I have an opportunity to drive for Walmart, but I am unsure if trucking would be for me?

Normal jobs? What are those?

 

They might let you work a 12-hour shift if you drive a yard truck at a DC. But if you're a road driver they're probably going to expect you to run 60-70 hours per week.

If you want to work no more than 12 hours a day you should probably get a local job driving a day cab, or a yard truck.

 

Some DC's have daycabs. You have to live within a one hour drive of the DC to get one of those spots. If OP doesn't live near a DC with daycabs he'll have to put in a year at whatever DC he hired in to before he can transfer to another location. Then there has to be a daycab spot available which might not be a given.

At the end of the day if OP wants to drive a truck he should go for it. It's a great opportunity that very few people will ever have. 12-14 hour days are normal but they go by so quickly and the same goes for the work week.

 

I say go ahead and try it so you can see if driving a truck for you.

 

Try it. If you don't you'll always wonder if you should have. In six months or a year you should know if it's what you really want to do.

 

I don't think most of these Walmart "associate to driver" people have a real grasp of the opportunity they have. Most of them have no clue how the trucking industry really is. I'm talking about the low wages, disrespect and expectations of donating time and labor for no compensation as a matter of routine. That's trucking. But it's not like that at Walmart, LTL's and some other niches that mostly only hire experienced drivers.

The alternative for those associate to driver folks is they can go to a CDL mill and get a CDL on their own (dime$$$$) then serve some time out here paying their dues at a "trainer company" and putting up with the abuse to maybe have a shot at getting hired on by Walmart in 3-5 years. Or they can let Walmart pay the costs to get one, provide the training and have a job to retire from - never once having to experience what real trucking is like and how bad it can really be.

 

This is a little off topic, but do you know if there’s a minimum amount of time you have to work at Walmart to be considered for their Associate-to-Driver program? Or if they have preferences for what kind of job you have at Walmart (Stockroom Associate, Manager, etc.)? I’ve been trying to find this info all over the internet. Thanks for your time.

 

@rollin coal knows.

 

@rollin coal
@Treputt