Class B to Class A Job Question

Congrats on your CDL-A!!
The problem you may run into waiting on finding a class A job is that you may have to go back to school and do a refresher course. I'm going out on a limb, but I believe these mega carriers who hire people with no experience want recent grads..
Hopefully at least your new job has you driving something heavy like a Ten Wheeler and not some Uhaul rated straight job. As a B holder myself for 32yrs I'm finally starting A school on the 26th.

 

Waste Management around my area hires new students. They even had television commercials about how they hire new students from All State. Maybe give them a call around your area. They get paid around $18-20 an hour.

Don't know if you're willing to do OTR, or Local...or how much you would like to earn. I don't know too much about OTR to make a comment on, but I'm sure others can help. I heard TMC is good for training on flatbed. Tyson Foods trains new students as well. JB Hunt Intermodel trains new students to work off the railyards...they make about 55k and home everynight.

As far as Local, a lot of LTL companies will train new students, such as YRC, R+L, ABF, and Old Dominion...which seems to hire new drivers straight to linehaul. Beverage companies like Pepsi and Coke trains new students as well. As far as foodservice, I'll leave that to our resident foodservice expert @Mike2633. He always has good advice when it comes to foodservice.

 

At GFS we'd take you, equipment experience class matters not as long as you are willing to do the work and can be taught and trained and try really really hard.
The way the company I work for sees it, is they want to train you there own way anyhow so while previous experience helps it's not a total per-requisite.

 

I'm sure they will. As a matter of fact, your 1 year experience in Class B may serve you well, since beverage and food service companies hire Class B drivers. Pepsi and Coke has Class B trucks. US Foods has Class B as well. I think Sysco has them too. But it all depends on if you want to move up to Class A after your 1 year or not.

 

GFS is a broad line food service distributor that's all Class A trucks mostly 28' trailers the chain division does run 50' it's the company I work for and they have a warehouse in Aberdeen,MD that goes into VA and they are new to Maryland and the mid-atlantic and need drivers in Maryland in time as the company grows in that market they will probably put a drop yard a few probably in Virginia you could get in now and by the time the company grows to where they will have drop yards you'll have been around long enough to bid a sweet night transit spot and be pulling doubles at night the money is there probably make 10-30 grand more at GFS then you would at a starter OTR company plus better profit sharing and 401K bonuses and upswing potential company likes to per mote from within and once your in and have some time under your belt you can apply for other jobs if you prove your self good you can get into management or volume truck or transit there's a lot of other things.

here this will get you started.

Go on the LTL/Local Delivery section of this forum and read
http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...got-not-one-but-two-wyse-two-wheelers.321402/

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...-fleets-the-back-bone-of-an-operation.321496/


http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/threads/the-food-service-rant-thread.288378/

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...-on-the-ground-from-aberdeen-maryland.320559/

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...essure-sometimes-its-hard-to-do.321081/page-3

 

A school only helps you get your CDL. Your REAL training begins when you sign up with one of these companies. Since you never started in Class A to begin with, I would imagine no refresher is needed. Just sign up and begin your training. Keep in mind that most of these companies that trains new students, will have you committed at least a year, or you will have to pay back the cost of training.