. Also, this college works with the state Worker Retraining Program, so there are a lot of applicants; priority is given to those on unemployment. As a self-employed small business owner, I don't qualify for unemployment benefits, but I'm still going for it. I took the assessment test yesterday, and will know the results next Tuesday.

I do have a question for the experienced drivers and trainers out there:

Do employers consider any difference between a community college program and a private CDL school? No offense to anyone's level of training before getting a driving job, but after looking at a wide range of schools--from CDL "mills", to private driving schools, to CC's--there seems to be a lot of differences. Do hiring companies care? With no tickets, no DUI's, no felonies, no drugs, no nothing that would disqualify me, I'm hoping (like everyone I'm sure) that I can first: find a job, and second: get on with a good company. I know that this route will take a little longer to be employable, but I'm hoping it'll be worth it.

Regards and high hopes,

BAD

 

Thanks man, and right back atcha.

I'm grateful for finding this forum. It's already provided tons of useful info, more than a few laughs, and a feeling of connecting with real people that I might run into at a truck stop somewhere, someday.

Best of luck to you, and hope to see you out there...