Hello- Let me introduce myself...

Brian, think about this:

I drive a bus now instead of a truck, I make $21 per hour and for the most part, I like it. I especially like being home every day, overtime, benefits and it's relatively stress-free. The first year the schedule might be difficult until you get some seniority, but for me it's far better than being on the road. If I drove locally, I'd be lucky to make $15 per hour here working full time.

To work there in Houston part-time, you don't need a CDL, they will train you and help you get the CDL Class B. You won't have any tuition reimbursement to pay back, and once you have the CDL, you have it, whether you stay there or not. Of course, you would still need a Class A if you wanted to drive tractor-trailer later on.

At the very least, you could do this without quitting your full-time job and at least get your feet wet in transportation without giving up what you already have. Maybe you just work there part-time for $15 and keep your full-time job, at least its better than what you make part-time now.

 

Brian, Lots has been said about driving and every bit of it has been accurate. But nothing has been said about what I just retired from..... and that is the food service industry. That is delivering to restaurants or the fast food industry. When I got out of the Army I drove a dump truck for a while then moved up to semi's... but back then then schools were not as available as they are now. Your thinking on a community college is your absolute best bet...you will receive better training and most offer job placement assistance too. After a year or maybe two of OTR I landed a job delivering to Burger King restaurants...did that for 19 years and then the company moved their location , I took the severance they offered and went to work for another company GSF (Golden State Foods) they delivered McDonald's..did that til I retired in 2011. I made a great living with both companies and was home every nite. Now this type of work will be without a doubt VERY physically demanding , but when I retired I was making over 70,000 a year and ran three days a week. You will have to "pay some dues" to begin with ...but there are ways to make a great living and be home , and still drive a truck. Best of luck to you in your future and please check out the food service jobs in your area .

 

You will get tons of prehires! As long as you are breathing and aren't incarcerated they will send you a prehire!

A lot of these companies will go as far as having you come to orientation before denying you. Recruiters will sometimes do this just so they get paid. They get paid commission for every person that shows up for orientation. All they have to do is show up and they get paid, even if they end up going home within the first hour.

 

Brianman, how many years do you have in state retirement? If you do not have many I could understand why you might want to leave. If you are vested or just have a few years left I would strongly consider staying in the system until you can draw the benefit or are eligible. You can always do trucking later in life when your kids are grown and you have something to fall back on. Pensions are quickly becoming dinosaurs and if you are able to get one I would keep it. I almost left my current job with state retirement several years ago when my kids were younger but decided within weeks of leaving to stick it out. Tried to focus on the positives of my job instead of the negative at best and don't regret one minute of being home with my wife and kids. Now I am only a couple of years away from doing what I wanted to years ago. I definitely understand where you are coming from and wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide!