Motivator from Phoenix, any advice

Hey all, new guy from Phoenix! found this great forum week ago and finally signed up. Thanks for everything! So why the title of post?

I’m a firefighter with a good schedule where I work 1 day (24hrs) and have 2 days off straight (48 hours), continuously. I wanna earn more money so I looked into CDL as side job. I earned my class a cdl permit and am studying for the next endorsements. I served over 8 years active USMC honorably, still motivated, still mentally and physically fit, still organized. I say this not to boast by any means but because my goal is to go flat bed/heavy haul/or tanker, and A lot of what I googled says for those areas you need that mindset (squared away, organized, etc.) I’m motivated and ready to learn a new skill, learning is something I love doing.

Best option I found for acquiring my cdl is cdl trucking school Phoenix , where it’s $1600 for 7 days 2 hours a day. You go there with cdl permit in hand and they train and test you for your cdl.

my question for everyone is will there be any jobs that would take me with my schedule situation? Would there be a company that would hire me and train me to cdl? Is there better options for acquiring my cdl than paying the $1600 course ?

I have a weird Situation that I couldn’t find answers to on a google search so who better to ask than the truckers report

Thanks guys and gals.

 

thank you. There are times where I get 4 days (96 hours) off, whatever that may mean.

 

I was wrong about the HOS reference, see post below.

 

Just wanted to clarify this for others that might need this information!!!

This excerpt is from wikipedia
Hours of service - Wikipedia

• Performing any compensated work for a person who is not a motor carrier. (This rule does not explicitly forbid a driver from obtaining a second or part-time job. It simply prevents a driver switching from a non-driving job to a driving job without the required 10 hours of rest.)

I could not find this in the FMCSA regulation 395.2

What I DID find in FMCSA 395.2
Regulations Section
was this:

Question 29: Although firefighters, emergency medical technicians, paramedics and other public safety professionals are often exempt from the hours-of-service (HOS) regulations under the governmental exception [49 CFR 390.3(f)(2)], they sometimes have second jobs with interstate motor carriers for which they are required to comply with the HOS rules. When one of these individuals has a second job with an interstate motor carrier and works a 24-hour shift for the fire/rescue/emergency services department, is all of the time spent during the shift considered on-duty time?

Guidance: No. Fire fighters and other public safety professionals working 24-hour shifts may record time during which they are required or permitted to rest as off-duty time. However, all time that the public safety specialist is required to perform work (e.g., administrative work, cleaning/repairing equipment, operating equipment, etc.) would be considered on-duty time.

Hope this helps someone!