Is trucking a good career to get into

Generally, a good local/regional job will want at least 1-2 yrs experience and a clean MVR/DAC.
This usually entails going OTR for a year or two.
It's just like any other trade/profession, you gotta put your time in and start from the bottom.
However, there are exceptions...people have gotten good local jobs right out of CDL school.
Depends on where you live, how many trucking companies are in your area, state of the local economy, etc.
Generally, if you live near a larger city, your odds are alot better.
Keep in mind that not all local jobs are what they're cracked up to be.
Some are lots of stops, high pressure, 14-hour days, go home stressed/dead tired every night, dealing with customers, waiting by the phone for work, etc.
But if you put your dues in and keep your nose clean, you can generally find something that fits your particular needs and lifestyle.

 

first and foremost, one had BETTER HAVE a great driving record, no arrests, no drug or alcohol convictions EVER....

trucking IS NOT what it once was. why do you think trucking is for you..??

you WILL NOT make $100,000 a year.

you will make around $40,000 per year at first. time on the road is tough, tiring, lonely. you will have many inconveniences of the things you TAKE FOR GRANTED right now. like walking to your bathroom, going to the fridge and getting a mid-night snack, having a soft bed to sleep in, being ABLE to sleep NORMAL hours, eating at truck stops WILL COST you more money than you can imagine.

trucking ain't for the faint of heart. never was, never will be.

frankly, i'd suggest some sort of "trade or technical" school, where you could be trained as a plumber, carpenter, electrician, and the YOU VERY WELL may make $100,000 per year SOONER than if you became a trucker.

 

just adding to the local job thing, you really usually dont end up driving that much the only reason you're on a big truck is to haul more bull crap for the customers. its in and out all day and not the good kind haha. you gotta be able to work hard most local jobs are hard work, food service jobs, lumber yards, that sort of thing.

you really need to have a thick skin to do local runs where you are dealing with lots of different customers, you gotta be able to adapt your personality to fit whatever stupid mood their in, or to coax them to not screw around with you when you are there IE getting your merchandise scanned or checked in. quite a few of my stops dont even check my stuff anymore but it took months to get them to stop doing it. i sweat my balls off everyday i work, i grind my teeth with a few of my customers, even the nice ones can be a pain in the ### but like i said you really need a thick skin because if you dont, you're gonna bring that poor attitude all around and people pick up on that, not to mention it can affect you ability to work good, and drive as well. and on top of that you might wind up at a place with a huge douche of a boss, supervisor, co workers, etc etc. its very stressful if you cant let things roll off your back.

i would highly suggest if you get your CDL to head to every lumber yard, every food service from milk delivery to produce, to any kind of construction company, pipe companies, cement precast, plumbing supply, electrical supply, septic companies, if you get your hamzat go to gas companies or propane companies... you get the idea. these will be your best bets to get a decent paying local job as a lot of them have high turn over rates because the work is hard, and a lot of them might be willing to hire you to do dock work/warehouse or something of that nature to prove yourself and then you'll get in the seat. hope some of this helps!