Does company-sponsored training always lead to OTR

Maximize hometime and company paid training. Not Likely gonna happen. There are a few companies that have split schedules where 3 drivers rotate for 2 positions on a team truck which puts you home a third of the time. Of course you won't make a whole lot of money that way. Not sure if any of those split team deal companies have sponsored training.

 

Yeah, about 80% of the otr drivers want to have a regional position too! There is usually a waiting list and the senior drivers get first dibbs. Maybe you know someone and could get lucky though. If I were in your shoes I would think about choosing a different career. You are going to be very disappointed after going through all that training for them to assign you as an otr driver. Now granted, the recruiters will tell you otherwise. As long as they can talk you into coming to orientation they will get paid. Even if you were there 10min. If you are dead set on being a truck driver then go and get your class B license and drive a dump truck or concrete truck. It will be a lot cheaper and it will give you an idea of what it's like trying for a local gig. From there at least you will have your foot in the door and you will have a better idea of what your getting into. The downside to being a local driver living in LA is, well you know! I would much rather driver otr then local in LA! One of our terminal's was down there in Fontana and we drove through there just about once a week. Good luck to you I hope you do not take this in a negative way, just trying to save you time and money.

 

You just might get lucky though. I found a local outfit to train me. Get out there and burn some shoeleather knocking on doors. Still pay your dues by getting into the industry this way though; just with labor rather than weeks away from home.

It is rare, but possible.

 

what has always "amazed me" is all the wannabe drivers wanting a 9 to 5 trucking job.......once some of them "see" what is involved in getting the education and the experience, how quickly they put "restrictions" on how much they are willing to sacrifice. sure wish could have started out like that.

 

I suppose I should add a bit...

I've already got a class b, and was looking for a class b job so I could pay for class a training and I kinda fell into it. One of the "B" jobs I applied to called back and asked if I'd like to learn class a. It's no 9-5 though, more like 6-6 with some labor mixed in, also maintenance and minor repairs, and plenty of uncertainty as the timber market is volatile.

Just wanted to let the OP know that it was possible to start local, however unlikely.

I will say that many people don't have an accurate perception of the trucking industry- good, bad, or indifferent. Then again, how many really have an accurate perception of any industry when they first start out?

 

IMO your best bet is to try to get a loan for the $5000 or so, go to a school of your choosing (if you have a CLEAN record, no arrests, no tickets in 5 or even 10 years) , then apply for a regional job at a trucking company that will pay you back for the training....this will be likely less $$$, but you you will get 34 hrs or so home every week
Even this will be MAYBE....MOST folks start as OTR...1 day home for 1 week on the road...so 3 days or so in a row maybe, every 3 weeks...Good luck...
Remember, trucking is as much of a life-style as it is a job...ONCE you have a few years experience, and a clean record, you might be able to get a local job...working lots of LONG days...talk to a few guys about it..be 100% you can commit to it before you sign on the dotted line...getting a CDL is not easy, a sure-thing, or cheap! Doing the work is also the same.
There are a few tails of woe from folks that have become indentured servants/share croppers...only to get fired and stuck with a bill for MORE than a private school.
There is no such thing as a guarantee of a CDL....some folks can do it, some can't...IMO you are more likely to get washed out at a company owned school...but often those same CDL mills are located in states with pretty lax testing from what I have read...then you transfer the CDL to your home state..
Now, if you want to be a PROFESSIONAL DRIVER, do you want to go to a 2 week quickie CDL mill, or got to a 5 or 6 week professional course...so you can learn stuff in the classroom, rather than trial and error? I know $$ is an issue, but maybe if it is worth doing, it should be done right. If you do it the cheap way...have an accident, and then loose your job...all is for nothing.
If you have no other choice, going with paid training is an option...just do lots of research...there are many companies that pray on desperate folks and their hopes and dreams...and then rob them blind...leaving them in an even bigger hole than when they started.

 

Not sure how old you are or what you're looking for out of trucking, but living in SoCal you should have some good options. Most LTL companies have dock to driver programs - FedEx Freight, UPS Freight, Con-way Freight, and UPS Parcel all have a version of this.

Here's some good advice from some experienced hands..



http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...-new-drivers/129333-try-being-like-brown.html