New CDL Driver: Advice on First Steps and Choosing a Company

Doesn't make a difference you r after experience, some will offer training but, lock you in for a year, what do u want to do? Whatever you do, just deal with anything and everything for a year

 

@tscottme

 

We can, and will, help you get started and hopefully avoid mistakes.
Where is your location; not your address, just your zip code and town you live in. This lets us know the hiring area you live in for various companies.
Are you physically fit? This will help us, help you, find a company that's suitable for your personal situation.

 

Maybe you or a Moderator will move your post to the:
Questions From New Drivers

 

There’s a whole lot of info on this forum, if you’re looking in the right sub-forum. You’ve posted this thread in the O/O sub-forum. Read through the threads here:

Questions From New Drivers

 

Run Forrest, run!!!.....

 

Age, and location will help immensely.

 

Trucking is incredibly difficult for many reasons. The turnover rate for new drivers is about 90% the first year, most of those are in the first 6 months. The hours are long, the pay is low, and you can't trust hardly anyone. It's only worth it if you're single, and willing to sacrifice a lot to make it work. I think the ideal candidate would be single with not much of a life AND be able to get rid of almost all bills, especially rent and car payment. If you fit that category it can work well for you, mainly because of the ability to get rid of your bills, while living in a mega carrier truck and gaining experience.

If that makes sense to you then this is what I suggest. Your first job doesn't matter all that much. The statistics say you have a very high likelihood of being there less than 6 months no matter what. And that's OK. A lot of people are going to suggest researching companies and finding a good job. Nah
Don't even bother. Just get a job that is convenient and you won't care about quitting in 3-6 months. Now you don't want to have more than 2 jobs your first year, but I got my third job right after I hit a full year. The second job is more important than the first, but still, you're unlikely, statistically to be there for very long, although of course it's possible.

Now let me try to explain why it's best to leave companies multiple times your first year. It's simply because of safety, everything is recorded nowadays. You don't have to wonder if you're driving on camera. Yes, the general public is recording you and all the other cameras on buildings and on the trucks, etc. Even if there's not a driver facing camera odds are you're on camera. Not to mention, these trucks are recording all of the safety incidents, so you want to cut your ties with companies fast before something goes on your DAC. If you have more than 1 accident your first year, you need to look for a different career. If you have too many safety incidents, you will be terminated for a safety violation, and then no company will want to touch you. Insurance runs this industry. Your best bet is to stay under the radar as much as possible and get to one year of experience with as clean of a record as possible. After that you will have decent options open up. Also you're likely to get a pay raise every time you switch jobs the first couple years, but it's all on how you handle yourself and navigate.

 

Try to get your CDL without the automatic only restriction because there are still a lot of well paying jobs in trucking that require manual tractors. Also get all your endorsements.

I would try to get my CDL on my own and then search for jobs. A lot of the schools will have companies come to your class to recruit new drivers. Try to figure out what type of trucking you want to do before you graduate. Do a lot research..some folks like OTR, others like local/regional trucking.