Considering CDL (California)

I’m a 47 year old software engineer and even with 25 years experience the average pay is around $150k. But I hate corporate America now. The slave mentality from management has killed any love I had left for engineering


I recently got a trailer and a ram 2500 (living fulltime in it since August).

and one career change I’m considering is semi truck driving. I know the starting pay will be low in the beginning but I’m fine with that if my costs are also low. I don’t think I’d consider buying my own truck for at least five years of doing it professionally.

one issue I have is I pee frequently. Pretty much every hour. I’m worried about being a truck driver and having to stop every hour or two.

Also I have a dog. If it’s a company owned truck is it pretty common to have a dog with you or do they usually not allow that.

I can’t be the only one out there with this problem. What do you all do in my situation?

 

Most mega companies will dispatch on a 50 mph average when it comes to appointment times. If you pull flatbeds, most but not all customers are first come first serve. Reefer is usually all by appointment. But as long as you can make appointment times on time or can get to customers in a reasonable amount of time I’m sure you’d be fine. I think pet policies just depend on the company you drive for. One word of advice would to not get your llicense through a place that pushes the auto restriction. Get your license with a manual transmission. Depending on where you’re at in California, some fuel companies would probably hire you with no experience. If you live around the Bay Area or LA then locally you could make over $100k a year with a little experience.

 

Ok cool. I’ve seen prices for CDL training anywhere from $3k to $20k.

I’ve Swift will actually train you if you don’t have a CDL

 

Most large companies will train you and get you a license for free if you sign a contract for a year or so. But most of them these days will train you on an automatic which works for them, but most local or smaller companies still run manual transmissions and you’d be screwed as far as that goes. It can be expensive to do on your own, but worth it to not be tied down to any company for an amount of time. Starting in a month or so I believe the cost of getting a cdl are going to sky rocket.

 

New federal rule for entry-level CDL training goes into effect in February

 

Is manual transmission something I’d have to get certified again on or can I just take a test.

also why is CDL certificate going to get a lot more difficult?

 

I believe if you have an auto restriction on your license that you’d have to pay to take the test all over again in a Manual to get it removed. Only certain schools will be able to keep giving out CDL’s from what I read. Sounds to me like the government is trying to crack down on fly by night places that just give out licenses and they are frauds. Which Id think is a big problem with how bad todays new drivers are.

 

Yeah. Just seems like the dmv list of traffic schools for tickets. I’m sure the list will grow eventually to include all the legit ones and probably even the ####ty ones too.

 

A CDL isn't a certificate, it is an endorsement on your license.

Looks like more training requirements will be implemented next month.

Trucking Answers is a good resource of information regarding all things trucking for experienced drivers and newbies alike.

Peeing hourly isn't a problem if you can find a spot to stop when you feel the need.

 

I don’t mean to get personal, but is the frequent peeing due to a health issue like diabetes or something? Just asking because if it is diabetes then you may have issues getting your medical certificate if it isn’t under control.

I pee a lot too, but that’s because I drink waaaay too much coffee. LOL (it’s worth it)