Need advice on starting a CDL career

Getting the confidence comes with the more you learn and exp.Believe me it'll come.When I attended school and with a trainer and my first solo load,I was nervous and scared.But you can do it.I think most the students don't have the confidence.But if you have a positive attitude you can do anything.Once you do get with a trainer you'll get paid salary untill training is completed then you'll receive so much per mile companies pay 24 to 26 cpm to start out.Don't ecspect to get rich.You'll make anywhere from $300.00 to $500.00 every week maybe alittle more maybe less.If you can find a small to med size company that trains.These mega carriers have too many drivers and not enough freight to go around.I've had to battle with getting paid ontime and correctly many times and not getting reimbursed.When u have to buy something or pay for tolls,get 2 copies of the receipt and you keep one.Also get an extra copy of the BOL for your personal records.

 

Bud, you're gonna love this job. Just apply the self discipline you learned in the army and you'll do fine. That's the biggest prob that most "newbies" have; wanting the industry to operate "Their way" rather than adapting to the way things are.

Couple years in as a "boot" and you can start specializing. Sound familiar? There's no end of niches in this trade and yes you can make good money at most of em.

Have at it son.

 

As long as you work for a company that asks you to fill out a w2 during orientation you will be fine. Keep copies of signed Freight Bills (BOL's) just in case the office loses them. You can discard those copies after you verify your pay from week to week. Keep a notebook with a list of the following info so you may crosscheck the info with your pay sheets;
Company load or trip #
Pickup customers name and location.
Delivery customers name and location.
Paid empty miles.
Paid loaded miles.
Any additional pay such as multi stop, congestion, detention, breakdown, or handling.

Any discrepancy in your paysheet breakdown and you can retrieve the information from your notes and request the "error" be corrected.

I think since you already have a class A CDL you can attend a training school anywhere. If you did not have a class A CDL and had to get a permit to learn to drive first then you would have to attend a school in the state in which the permit was issued.

 

9 out of 10 "pay issues" are due to missing paperwork or not following "protocol" and typically the driver's initial fault. And these are typically rectified on the next pay cycle following the phone call to ask "why". I would not be concerned about pay issues except with a handful of small, fly-by-nighter's perhaps. Just know that your "paid miles" are NEVER going to look anything like what your hub or mapping software says and that's just part of the business.

 

A preventable accident is if you hit something it could have been easily avoidable.Many drivers including myself has a preventable mark on their DAC,companies will put preventable even if it was'nt because they know everything.Guess when it happens they're in the trk with you spying on you so they know exavtly what happened.

 

Any time you are behind the wheel and moving the truck you will be considered at fault until you can PROVE it wasn't YOUR fault.

Forget about due process in this industry. Perception is reality. The cops, trucking companies, insurance companies, lawyers, politicians, and public "perceive" truckers as being at fault in the vast majority of all traffic accidents.


About the only time you will not be at fault is if you are parked legally, have your paperwork current and 100% accurate and are not behind the wheel.

On a side note be aware you will be held to different standards once you have a CDL. The limits for DUI/DWI are lower than non cdl holding drivers (yes, even if you are driving a car you will be held to the more stringent standard). You will also be subjected to random, pre-employment, and post accident, drug and alcohol testing.

 

Yes they will want a detailed account of the past 10 years of employment even if you are just starting in the trucking industry. It has to do with past job performance and reliability. The trucking company will contact your previous employers to verify the employement info so make sure you get the dates right.