Wrong time to start trucking?

Look at the bright side. Your schooling is paid, so you are not out money. Do your side gig get your CDL and go from there.

 

Just for the heck of it try Eastern Seaboard Packaging right there in Charlotte . I worked for them several years ago at their branches in MA , then FL , and GA . I know they hire drivers right out of school and they are local . They sell boxes and moving supplies to U-Haul and moving companies . They are good people to work for .
My son lives in Waxhaw and works at a large scrap metal company in S.C. . When you're ready I'll have him watch for openings for truck drivers or crane operators .

 

Check out some of the local Mills or factories around there, See what Local Companies if any are hauling their freight, then see that company, most likey they would hire you after you have drove a year for the one that sent you to school.

 

I am hoping its not the wrong time. Leaving for traing on the 19th. Hope its not a mistake?

 

I guess you haven't read much here , have you ? 70,000 experienced drivers lost jobs in the last year . Carriers send people home from orientation or training to wait weeks without pay for a truck or trainer . Then they get a truck and don't get enough miles to make a decent pay . Plenty of posts about that stuff .

 

He already quit his job. His school is paid free. He has a part time job. What does he have to lose? Go for it get the CDL.

 

My response wasn't to trucking ? It was to the one I quoted . But what do they have to lose ? The time it takes to get a CDL and then find you can't get a decent job . I'm sure training in other careers besides trucking is offered .
But to get back to the original post . Choosing trucking because you don't want to be micromanaged ? Every move you make in trucking is managed for you .

 

Local stuff here doesn't pay that great. I know that doesn't help much because we are in different parts of the continent, but from what I've observed the good pay with plenty of miles comes from cross border driving.

Now that I've gotten into the groove with my company I'm getting 2500 to 4500 miles/week, and with pretty good input on what days I want off. We've rolled into January on fire. Doing Canada to Texas and back runs.

If I wanted a local job I'd be getting 15/hr, which is the same wage a person gets making sandwiches at Tim Horton's coffee shops here.

 

Pretty dismal right now.

Your odds of a local, isn't looking so good at the moment. And yes, you see a lot of threads on here saying guys went local straight out of school, and are making a killing. This is the exception, not the rule.

It's also a way to go broke in a down economy. Several reasons.

IF that local job goes south. Where will these guys get the next job? If they had it for 3 years, they have ZERO experience, should they apply for a OTR job.

Hang onto that pizza job. You may need it in 3 months if you can't find an OTR job. After 3 months with no driving job. Most companies will require you to take a refresher. Your state training agency, will require you pay for it yourself.

MANY companies use senoirity when it comes to trimming drivers.

So what if you've been doing local shag 6 months, for a good company. They need to downsize, a 20 year vet will be offered your job. And you will be offered OTR. Or you can go home.

It's not all doom and gloom. But it #### sure looks like it.