Attention all rookies and wannabes: Local Jobs for New Drivers

PLEASE stop giving newbies the wrong idea and having them screw up their lives. I've dealt with these guys.. had a trainee say "im only here for the training then im quitting and finding a local job". I told him "you've been driving a week .. and youre going to compete with guys like me for that local job?"
First you do not have to go OTR EVER. Ever. Companies like schneider etc take advantage of newbies and keep them out 3 or 4 weeks. In todays market there is NO reason you have to keep anyone out that long to make a profit. Sure if they run coast to coast but those guys make $$$$ and when youve been out 2 weeks theres no #### reason you cant take 4 days off. If a company cant manage that theyre incompetant and ####### their drivers. ANYBODY can drive regional and be home every weekend. Period.

As for most of the above posters you'll note them saying "been doing it 30 years never otr!". Things were WAY different back in the day. Back then the CDL didnt even exist. Basically dad taught his son to drive and he jumped in a truck. Things are way different now.

Driving local: you CAN do it from the start in certain circumstances. If you live in a hub like indy, youngstown, chicago (MAYBE), atlanta, charlotte whatever (it's suprising where some of the trucking hubs are ) you probably can very quickly or straight off. You can also do it by working for different companies. Bedbugging and foodservice companies are really separate from commercial trucking. I'd say a majority of bedbuggers start as movers (guys who lift heavy ####) then get their b and a and learn to drive working for a bedbugger/moving company. Foodservice companies always seem to be desperate for drivers. Both of them are heavy lifting!! You can also work for a farm. You'd be shocked at the laws regarding farms and commercial trucks.. a kid can legally drive one.

If you live in goobersmith, missouri and dont already have a contact who can get you on somewhere.. youre probably out of luck til you get some experience. And just a note: I'm an extraordinarily careful driver and have been a bedbugger (we drive SCARY places) and i would not have wanted to start off city driving. You'll find a lot of Very experienced very very skilled drivers on these boards who wont do it because it's a big stressful, run around with your head cut off pain in the ###.

Guys if youre new suck it up and plan on driving for some #### newbie company for at least 6 months to a year. Get used to the life and figure out what you hate and love about it. SAVE YOUR MONEY and when you get out take a month off and read the papers/classadrivers/truckersreport/talk to drivers and find the job that is right for you. Dont worry about the loan.. just pay it off. Once youre a trucker if you cant afford to pay off 5k youre a f*ckup anyway. Find what you love. And something else.. when i started i hated it. HATED it. It's in my blood now. That may happen to you.. it's hard to fit in at "real jobs" once youve been a trucker. You might just love it. Or you might decide theres somethign about it you dont love and find a job without that.

Dont f*** up your lives though over crap truckstop cowboys on internet boards post though. Accept that 99.9% of you will have to pay your dues. Once you pay your dues though (especially after 2 years) you're golden for life. You will never be terrified you cant find a job again. Youre stress will be over finding the RIGHT job and letting the right people recruit you.

 

Well said cdreid

 

Statistically speaking, this post will not be true for most CDL graduates. Just saying...

 

Hello,
I live in southern California (Lancaster). I've been looking online for a place to train to get my CDL and go right into driving ASAP. As it regards to OTR or Local, I prefer local however Im open minded to either. I've found a bunch of different place that offer alot of different programs. With that said there are alot of bad reviews for companys like CR England, Swift etc. Just wanted to get some insight straight from the horses mouth, If you were just starting out and in my spot who would be the best companies to look at. TY

 

[HR][/HR]NOT : covenant, swift, cr england, schneider, werner or pam. make sure the company uses Manual transmissions. Try to stay away from elogs .. you may not be able to. Make sure they "guarantee 3 oout of 4 weekends home".. which really means 34 hours a week home. Dont go with a company that teams . Make sure they have freight lanes where you are.. the closer the company to you the better. ask around about the company and only listen to people who worked there a year or more.. the rest likely couldnt hang with trucking or got ran out

 

Newbies....Don't go to a mega carrier driving school to sign your life away and get charged $5,000+ for your CDL

Go to Craiglist do a search on CDL Driver license...You will find one or two guys offering to rent you their truck & Trailer (usually an easy automatic truck with a 26' trailer) to take the road test and will take you thru the steps on how to pass (usually $200-$300). If you are fresh and dumb, they can also teach you how to drive Truck & trailer for a bit more $ too.... Get a CDL manual at the DMV/DPS office and read it, study it & learn it....Everything in their tests is in there, their is no reason you can not pass their tests if you read their CDL handbook. (BTW handbook is free)

Find a local LTL or Intermodal company and offer to work for less than the experience drivers for a trial period, then if they like you (and you do well) you can get hired for the regular pay......Another option is looking for Owner Operators and work/train with them the same way.....

Just don't waste a year of your life getting ripped off by the Mega Carriers (especially Stevens Transport which is the worst).

 

Yeyo what company is going to hrie without school?? What insurance company is going to allow it? I guess if they work for 10 cents a mile some guy might run them illegal..

 

I never went to a trucking driving school and I got my CDL A in 1998. Made 13/hr as a driver back then.

 

i never went to a school either, had my permit for a whole 5 days i think before i took my test lol

 

Ya cause .. things are exactly the same in 2013 as they were 15 years ago. Try that now..
You can go to work for a moving company and go from b to a to trainers ##### to hauling furniture for pocketchange for a couple years.. then a company will consider you.
Or you can run for some local fly by night business who's owner's plan is to disappear when you run over someone and they dont have insurance because he lied or never got it in the first place...

Call some companies. Tell them you have your cdl-a ready to go!!! But no experience and never went to school. see how that works out for you.