whats out there for an 18 year old?

There seems to be this impression that vocational truck jobs are open to persons under 21. They generally have insurance through the same carriers which OTR companies do, and, even if they wanted to hire 18 year-olds (none I've ever known do), they couldn't.

 

Find a job working the dock at an ltl company. Get your cdl, and make it well known that you intend to drive for that company. Wait your 3 years and find a job with a farmer or yard spotting company on the side.

 

If you go talk to a recruiter for the Army the MOS is 88M. I think that be good at your age you can get a lot of experience in four years from hauling fuel tanker trailers to hauling M1A1 Abrams. Than by the time you get out you should be able to find a decent paying driving job. If not mistaking I think they are still giving bonus for 88mikes. If not you will be stuck driving intrastate until you turn 21. Another thing most trucking companies insurance companies require a driver to be 21. Military be a good choice.

 

I worked on the dock for Roadway many many years ago. I think working on the dock for a while helped me with trucking.

 

I will always advocate educating yourself. But,. just like these kids (And many adults) getting their CDL through a school,.. just because they carry a CDL doesnt always guarantee a job. In many cases it just means they know enough to get themselves into trouble.

I have an associates in engineering and another IT/CS degree. Yet here I am driving to pay back my Sally Mae loans.
My wife of 8 years now was a Sheriffs Dept in Orlando for 8 yrs and a Detective for Pasco Sheriffs office for another 8. She has a 2 yr law degree as well as countless certificates and other degrees based on her profession. She also has a PI license. After 8 yrs Pasco decided to 'restructure' and my wife was let go and only given 6 months severance pay. Now with all of her degrees, schooling and experience, the best she was offered was retail asset protection for $25k yr. She is now back in school learning Massage therapy.

Education does not guarantee anything. I make less money today at 43 then I did when I was 25 and a HS drop out. Times are different. Money is tight.

 

it is possible to find something - best thing to do is work day-labor for awhile, seeking dock work wherever possible ~ you can work into truck-driving job from there with improved overall skills

 

Texas: -{ 18 years old if ALL of your driving is within Texas and you do not transport hazardous materials or drive double or triple trailer rigs}- aka intra-state rather than inter-state,...look it up for where you live and as well on places like FMCSA ~ continue to search deep as you will need the knowledge anyway later if you find something

 

88M in the Army is a bit iffy.... you might eventually get to run the 915s, 916s, HETS, etc... or you may never drive anything bigger than a five ton. All depends on what kind of unit you go to.
And being 88M isn't necessarily a prerequisite to get into truck driving. I was in as 91B (under the old system - it later got folded into 68W), with no intentions of ever driving a truck. When I got out in 02 and went into the Guard, there were no jobs in my part of Mississippi... I'd gone to school, become a certified EMT-P, and even worked part time in a civilian EMS while I was still on AD... still couldn't find anything. It was my Platoon Sergeant in the Guard who suggested I go get a CDL. So I did.
If anything, you may want to consider the (current) 91B MOS - wheeled vehicle mechanic (which was formerly 63B under the old system), particularly if you ever intend to become an owner/operator. Either you're capable of learning a truck or you aren't - if you are, then it really makes no difference if you start off in an M915 or a Freightliner Cascadia. But learning how to turn wrenches is something you typically don't learn as a company driver, and will prove invaluable for an O/O.
The military, like any other occupation, will have its ups and downs. Two tours as a Combat Medic assigned to infantry units took a toll on me. But I think I came out of it a better person, as well. I'm currently using the GI Bill to go to school. You have to take the good with the bad, you know?
I will also always advocate educating yourself, so long as it's done with a plan. If you want an anthropology degree and want to make something of it, you'll probably have to get a masters for it to be worthwhile. So, if you don't have that sort of a plan, a two year vocational degree which directly provides job skills would probably be a better choice.

 

They might hire you to work the dock. The drivers, I think must be 23 or older. This is very common with trucking companies. Unfortunately, this industry is rules by the iron fist of the insurance companies.