Chances of landing a job

For a while it does......maybe 3+years. Keep that license clean in that time. The pot charge may be a different story. Best thing is to call Swift Transport and see what they say. They are probably the most lenient OTR company out there. Just be 100% honest any time you speak with a recruiter. All OTR companies do background checks and some dig WAY deep. 100% honesty is always the best policy. They may not tell you "never" but they will probably tell you to let your suspension and drug charge age a while. Good Luck!

 

It will be extremely difficult to get a pre-approval from a national carrier in your situation. I wouldn't necessarily let that discourage you though. If your willing to put a ton of time and effort into finding one, there's a trucking job out there for you. the thing is, you will probably need your CDL first with the companies you will need to work with. So I wouldn't hesitiate to enroll in trucking school if you really want it bad. You may even end up in a much better situation than some grads who go to the starter companies.

But yes, if you want to go the route of immediately going with a starter company without much effort as soon as you get your license, then I would wait at least 3 years.

 

Im willing to get my CDL first, i can even pay for a trucking school once i do get my license back. I just wanted to know that i still have a chance at landing a job once im complete with the schooling. And i do know that my situation isnt making it much easier, but im willing to do whatever is needed to be able to drive for any company

 

Very true. If it comes down to you and a squeaky clean guy for the job, guess who will win?

I have a class b mis against me (non drug related) but it's been almost 20 yrs ago so it's really not that big of a deal now.

 

Id wait to find out if you have a chance within a few years to land a job before spending a couple thousand dollars on a school.

 

If you do it would be a very, very remote chance.
That said, there are companies that want newbies to be at least 23 years old.
Your young yet. Stay clean. Get a job at a wharehouse, work up to yard dog - movin trucks around.
The nature of this industry is that they're very paranoid about applicants with drug related histories, for insurance and legal reasons.
If you wreck the defense lawyers will have a field day vetting your record to the jury.

 

its rough in southern ca finding a local gig right out of school