Litmus test for new drivers...

I'm a new driver who loves otr. where do I fit in to this equation?

 

....but I started varsity as a freshman.

-grins-

In TWO sports!

 

Me too

 

There ARE local jobs that you can get with no experience. But they are usually not sexy, don't pay well and have other issues. That is why they are available without experience, most experienced drivers can do better, and do.

Take a look at your local craigslist and you will see small companies looking for seasonals, manure haulers, milk haulers, etc. These companies can't keep drivers in their trucks and have to dig deeper into the pool.

So, you can start local. But you won't likely be in a shiny new truck, you may smell like a dairy farmer at the end of each day and you will not be banking tons of cash. But you will be in your own bed at the end of your shift.

 

So what your saying is, you have to pay your dues?

 

What a shockingly offensive thing to say! How crude of you!

 

This is a load of BS. I'm almost 5 years into my driving career, and I've never spent a single day OTR. And at this point, I'm probably at the high end of the wage spectrum, as a hazmat fuel driver. If you're somewhere like in the middle of Oklahoma, then yeah you're gonna probably do OTR to get a foot in the door. But any major metro area has local, entry-level opportunities. It's not going to be the most glamorous job, but you get a foot in the door and grab the next best thing. I started out driving a yard goat truck, and learned to back trailers into a dock perfectly, before I even learned how to shift the truck. You have to look around a little more, but there are plenty of opportunities.

Also, as a local driver, I would love to sit and hold the steering wheel for 11 hours a day. Try delivering 5 gas stations in a night, in the inner-city. That's some real work, ya hear.