Another wannabe with questions....

Do you live near wilkesboro nc?

 

Well hate to break the news to you, you will be in the same situation in this industry but worse. A lot of your fellow truckers will not care and the companies - both the customer and the one you may work for will expect you to do things that will make you hate the work - like waiting for hours to get loaded or unloaded.

Making $25 an hour in an industry that you have work available to you, how can you get any retraining benefits?

Sorry but if you do, then there is something seriously wrong with the system.

 

As far as wait times go with loading/unloading; won't have much of that with tanker or flatbed. Never had a problem with tankers & the only time with flatbed was at Northeast union steel mills, where it's like being in a slow motion movie. The big wait times are with refrigerated trucking. That's why usually much more money annually with flatbed or tanker; you keep the wheels turning. The detention pay helps with refrigerated, but the delay also may make you miss a good run later.

 

I think he means your used to working with your hands. Flatbed and tanker will allow you to get out and get hands on with freight.

 

That's exactly what I meant. You would probably be good at either with your prior experience with detail. That's one reason I actually enjoyed my flatbed & tanker experience, plus the annual pay is much better.

 

Schneider and Prime hire newbies.
Some other companies do on a case by case basis, such as cement companies. Cement, you haul dry bulk cement powder or fly ash to places like ready-mix companies or construction sites. I've also done that; it's noisy & dusty, get some good hearing protection at a gun store. You can check Careerbuilder and Indeed websites for those jobs. Even if companies say they require experience, apply anyway.