Which Way Frodo? - This Hobbit's Journey

Rotfl.

I kinda wanna call their recruiting office now just to screw with them.

I gave you a pretty solid way to start running truck.

 

We both call and say we wanna team lol

 

Howdy Sam, Gandalf here.

Sometimes you need to think outside the box or take an alternate path to get where you're going.

When I was 17 yrs old I became a helper on Pepsi trucks, mostly country routes.
As a country helper, it was pretty much a requirement that we learned to drive on highways and gravel roads.

I left Pepsi after a couple years and became a milkman on a country route, but the hours kinda sucked.
My next job was working for a company that ran a large LTL operation, a moving and storage division as well as a leasing company that leased trucks and drivers.
I was hired as a driver for the leasing division and learned a lot there about driving because I could be working for any of the 3 companies on any given day and doing a different job every day.
I drove straight trucks, gas and diesel tractors, I pulled flats, vans, reefers, covered wagons, moving vans, compressed gas tankers, I pulled customers trailers, I drove customers leased trucks, I learned to drive 2 stick trannies and a bunch of other stuff.
By the time I was in the middle of my 20th year I had a great job working for a steel company doing local and long distance driving, and the rest is history.

Happy Trails.

 

Getting your cdl at a community college is a much better idea than being committed to some mega carrier.

 

True story. When I got my CDL, I just took the farm semi to the testing place, did what I was told, and passed the test. Missed the "how high was the overpass" question, because I was in a midroof with a flat bed, and "plenty high" was apparently not the right answer.

Never have taken a lesson, never have had a trainer, never have had a boo-boo worthy of an insurance claim.

You want to drive truck? Lots of farms still could use a driver for harvest. Most farm trucks don't need a CDL. Get some miles under you, get some experience, then get your CDL at your convenience.

Sometimes, the Way is made, not found.

 

Sensible though lol

 

Dogs are better at reading human body language than people and even better than primates, our closest animal relative.Dogs have evolved to read body language and interpret smells like their life depends on it, because in the wild it often did depend on learning those signals.

If you are a "people person" chances are you would not be happy in this industry. You spend 99% of your time alone and you must be comfortable and happy doing so or this job would feel like a prison sentence. There is a thousand times more personal communication on this message board than happens in day-to-day trucking because everyone driving is under tight schedules with minimum rest plus other responsibilities. Most truck stops no longer have any lunch counters and their restaurants are just fast food sections. There is not much socializing space or time. Everyone is a stranger.

I didn't read everything in the thread, but I'm not sure why you wound up mostly trying to start with only the biggest and in my opinion the worst trucking companies. I have a vague sense you are trying to do everything over the internet and focus on the companies that are throwing out the biggest net to catch the fresh fish. That approach will put you in the least desirable companies for many drivers and increase your chances of leaving before you get experience to work at better companies.

Anyway, if your choice is made, don't look back. I suggest you think about what would be your perfect job. Then see if you can understand what about that perfect job really appeals to you. Be as specific as possible and then research if there is a way to get that job, if not is there another job with almost all of the same features that make it perfect. Usually just trying for some job that you know little about and don't have a strong desire to do, produces bad results.

Good luck to you.