Need CDL training and a job, but live in Florida

I was told swift wasnt hiring drivers in Fl and werner will hire anyone with a cdl-a but for a trainee,once you do your 300+ hours of training you wine up waiting for weeks for a truck.Not sure about now but thats what it was few months ago.

 

I'm in the same boat as Floridian, I'm just North of Tampa and called Swift yesterday, they told me to call back in a couple weeks and that they are full up until August.
I was wondering if going through Roadmaster school is a smart move? Are the pickings so slim for Florida that I should lie about where I live? I mean my dad lives East of Dallas TX. Should I make that my address just to get training and a otr job?

 

as an graduate from a trucking school in florida i know jobs as a graduate student jobs are hard to find , the only thing to do is dare i say but get an adress in GA STATE and come home to florida when you have time off, which comes to my question , if i have a adress were i can give to the dmv in GA and not live there but the people who live at this adress are aware what i am doing and come back to florida were my home is what are the impications are there ?? as i am not employed and have a house morgage and so on i have a few job offers if i have a GA licence , my wife says its wrong and fraud , now being a good person that i am i know that it is not correct , but times are hard and i want to work , i am in a hard spot , if you read the dmv from GA it easy to full fill what it wants as an adress as proof ,

 

Right now is a bad time to get a cdl-a if you live in florida.It going cost over $6,000 to get the training from roadmaster plus becarefull of what they tell you.I got my cdl-a from roadmaster in Tampa Fl 2 years ago,that time there were jobs,now there no jobs here.Also roadmaster likes to lie to,I call them few months ago to see if they knew of any trucking company thats hiring,the lady said yes everybody is hiring our students right out of school which is a big lie.So becarefull about roadmaster,they dont care if you get a job or not.

 

I am also a Florida resident, I've been off of the road for 2 yrs, now that I am trying to get back out there, alot of companies are telling me that they aren't currently hiring "non current" drivers, due to the present economy. Companies don't want to hire drivers that they have to put out with trainers. They only want drivers that can get issued their own truck right off the bat to go out and make them money. So, I too am currently stuck in limbo, and it gets harder the longer I have to wait. I've never been turned down for work, I too have a spotless record, and great driving/work history. It's hard right now. I just keep trying. Somethings gota give.

 

Hey Floridian...I am another Fort Lauderdalian facing the same nightmare. It totally sucks and seems very discriminatory. I graduated from National Training in Orange Park ($4000, excellent school for the driving part...don't expect much (or anything for that matter) from the so called "job placement department" though) a month ago, got my FL CDL and have spent the last 30 days hearing the same crappy line of "we're not hiring out of Florida right now because freight is slow going out of that state" line over and over. It is a pitty we live in the tip of the United State's Peni...ninsula. I swear we might as well be living in Cuba and it would probably be easier to get hired.

I am in the same situation you are where all I wanna do is get a job, get in a truck and drive for as long as possible without necessarily being home every other weekend. Hell, i've told the companies they don't have to bring me back for the full first year and all I've gotten is the same other line of "relocate to another state and then call us back...". I'd gladly do that if I had not spent my last $4000 bucks going to a reputable and professional driving school.

The only conclusion or solution I have found is that I got a friend that will "lend" me his Alabama address. His son is currently living and owns the house. I would not physically live there but I am planning on going to Alabama and change my FL CDL to an Alabama CDL. I called AL DMV and they told me that all I need is my FL CDL, my SS card and my original birth certificate and that was it. I asked them if I would need some proof of residency and they said that I could also bring a bill or lease agreement but they did not require it (????). I got a lease agreement from my friend and will bring that along. I will then go back to a relative in Orlando and probably reapply to all the companies with my AL CDL. When I get hired, I will go to wherever the orientation and job is at.

I understand that on my days off I will be routed as close as possible to my AL address but that is something I am willing to deal with. My kids can come for a weekend and we will meet halfway every few months or so and we'll figure something out. I can get a motel room and spend my days off walking around town. I don't care.

It is a desperate situation though and it does not make sense at all. Good luck to you my friend and if you want we can get together and brainstorm about this over a cup of coffee here in Fort Laud. Let me know how you do.!!!

 

Anyone tried LCT out of Okahumpka?

 

I agree with all of you I signed up with roadmaster class 5 of this year back in feb and got my class A. Was told I would be set up with a job when I was done. Now I live north of Orlando in Ocala and there are still no jobs even swift I have applyed twice once through the school and then on my own and still nothing. I have tried everything and I have gotten all the same stories that you have. I even tried local class b work and still nothing I am not picky. I have read the horror stories about get prehired and going to tx or tenn and being told sorry no thanks and fine your own way home. Which I find that pretty ### up they will drag you out to where ever and then if they dont take you you have to find your own way home. Sorry but I think if that ever happened to me I would beat the guy with a pipe. I have to work and I cant afford to stop working to try to get a better one to find out I will not get paid for weeks (if they dont have a trainer availible) or sent back home. I have a wife a little girl to think about. Even though my wife ####### I spent 5000 and delivering pizzas. So if I hear anything I will let all know and please do the same.

 

There doesnt seem to be a shortage of students at the Roadmaster School in Tampa...

I had a load deliver in the area and saw the trucks from either I-4 or US 301. (its right next to the fairgrounds)

The trucks were manuvering around the pad.

Quite a few students crowded around the Engine compartment on at least 4 other trucks too.

These hiring practices have been this way for a while... when I started researching 2 years ago Florida would pop up more often than not on hiring freeze lists. Economy only made it worse.

The sheer volumne of inbound freight vs. outbound tips the scales to the consumer state title rather than the producer state title. More trucks trying to get loads out of the state mean cheaper freight... one of our drivers said his last juice load out of Bradenton paid .67 per mile.

 

Yeah I'm ditching the RMaster route and will be "moving" to Texas. I spoke to my Dad and gave him a heads up that I'm going to be applying to companies with his address. I spoke to a recruiter and they said that being from TX is no problem but being from FL is.
Gonna be rough on the family here but hell gotta do what I gotta do cause there ain't no jobs around here.