I passed my CDL exam and got my license

Congrats, but honestly I wouldn't bother with hazmat unless for sure you will need it. You can always get it later if a company wants it.

 

Congrats Anarcrothe!

 

Congrats and wish you lots of safe miles. Stay safe

 

Congrats!

The bad news is that you should already have chosen a company. Many will only take newly licensed drivers within a certain time period. Maybe 60 or 90 days.

The good news: you should be able to make a decision within about two weeks. Look for companies that pay tuition reimbursement. I found that KLLM had the quickest payback. A certain amount weekly and a final payout at the end of one year, up to something like $4000.

Mikeeee

 

Get the Hazmat; it gives you more opportunities. Even some reefer companies have Hazmat as a requirement. For example, you unload a load of produce, and the only load available after that is hazmat. You sit & another driver gets the load, if you don't have hazmat. It will happen.

 

Is it true that having a hazmat now, or soon, requires you to have a tanker endorsement as well?

Mikeeee

 

Not that I'm aware of, unless it's changed. Tanker itself is a whole 'nother world & some tanker companies don't haul hazmat. For example when I was reefer pulling, I might haul a load of produce out of South Florida, unload in Iowa, and reload car batteries-which requires hazmat if they have acid in the cells. So having the hazmat, kept me rolling.

 

Yep its true. Because of those #### regs you too have to have tank if you haul a container that can hold 119 gallons of liquid wheather its got liquid or not.

 

Congrats! and I completely agree with Bayle don't worry about hazmat unless you will need it. If you're with a good company most of the time they will reimburse you for getting your hazmat. Be safe out there everyone!