Getting out of the military, should I go OTR?

im 49 and doing it.look into old dominion,ABF,McLane,Sysco,new penn,ect

 

Are you out of your mind? Get a real job and career that pays good and allows you to enjoy life with your family and friends.

 

Of course there's truth to food service being hard on your body. Chinatown said it best. I see what they get paid. Talked to a few of those guys. Some hate it some love it. Not my deal. Don't like driving around in circles dealing with so many personalities in such a short time period. Did it unloading tires 7-12 stops a day. I unloaded my freight for the first two years. As long as I could use a pallet jack and put it directly on the dock without breaking down any of your load, sure I'll do it. Then one day my check wasn't right and I realized what used to pay 100 bucks now only pays 50? Nope effff you fellah. Aint hauling no more tires, carpet pad and never using a pallet jack again to unload any load. Always scratched my head there. You wanna pay me 50 dollars but will pay a punk lumper 125-180?

 

Some vets don't want that. If they've been in a fast paced environment, the last thing they want is routine doldrums. Maybe you're a vet and transitioned back into the routine easily, but not all can or want to. After all these years as a civilian, I still can't settle down and long haul trucking was the only job I could deal with. I tried the office, factory, etc. and thought I would explode. Not everyone is that way, but many are.

 

What's more routine than driving? SSDD, everyday.

 

What was your Marine mos? I talked with Jim Palmer recently and believe they required 6 months to a year of OTR and the recruiter stressed "at least 7 states".

Just graduated and in the process of getting my first job now. I thought strongly of taking advantage of VA program but decided to focus on the best trucking company I could get on at regardless. Plus, you're young and may later decide on a degree, flight school, pass the benefits to children, etc. Basically, don't feel like you have to use it right now just because it's there, IMO. 9-11 bennies are good for what, 15 years?

I mean, Werner has the program and is also willing to reimburse tuition if you used GI Bill to pay but if your trainer has less than 1 year experience and it's all team driving...you get the picture.

I served 7 years active, 4 of which in 29 Palms with 3/7 and 3rd LAR. I'm looking at the first year or two driving as E-1 to E-3, where pay likely won't be as great but I'm rewarded with tons of new things to learn and can work my way up from there. Good luck Marine.

Sincerely,
FMF Corpsman

 

Hell ya! What's going on Doc!

 

What school are you going to? JCC?
Take a look at Magnum also.

 

Howdy Marine! Kick myself daily for getting out. Oh well, on to the next adventure.

 

Please do not use your Post 9/11 GI bill for an apprentice program - it is a waste of your benefits. The company gets the equivalent of tuition reimbursement over the period of 12 months at the maximum allowable rate for allowing you to drive their truck. You get your BAS rate for where you live and a stipend. Unless your license costs over $10,000.00 to obtain (the test portion only) then you cannot claim that portion. The VA will actually pay for your DMV testing, however the maximum amount of $10,000.00 will be deducted from your existing pool of money. I am not sure why they do this - I only learned of this little catch when going for a trade license in another field.
A company will tell you all kinds of great things about how good it is to use your benefits for tuition reimbursement via the company or as an apprentice - don't believe a word of it - they come out much, much better than you ever will if you allow them access to your Post 9/11 GI Bill funds.