320 Hours CDL Class Now. South Florida. Hello All !

Greetings to you all,
I always wanted to see what it would like to drive around all over the place and get paid to do it. Currently, I work in Real Estate, have done Mortgage Lending, Sales, Security work, etc. I found I prefer to work more outside and be on the move though. I am thoroughly enjoying my course too. I know all too well it will be different when I go to acquire employment however especially as a new driver. This is where I would welcome any helpful ideas, suggestions, etc. as to where would be a good place to start. I realize it may not matter that much so long as I get a good year or so of quality time to learn all I need to know to be successful, safe, and proficient. We had a recruiter come by yesterday and they were nice enough offering weekly home time, good training, not too big of a company (more family oriented not just a number which appeals to me), mostly teams driving, mostly dedicated driving, etc. So it has some attractive characteristics as a company especially since South Florida is not the best place to be located for Trucking so far as I understand. So enough about me. Again, I welcome any and all ideas and suggestions of how I may get off to a good start. I know my initial training is a bit long but I don't mind because generally I strive to be good at my endeavors and I do enjoy a challenge. Trucking seems to be able to give me just that and the employment outlook also appears to be quite promising for some time to come all around the country should I elect to re-locate from South Florida in the not too distant future. JoeTruckerMia

 

Thanks Chinatown for the inquiry. The company is Armellini. No company is perfect I'm sure but they do quite a few drivers there for many Years suggesting they can't be all bad. I have to start somewhere and they seem like a viable option at the moment for me to get some quality experience with decent home time to more easily adjust as well as not having to relocate from S. Florida.

 

Thanks 123456, I've heard mostly good things about them. A couple guys in my class have reservations however as they recently implemented a 12 week training program that covers pretty much their whole operation so far as I can tell. You work on the dock a bit, learn all their systems, drive some locally, etc. The part they don't like is that it's a bit long and the pay during that time is less too. Well two ways to look at it as far as I can tell. First, you will be well trained for when you go on the road Team Driving and the whole thing is good experience for a new driver. The other side is that one may feel that they could learn this quicker and be earning more sooner. I lean more to the former position myself, and I like that they come back and forth to S. Florida a lot since that is where I currently reside making home time much easier and convenient to realize.

 

Hello All,
Just an update our class is progressing and on Friday all but one of the eight students passed our Skills Test. I'm pleased with this school (Miami Lakes Educational Center) since most of us were quite proficient in all backing types by Friday. It's fun, good preparation, as well as, a confidence boost to know the training and skills being acquired will serve well into the near future.

 

OK it's finally arrived... we are to graduate this super long training course tomorrow it appears. Certificate in hand we may go out into the real world of trucking. I will post a new thread as well since I'm really looking for solid feedback on decent companies here in South Florida. We have several companies hauling flowers out of here such as Armellini, Florida Beauty Flora, Windy Hill, etc. Some of these are teams and most are forced dispatch which does not really appeal to me. Then we have Knight, Prime, Schneider Van, and Roehl Van that would hire out of here as well. Of course there's always Werner too. A couple would fly the driver out to a terminal, put them into a truck, and have them be OTR for like 3 weeks then send them home for a week. Since I don't have experience either as solo or team I'm open to trying out either. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.