I'm being tempted again...need advice.

You'll probably have a job lined up before graduating from cdl school.
Start contacting companies as soon as you get a cdl school start date.
One Oregon driver was hired by Leavitt's Freight Service right out of cdl school. He kept us updated for a long time. He loved the job at the time he was posting.

 

I was making more than him, but decided to take a leave of absence from trucking for awhile.
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OTR is good experience that teaches you a little bit of everything. No employer is going to turn down your application because your experience is all OTR. However, OTR is much harder than many new drivers ever thought it would be because you are away from home all of the time. Most new drivers do not seriously consider how much not getting home stresses the family or just screws with your mind if you are single. In the past you had to get 1-2 years of OTR to ever get a local job. Today, if you research carefully, you can start with a local job and never experience the joys of being number 9 on the shower waiting list or being lost in a city you've never been to.

However having a local job means it's very important to find a job near your home so your very little time off work between days is not spent commuting. If you are only off of work 10 hours do you want to drive 45 minutes one-way before and after every shift? It also means the majority of your work may be in city traffic. OTR at least gives variety so every day is not always in city traffic. You can have long stretches of rural interstate or state highway driving. In trucking the equation is usually the more often you are home, the less time you spend home before you have to leave.

Ideally, you'd know the type of trucking you want (dry van, refrigerated, flatbed, or tanker) and do you want to drive local, regional, or OTR before you decide which company to work for. Then with all of that decided, you pick the how/where of getting your CDL school. Some trucking companies have their own CDL school. Many trucking companies pay Tuition Reimbursement in addition to wages that helps repay cost of CDL school. EVERY CDL school will find someone to lend you money if you need it for CDL school.

 

And nighttime usually has fewer hyperactive bosses trying to show their boss they can make 18 decisions per minute and shuffle EVERYTHING. I worked nights for almost 20 years even though I was #3 on seniority list.

 

I love night driving; that's why I pulled reefers for 18 years. Reefers is more "challenging" but was worth it to me for the long runs at night. Could have made more money working line haul for some company like Estes Express, but wouldn't have had the job satisfaction. Some drivers wouldn't even consider refrigerated coast to coast driving, but for some of us it's a good fit.

 

I am coming to your table, for dinner.

 

Anytime you come thru central Florida lemme know.

 

Your first year in trucking is the most dangerous.

OTOH you would deal with dispatchers better, especially with the careful use of the word No applied firmly.

That will ensure your ability to protect your CDL and avoid common problems applied to newbies that they don't understand until they are all used up in 90 days and leave the industry. Voluntarily or not.

The money will take care of itself when you add to savings each payroll. Its a feast and famine business.

Without saying, avoid Lease, Avoid Dollar accounts avoid anything that you do not fully understand. Avoid physical unloading of very heavy freight in many boxes asap. You only have one spine in life.

I can go on. But if you want out, then get going yer late already.=)

 

You win lol

 

My boss isn't even at work, the office is closed at my building, no dispatchers lol. Hell no maintenance guy even, I gotta call another building if I need anything.