New trucker in Minnesota

I live in St Paul. My suggestion would be to call Swift (especially if you don't have a place to park your truck when your on hometime in Mpls). Swift has a real nice terminal down in Inver Grove on US 52.

Swift has their own school (in memphis i think). I cannot comment on the school, but if its still the same terminal manager in MN he's a good guy and the important part is that the Driver Managers at the Minnesota terminal were great people...

I actually attended Schneiders school and drove for them shortly, then I went to Swift, 1st year I made about 38k, second year about 44k. I used to stay out for 4-6 weeks at a time... I believe you can get a dedicated position after 6 months exp. where you would get home more, that's if there is a dedicated position available

You might be able to get a CDL on your own and then go to JJ Taylor or Johnson Bros (liquor distribution) to work the dock and get experience driving, I'm not sure how that stuff works exactly...

Just remember when reading posts on here, alot of people rip on Swift because they're the biggest OTR company, 16,000 trucks on the road...

 

Now I know us old hands often seem negative. That's not really what this is about. Remember we were all newbies once and were clueless too.

What we see every day are new drivers who fail and come on here with their bitter posts. It is painfully obvious to us that they did not research or have realistic expectations. If you know what to expect, it won't be a constant disappointment. Despite all the bad stuff, a bad day in a truck still beats a good day in an office.

Good luck!

 

When I quit Schneider after attending their school (wich was a good school). They wouldnt let me pay my bill when i called to make a payment they said "we don't show any record of you having a tuition bill" then they sold the debt to a collections agency. When the collections agency finally contacted me they tried to get me to pay the original bill plus another couple of thousand dollars in fees. I paid the collector for the original amount in full, in exchange for them dropping their bogus fees. Remember I tried to make payments to Schneider and they wouldn't let me then sent it to a collector... Schneider never trashed my DAC... when I went to Swift they reimbursed $150 a month for tuition for my schooling...

Isn't that funny! You can go to Schneiders school (wich is more thorough and shorter than most CDL schools) then quit and get Swift to pay for it!

If you go to any school approved by Swift they'll reimburse $150 a month in the form of a negative deduction (meaning after your taxes and other deductions get subtracted, then they subtract -150 from one of your checks each month)...

Financial aid for an approved school is probably the best bet! I wouldn't recommend trying to do it the way I did...

 

From the calls I made, some will accept that and some won't. I had one company tell me no more than 8 months unemployment in the last three years. I read where someone else said their company was no more than six months. Then I called Schneider and while talking, I asked the dispatcher about this. He said, "you were a stay at home dad, right?". I said, "Yes".

So I would say it will be a problem with some and not others. I'm not into online applications. I would make phone calls and get the facts.

 

I think most companies would ask for proof of staying home or a personal reference from someone who would confirm that you were not working. (At least that is what Roehl looks like they wanted.)

I would recommend contacting your local workforce center to see if you can get them to pay for you to go to a school. I was unemployed for 10 months and recently decided to get back into driving. I am paying nothing to go to school because of workforce. Some of the requirements are a little petty, but if they pay for it then why not at least try.

 

I would seriously reconsider! Not to paint this career in a negative light but you have a young child and a wife at home. If you want to make $30,000 a year 2-3 weeks out isn't going to cut the mustard. Just going home for few days will mess up your pay for 3 weeks! Personally I wouldn't fork out the $6000 to get a license in hopes to get a $10hr local gig either. Trucking is a wonderful profession and you can make good money. To make good money you have to stay out for at least 4-6 weeks and even that is cutting it short. I know you are a newbie right now so it is hard to conceive just how long you are actually out for. So lets say you stay out for 6 weeks and now you are home for 3-4 days, provided you don't break down and freight is running strong and you are a very good driver your weeks coming home will slow due to trying to get a load aimed in the direction of your house. Now you are at home for say 3-5 days so that is pretty much a weeks pay, now that you are ready to go they must find a load in your area and getting you back out and into the good freight lanes will be slow for a week.

I really hope you do not take this as a negative post. If you were a single guy I would tell you to jump in and enjoy the ride. Seeing your newborn and handful of times a year is just going to absolutely suck. You only get to see them grow up once and making $15,000-25,000 your first year just isn't worth it. I realize you probably have been talking to recruiters and they are telling you probably something like $40,000-$80,000! Keep in mind these guys are getting paid commission per head of every person they get to sign up. They may appear as if they are there to get you in a good paying career but the truth of it is they are wanting to get the good pay themselves. They will even tell you home time is abundant, or you could get a regional or local job but this just isn't so. Kind of like the Navy recruiters that tell you that you will based out of Hawaii! Probably 98% of the drivers out there would like to have a regional or local job so the line is long, pay is low and economy isn't so hot.

Please for the benefit of you and your family reconsider. I have been doing this a very long time and am now trying to help you new guys from making the mistakes that I made out there.

 

Ok here is the dealo.

Stay away from the big carriers, Werner, CR England, Swift, Schneider, etc etc. They are your last resort.

Find a smaller carrier that will give you a shot. They will likely put you in your own truck right away and shadow a more expienced driver to show you the ropes. No goofy trainer horror stories. After a week or two they will cut you loose on your own.

This is what I did, and my first year I made $48,000. My second year, same company, I made $52,000. My third year, after moving to a another company I made slightly over $70,000. And I was home EVERY weekend. I did work through most holidays except christmas...unless they fell on a weekend.

Many of the guys I went to trucking school with and hired on to the large carrier made significantly less money, were gone much longer, and most are not in trucking any more.

 

That's nothing! I was home every other day and on the weekends and made just over $111,000 my first year with no trainer and one front tire!

 

i am gonna call ########, you can make #### good money without being gone for 3 weeks plus at a time. I work for a dedicated route to the cities every day. And i know my company is looking for drivers out of minneapolis now. i am home everynite and we make on average 52k + up to 75k a year, granted its slow freight now, but i get 2400-2800 miles a week every week. Hell 2 yrs ago as a part time driver i worked 166 days total and i grossed 35,000.00. so look for a local dedicated gig, were you are home every day and spend the time with the lil one cus you will regret it.