Interested in becoming a truck driver! Any advice/guidance on schools/companies?

Yea best advice possible RUN THE OTHER WAY!!

 

I'll be honest with you.

If you have a good work ethic and a good head on your shoulders, do something other than driving a truck.
Driving a truck these days is a waste of many peoples talents.
Hard work in this industry is just hard work for the sake of hard work. The only person at the end of the day that sees how hard you're working is you and dispatchers and load planners will be the ones getting the credit and promotions for the work you do. This is a job that doesn't pay any more money for working harder. You're paid flat rate for each load and all you end up doing is chasing your tail so you can be "ready" for another load.

This industry is under constant change in regards to HOS(Hours of service) and driver qualifications. The Government is constantly tinkering with the laws we deal with and each state has their own laws as well that are specific to driving. Many drivers are done driving by their 60's(if they last that long),they become medically disqualified. I also believe that most drivers leave this industry between 5-10yrs. There is no money in driving anymore,it has become dificult to support a family on a drivers wages.

I noticed that you said your wife earns enough to support you both. That would be one of the biggest reasons to stay away from driving. Spending time with your family/wife is something that most Long haul drivers lack,many end up divorced or not getting to watch their kids grow up.

If you don't NEED the money then I would strongly suggest that you invest your time in a registered trade that will pay dividends in the future. Pretty much every trade will pay an apprentice more than a truck driver will make in their first couple of years.
With your work ethic, a trade would serve you much better than a commercial drivers license.

 

worked well for your friend you should talk their recruiter,this s a good industry i still love what i do.I would start talking to other recruiters to see if you find anything else that may be a good fit.

 

If you have always wanted to drive a truck, daydream about driving a truck and can't stop thinking about it....then do it. If it is to make money and it is a job, then don't. As others have said you would be better going to a trade school to become an electrician, plumber, Hvac. It takes 2 years in this biz to get to a place where the money is decent, not 2-3 months and that is not guaranteed. 4-5 weeks on the road will kill a marriage and a family. But, like I said in the beginning, if it is in your blood and the life of solitude appeals to you then give it a try but take the beer goggles off first. There are days when this life is great but all the 'trucking cowboy' 'King of the road' talk is BS, it is difficult and the respect has gone from this industry.

 

for starters, the search button on here is your friend

If i were in your shoes, i'd find a driving school close to you, that i could pay for myself (as opposed to going to a cdl farm that will have me slaving for them for 6 months to a year eg. swift,crst,prime, etc, etc), then when i graduate, i could "cherry pick" my next employer (im only saying this since my wife can support the both of us).

Again though.... "search" ("advanced search actually) is your friend


Good luck to you!

 

Best advice right now is research for companies that hire at age 21. There are a bunch, but no need to waste time with the others. To make the good money, prepare by getting all the endorsements including tanker/hazmat, passport, TWIC. If you accomplish these things, there is no reason why you can't be making $60K + annually within 12 to 24 months. If you can afford it, go to a private CDL school or community college CDL program; by doing this you can bypass the contract with a training company & go straight in with the top paying companies. The drivers doing it this way with success are motivated and very aggressive with the job applications. The CDL school will have recruiters & job placement, but you can still look on you own also. Careerbuilder website is a start for research.

 

Continue collecting opinions, from a multitude of sources. Do tons of research. Good Luck.

 

Driving may end up not being your cup-o-tea. You won't know until you try.

Your gonna' have to pay your dues. A year or two of driving. Be up front with your wife about that. It may not make it any easier but at least you can say you told her before hand.

It may open more more doors though.

After that first year or two, maybe you can drive local and be home every night.

Maybe end up finding a position as a dispatcher or working for a broker.

Possibly getting your own truck (or trucks) and going that direction. Do you have a business mind set?

Driving might only be one of the stepping stones to something else. Your gonna' meet a lot of people out there in a lot of different industries. You might see something and say "I'd like to try that".

You might come home one day and say to your wife "I was in the best city I've ever been to, we could move there". Bonus: You wouldn't have to pay a moving company.

In everything I've ever done, I try and look a little farther down road for potential possibilities.

There are fast-food corporate people that were flipping burgers a few years ago. I know one.

She saw an opportunity in what many people think is a miserable, dead-end job.