another newbie

Surfer I agree with you to an extent and your accomplishments are also due to your professionalism and perserverance, and a dash of luck. It is not an easy feat getting on with UPS or FedEx and you have to have a fairly good background for them to accept you. You can get on with them though with no license at all. Surfer the other thing on your side is location. Local positions are much more prevalent where you reside then say someone from Florida. Also your pay rate in Cali is almost twice what it is on the east coast and especially in the southeast. Yes Fedex and companies like Sysco, Foodgroup, NFI etc... pay high however most jobs around where I am pay $8-$11. It is not easy obtaining a "good" local driving job.

With that being said, I don't want it to come off negative or discourage anyone from pursuing their career goals. My main reason in always stating this is so that newbies know what they are getting into and also aren't signing up and spending $6000 on school with the expectations of instantly becoming a well payed local driver. It usually does not happen. If you have a spouse or family it is going to be a big sacrifice to spend this amount of money and also put forth the amount of training time before you make any amount of money and also before you are able to obtain your ideal driving job. MOST new drivers will have to go through school, sign on with an over the road carrier, ride with a trainer for two months and then put in a good year over the road to gain experience.

Let's look at it from the employer's point of view....

You own a fairly up and coming, successful company, money is tight, your product is very valuable and time sensitive and your customers are at the utmost extreme importance. You have shelled out a very large amount of money to have decent operating equipment in which to carry your out your companies operations. This equipment is essentially your business's lifeline. Without this equipment and it's drivers you have no business. Ok so one unit itself cost you upwards of $150,000 - $200,000. The freight, though most likely insured (also at a high cost) is extremely valuable. Even if its toilet paper! So now business is booming and you need another driver/operator to keep up with the demand of your customers. Here are your choices, and keep in mind due to this economy there is a wide selection of individuals looking for work and some are qualified, some are highly qualified, some over qualified and others not qualified at all! You basically have a couple choices. Applicant one has been driving over the road for 5 years and has a good mvr, clean DAC, and proven track record. He is very efficient in reading maps, directions and GPS. He has experience in extreme weather such as rain, ice, snow, mountains etc... He is capable of driving all hours of the day with little notice, within seconds of asking him he can tell you exactly how long it will take to get somewhere and how to do it in the shortest amount of time. He can also do it very proficiently due to his refined driving skills. He knows how to drive so that he isn't burning unnecessary fuel, using up brakes, tearing up transmissions, tires etc... He knows the truck inside and out and what it takes to keep it in excellent running condition. If a problem arises he knows how to figure out what is wrong and what it will take to fix it. In most cases if it is minor this driver will be able to fix it himself. This driver also has driven millions of safe miles and has had backed his tractor trailer thousands of times in and out of some very tight places. Whether there is a dock, a big space, little space, blind side, parallel etc... whatever the situation this driver can put it in the hole without tearing up your expensive equipment! Now also keep in mind your business is local and a lot of places you deliver aren't mean't for a tractor trailer and it can sometimes really take some out of the box thinking to get the product off that truck. There are cars and people scattered about your delivery point and there are also rocks, curbs, low trees, heavy traffic and kids running around. Besides all of this the driver also knows the rules and regulations of the road and how to fill out a log book.

Ok so driver number two, is a recent grad of 3 weeks of truck driving school. Has driven a total of 70 hours and has backed up a total of about 75-100 times. He can vaguely point out to you where the oil dipstick is on the truck and it took him 10 minutes to figure out how to pop the hood! He has does have a clean MVR but no DAC and absolutely no driving record. He is somewhat familiar with the gear pattern of the particular truck he trained on but that's about it. He is also somewhat familiar with the fine art of "double clutching". You gave him a driving test and it took him 6 pull ups to hit the dock. Not too bad but also wasn't necessarily real world conditions. You don't really have a driver available to able to sit and train him for a couple months only time enough for a day or two of riding along with him to show him the ropes. He is still unfamiliar with the rules and regs and has many questions about how you want him to fill out his log.

So as an employer of a successful local company who is going to be your choice of who you will hire?

 

Chompi - Thank you very much. I only wish I had a third of your experience and knowledge right now. I have read a small fraction of your 4700+ posts and I have learned a lot from you and several others on TTR. The wealth of information is truly amazing and overwhelming at times.

Starting new from scratch is tough, but also exciting. In viewing all my options, I have discussed this at great length with family and we all seem to agree that this is in the best interest of our overall financial health.

In addition, we are also discussing moving out of state to Texas (I lived there once before), because jobs are more plentiful, housing is MUCH less expensive, the economy and business climate (not to mention LESS REGULATIONS) make Texas much more appealing to these Cali folks. And the gas prices don't hurt either: http://www.austingasprices.com/Austin/index.aspx But we probably won't be moving down there for at least two years, maybe sooner, depends on what kind of driving job I can land after a 1 yr to 1 1/2yr under my belt I figure. But we are moving and at least still do this: http://surfingintexas.com/

I do agree with you about Florida. I lived there myself years ago (moved to south Florida 5 days before hurricane Andrew, that was fun). Although much of the cost of living (besides homeowners insurance) is less expensive than Cali, the driving wages I am seeing are very low. It is surprising considering when you read statistics for imports into Florida: http://www.flaports.org/Sub_Content2.aspx?id=33&pid=5 My sister just moved to Florida a couple of weeks back and from what she tells me, she has noticed that wages are much more depressed in the panhandle. Why is this? Probably due to the lack of manufacturing and exports such as citrus crops: http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Florida/Publications/Citrus/cit/2012-13/mat0912.pdf I really can't tell you, you probably know way better.

As far as your 'two' drivers scenario for hire, I too would choose the one with more experience - all the way. Not only is the insurance less expensive on the experienced driver, but the 'experience' itself is insurance that the job will be done correctly and safely.

I am lucky to get picked up by FedEx. Once I complete my CDL, I will use that to parlay it into a CDL job through friends I know in the industry to find a local gig. For other new drivers they may not have that option and will need to do OTR or regional runs to get experience under their belts.

Speaking with a friend of mine last night and he told me after 5 years with Coors, he just picked up his dream local run (someone quit - he was next in line experience wise). He was running local before, but in the Sierra Foothills and had to deal with lots of small roads and snow. Now he gets big box stores and a pallet jack delivery, no snow at all and he is grateful to have this new gig.

I still think that if the opportunity affords itself, a new student going to a school on their own will guarantee them a higher rate of pay (in most cases, depending on where they live of course), rather than going through a carrier sponsored school. There are alternatives to be able to pay for school through local government programs if people are out of work or retraining into another career path. Or the student can choose a school that does financing, which is still typically cheaper than what you would owe a company sponsored school by a couple of grand.

Either way, individuals should investigate all alternatives before making a quick decision. Otherwise they may become dissatisfied with their chosen career path in the trucking industry.

 

Ill tell ya what Surfing Trucker its refreshing to read about someone who honestly did their home work on this field. If it wasnt good for me i would never have spent 41 yrs in it and even though i retired off the road im pulling double side dumps on the side just cause i was bored watching direct tv and going hmmmmm what can i do next...

 

Thanks TheRoadWarrior. The several truckers I have spoken to have said the same thing: trucking has been good to them. I figure my first year is about getting experience and setting $ aside. Getting ready to cut out Dish and pretty much stream my TV from this point forward. Cutting all expenses to a bare minimum and saving the rest for to move after year one. I'm headed tomorrow to check out the WIA program and see how that works to pay for the CDL. I will probably write up a "how-to" post on her for newbies.