How hard is it to get a local/regional job with almost no experience?

Just a thought. Get yourself a log truck job in a mountain state. Outstanding scenre and no city driving. Its a piece of cake. Hell after that everything else will be easy.

 

You know who also may hire you is a city or local municipality. I know the State of Ohio is always hiring snow plow drivers seasonally if my job wasn't so time consuming I would be all over that. Also cities before I got hired by GFS I was trying to get out of the beer business it's not a knock against the company, I just did not like that job and business I couldn't see my self doing that job for 30 years it wasn't going to happen, but I did apply to work for the city and actually got a face to face interview.

They did not hire me because the problem with the city is they do not pay real good per hour it's certainly on the low side. However, they do have lots of over time options and the vacation package and sick time and days off package is very generous however I have a decent time off package at GFS I got 3 weeks paid vacation this year which is not bad at all, I mean it could be more, but I've only been there a 1.5 years so 3 weeks really is not that awful. Good gravy the beer company was 1 week for ever it would have taken me lord knows how long to get up to two-three legit weeks off. However off topic.

The local municipalities the pro's are good retirement and health insurance and most cities have ample vacation time and sick time and half days and stuff like that. Plus your working for a city, you will not be on any unfamiliar roads not one!

So I would advise if your local city or suburb has a position in the sewer department or what ever go apply cities cross train a lot anyhow, and actually you would get good experience because you'll get snow plow experience (I know I know Atlanta you don't have snow) you'll get garbage truck experience, dump truck experience, tree trimmer truck experience, lawn more experience, could even get some heavy equipment training.

Have you tried the post office the real post office as a tractor trailer specialist or what ever there called, the real post office actually just had a union contract redo and it's a pretty sweet deal. Most post office work you start as a postal support employee then an extra and then eventually work your way up to a run, like I know in Cleveland the post office post office semi trucks some of them do 3 trips to the same place and that's there night a big suburb of a major city might take 3-4 trailer loads of mail, well they don't send 3-4 trucks to that place at night to drop off the mail not usually, what happens is they load a trailer and a guy takes the trailer to that post office rolls off all the bins runs back to the postal sorting facility picks up another loaded trailer for that post office station and repeats the process. You would be on the same road in the same city doing the same run every night.

 

A road is a road.

 

^^ great post, @Mike2633 !!

 

Local drivers are in very high demand around here. Dumps, roll-offs, rental outfits, and all the crane companies are looking for drivers. Most of these will hire you with almost zero experience and let you train as you work. Most of these jobs require more than just driving the truck though. Crane companies, for instance, you'll have to stick around after hauling the counterweight to the job and help assemble the crane.

Shoot, I'd even hire a driver if they are willing and able to do more than just drive a truck. In our business, driving is just a very small part of the job. We are a machinery moving business and drivers haul our forklifts and equipment. A typical driver's job is to get the equipment to the job, help complete the job, and haul the equipment back.

 

When I was trying to get out of the beer business the city I live in right now and hopefully can stay in (looking that way, when I move out (folks have had about enough of me it's time to get a move on they want me gone LOL!) Although I fully recognize the hour is approaching it's getting about that time I'm actually looking forward to having my own place with my own freedoms and stuff sure there's bills, but so what? I'm working anyhow no matter what mine as well get to reap the benefits too.) Any how I digress, I applied to work for the city they had an opening for sewer department, I had a Class A CDL which they really really really liked and I am convinced to this day the only reason they did not hire me is because I made to much money at the beer company.

The beer company while it wasn't great money in terms of trucking money, it was good money in terms of other job money and the city could not match the beer companies pay. However I was fully ready to go to the city because I could walk or ride my bike or a bike to work because I lived in the city I wanted to work for. So I would not have had to drive a car or rely on public transportation. @skinnytrucker has the best deal if you can walk to work or ride a bike that's better then driving or using public transportation, if you can even use public transport I don't see to many trucking companies near bus stops, but off topic.

Anyhow I applied to work for the city and they interviewed me and good vacation time, good health insurance, Ohio State Workers Retirement Fund all looks good from here. Pay topped out at about $20.00 an hour so yes a little on the low side, but....there was plenty of over time opportunities and city over time isn't like were on a production run and we need to get 10,000 widgets made go go go go go. It's someone called off and he emptys all the trash cans in the city on Saturday evening, so you go to the city garage after hours mind you there's no bosses around no co-workers (all that makes for a nice peaceful environment) and you take the Ford F-550 dump truck out and empty the garbage cans around the city. Easypeasy you can smoke cigarettes or chew tobacco if you do that, you can listen to rock music and if it's the summer time and the weather is nice you can take in all the nice weather and scenery doesn't sound to bad to me.

Anyhow so the city has overtime, plus there going to train you how to run the garbage trucks and I was really excited about that I wanted to learn how to run the garbage trucks where I live the city does there own rubbish collection so you get to work the garbage trucks, and the snow plows and lawn mower and tractors and sewer cleaner outer truck and dump truck and you might get to go out and learn the traffic light system and the computer controls for all of that, there's a lot of good hands on learning you can get working for a city. You'll learn how to fill pot holes because you'll get to work the pot hole filler truck and you'll learn about cutting down trees and landscaping and probably some building maintenance things and you'll get to meet the mayor.

That was actually how the city worked what it was, was the HR people interview you and decide to proceed with hiring you and then you actually get hired by the mayor and just like a policeman or fireman you actually get sworn in and take an oath you get sworn in by the mayor as a city worker, I think the oath gives you special super powers or something.

Anyhow yeah working for the city pay is low, but you get trained on a lot of good equipment and there's a lot of pro's. The only other con is city politics and work place politics there's a driver at the warehouse of my company who worked for a city and he ended up quitting because he couldn't take the bad attitude that some of the older bad employees had, he said they had guys who worked for the city for 40 years and they couldn't be fired and would not retire and they were beyond worthless as employees and there bad attitude trickled down through out the other employees, so you do have sometimes bad politics, however there are other cities I went to jury duty with a guy who worked for the sewer crew for a city around here in Cleveland and he really liked it and they went out everyday and worked hard and were always ahead on there work and kept on keeping on so it goes both ways.

 

Here's a thought. If your scared of the open road and your new, in town local seems great. But I bump 15 to 20 docks a day and some are old crappy warehouses in allies e.c.t. Each type of trucking has its challenges. If you enjoy the otr but are just scared I'd stick it out.

 

There's a company here in Cleveland Teesar I think is how they spell it and they are "riggers" they do what you do move heavy factory machinery in and out of industries. Yeah they don't drive anywhere, but you would learn a lot of other stuff.

 

^@m16ty. where is "around here?" @F150Jim may be nearby....

 

Middle Tennessee.