My Story & pointers to prospective drivers with felonies

Hello to all the prospective drivers out there! I am writing this to all you prospective drivers who have felonies on their record and have questions and concerns about whether you will be able to enter the industry. This is long, as it highlights the last 15 years in my life. I hope it is informative, and keeps hope in you that you can get what you want if you have the right attitude.

Before I continue. Here are some pointers

-->Personal experience dictates that you will need to have at least 5 years behind your FINAL SENTENCE before most companies will even give you the time of day. Prior to that stick to carnivals, dump truck operations, waste haulers, grain and gravel trains, roll-offs and other construction-related trucking jobs. Farm drivers and similar
-->Keep a good job history. Working is stability. Doesn't matter if it's a driving job or not. Don't job hop even if you have the crappiest job in the universe. It WILL help you when you're being considered by recruiters and the managers that review your app. Trust me, that job at McDonalds you worked at while you paid to get your CDL, matters more than you can think.
-->GET YOUR TIME IN! You need at least 6 months in a combination vehicle to be an attractive option to a carrier.
-->Keep your driving record spotless.
-->Get your TWIC and Hazmat as well as all your other endorsements. This shows you have at least 5 years from your convictions, and have no pending criminal matters. It is a bargaining tool. You don't NEED these, but you SHOULD get them.
-->Be honest on your application, but stay vague and short and sweet. Don't over-explain anything. Give a short tittle to the crime you committed, and a very short explanation. Don't write a book like I did below! If the company wants you, they will discuss it with you on the phone. Trust me.
-->Just because a company will hire you, don't always assume that taking the job is the best for you. (I wish I had turned down my first ever trucking job as the owners turned out to be very nasty, shady people). Do your research. Talk to drivers of a company.

With that said, here is my story. It's long, but so was my Journey. It wasn't perfect. Thanks for reading. Any questions, please comment!

Ever since I was a young child, driving was always a dream of mine. More-so, traveling was a love of mine. My childhood dream was to drive a Greyhound Bus in and out of NYC. Instead of pursuing my dream when I turned 18, I started traveling. From 1997 to 2001 this is all I did. In 2001, my harmless exploration of the country dwindled into a life of pointless, survival-based, circumstantial crime. Crimes I didn't realize would have such a long-term effect on my life and future employ-ability.

From 2001 to 2003 I was arrested, charged and convicted in three separate criminal episodes across three states of Grand Theft Auto, Identity Theft, Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card, 4 counts of 2nd Degree Burglary, another count of Credit Card Fraud, and Forgery. I was in and out of incarceration from 2001 to 2006. Total time down added up to 3 years.

In September of 2006 I was a true free man. I was also a broke man. 27 years old, 9 felonies, and absolutely no hope for the future I did what I did best- I traveled. I was homeless. I hitch-hiked, and worked odd jobs to make it through. Due to what I've been through in the previous years I vowed to never steal again, so I just traveled, and begged, flew signs at freeway ramps, and did a lot of hitchhiking, just trying to stay alive.
In 2007 my mother gave me a car I was supposed to make payments on for her, but never did. Traveling in the car made life easier, but still was homeless, and broke. I still begged, and still had no hope or motivation. At this point in my life I was just maintaining and barely staying out of trouble.

2008-2009 I had the pleasure of traveling the world with my Father. It was his way of wanting to do something meaningful with me before he was unable to do anything. When our travels were up, I ended up in Guam (don't ask why), living there for 9 months or so before coming back to the US mainland and moving back in with my mother. For two years I lived with my mom on and off, with few odd-jobs, barely making ends meet, pissing off the family due to my depression, and lack of any motivation to get off my ### and do just any job.

I wanted to drive. Simply put. In early 2011 my mother gave me an ultimatum saying I better shape up or ship out, and t.hat put me on a search for any driving job I could find. I ended up leaving my mom's house. At that time Megabus was putting out all those free tickets, so I had bought a bunch, and pretty much lived on Megabus for a few weeks. One of those weeks I stayed at Chicago O'Hare Airport, and met up with two kids who happened to have jobs working at a carnival. I spent hours picking their brain about the experience, and eventually that meeting landed me on the website of North American Midway Entertainment, one of the largest Carnival Amusement companies in the USA, and eventually on a plane ticket out to Texas where my life started to turn for the best.

Carnival work is hard. It is long hours, and very quickly work ethic returned to me. The first few months were pure hell, as my body was getting used to actually doing something. One awesome part of this job is that I got to drive a dually pick up truck and various carnival rides. Every week or every other week I would drive 100-800 miles from one spot to the other. I couldn't be happier. I wasn't driving a truck, but it would have to do. In August of 2011 my father died, and I went home to grab his ashes, took his car (that had money owed on it), and drove to Arizona to sprinkle his ashes per his wishes.

After the drive to Arizona, I went back to my mother's with a new founded determination to get my CDL, and get my #### together. This brought me on the internet scouring for trucking schools that would help me. I started cold-calling schools, talking with the State Workforce board in Florida; I did everything. Then I lucked out. I came across a website of a School up in Michigan, who's sell was pretty convincing. I called them, and spoke to the owner, and explained my situation to him, and he agreed to help me. He'd put me up with one of his friends, and let me start school while he helped me get funding from the state of Michigan

In the second week of November of 2011 I drive in my father's soon-to-be repossessed Honda Civic, (albeit legal otherwise) to Detroit, Michigan. When I arrived, the owner was true to his word. Inside a week, I had a Michigan Driver's license (which required Michigan residency) and a Michigan CDL Learner's Permit. I was beyond excited. It was finally happening!

On January 28th 2012, I took my Michigan State Skills Test, passed it and got issued a Commercial Driver's License. The single, most happiest day in my life. I applied everywhere during school and no one would take me. I was quite frustrated by this fact. Finally I was picked up by this shady company that didn't want to pay it's drivers. I lasted 2 weeks, then went back to the Carnival I left.

Back with the Carnival, CDL in hand I was offered $500 a week to set up and tear down rides, and drive their amenities trailer (essentially an old i9400 Walmart truck and a 53' moving trailer). Halfway through the season, the repo company came and took my dad's Honda, which didn't really bother me (I knew it was going to happen) I stayed with them until Carolina Cargo hired me in October of 2012.

I stayed with that nightmare of a company through the holidays, The forced team driving, 10 cents a mile, and bad management made me disgusted. Once again I became discouraged, and started putting in applications left and right. I was relentless. Covenant bit; and I left Carolina Cargo while on the road (benefit of teams). Covenatn took me up there start of the year, I started orientation and my offer was over before I finished the road test. My criminal background was not satisfactory to them. Why they didn't check it before I came, is beyond me. Whatever.

Depressed and even more discouraged I went back to Florida. This time to my friends in Sarasota. I pretty much had given up. I went on these forums seeking for any and all information I could find. It wasn't good. Every company I talked to wouldn't hire me.

Finally I had sort of a break in the middle of January. I found a carnival that was hiring drivers at $600 a week, and all I had to do is drive. Next thing you know I was on a bus to Miami, FL where there season started. True to it, all I did was drive three days a week, busting my ### averaging about 2500 miles a week. It was a really good run. I worked almost their entire season of 2014, and applied to J&R Schugel Trucking.
who ran my full background check, fully approved me with management and gave me a start date of November 10th, 2014! Finally! I was happier than a pig in ####.

For the first time in my life things were going well. JR Schugel gave me the break I was looking for. I drove my butt off, but the pay and the miles weren't as great as I would have thought them to be, so I started looking at other companies. Marten Transport being my main interest for various reasons.

During my search for a better job, my big mouth voiced some of these opinions on their Facebook page. I was warned several times, and one comment on a sunny July day in Minnesota got me fired from JR Schugel. Ironically Marten Transport had already approved me for hire, and was just waiting on me to give them a day I wanted to start orientation.

Without missing a beat, the next week I was in Marten Transport's orientation, and in a Marten truck taking my first load to California. The rest is history. I am still here with Marten and have no desire to leave. I went from being a homeless felon, to making $64,000 in 8 years. It will take time for you to do the same. Preserver and try your hardest and do NOT give up. You will have your amazing story!

Thanks for reading my story. Any questions just ask.


Me during school in Detroit

Me at the carnival. I'm the fat american on the right!


Here is my first success!


Marten Transport assigned me the one on the left; I legitimately purchased that beautiful Ford F150 with my money! Mine!!! My current success! It only gets better!

 

She is quite proud. She's also relieved I'm not needing her help anymore to live my life!

 

That is definitely part of my longer term plan. Most passenger companies require you to have at least 15 years from your felonies. Some don't allow them at all some will make exception so I'm really trying to work hard to increase my experience so I can go work for a motorcoach carrier.