Interested in getting my cdl but I have some history.

OP, remember that even if the insurance ignores old stuff; a season safety professional may not.

Your record will be examined closely and you might end up having a chance depending on how you present your self AND how much the carrier cares about legality i.e. 1099 but driving their truck is a gross tax avoidance on their part and you have to pay all of your social security [instead of 50%] etc.

Any personal interview at a W2 job is time to sell your self as having outgrown the items they dislike.

Even at a W2 you may still be at the bottom of the pile; nights and weekends and holidays will be yours and any 1099 will cost you somehow/some way.

Trades are always in demand and since you have the ability for training please remember that you will possibly have a more stable and comforable income without living in a sleeper berth.

 

Good luck on staying clean and changing direction. That's the hard part. I am begging you to NOT get your CDL until you find a company that will hire you with that record. The older those convictions get the less damaging they seem. But EVERY school will say "get your CDL and then tell you about the driver shortage". If you ask a barber do you need a haircut, the answer is AWLAYS yes. The industry is in a slump right now and new CDLs with no problems are not getting hired quickly. If you get the CDL now and then take a long time to get hired you have an old & unused CDL plus the bad record. You might even have to pay for a refresher course. There is a company somewhere that will hire you, but man are they likely to be terrible to work for because thyme know guys in your position have no choice but to take anything they do to you as employee. Its a lonely & stressful job and many people every day will treat you worse than a homeless hobo just because they can. The media is still talking about an imaginary red hot freight market that does not exist. Media doesn't ever know what they don't know. Accuracy is not important, speed and volume of stories is important. It's not hopeless but trucking isn't a good option right now.

 

Lots of new drievrs are getting $400 per week because freight is so slow right now. Take any quote of weekly pay from official sources as the maximum possible if every single things goes just right and you are a favored driver. NOTHING the recruiter says is a promise.

 

1099 means YOU take all of the financial risk and the company is getting their truck paid for so they have no incentive to find you work, plus the pay you get must now take out and pay taxes. It's not like a W-2 job where your whole paycheck can be spent. With 1099 you have to save 25% of your pay for taxes or you will be in trouble with the IRS. Many 1099 companies are terrible and dishonest and prey on brand new people that do not know what they are walking into. I would work 2 part-time jobs locally before many 1099 jobs.

 

Indeed keeps a lot of jobs that have been filled still showing available. The industry has really slowed hiring and they don't want it to look like an almost empty store when you search.

 

Your willingness to work hard cannot overcome a company with not enough freight to keep you busy. I would urge you to look at another trade or skill. Trucking is slow right now.

 

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Hires felons. I remember when PI&I had a partnership with a cdl school and a prison to help prisoners acquire a CDL, then hire them when released from prison. That was several years ago, so don't know if it applies today.

 

Best post I've seen in A WHILE!!!....



-- L