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

interesting advice coming up

job hoping is not a good idea

being married is also ok. depends on the marriage. many have survived it myself included

 

You want to avoid talking to negative, egotistical, blow hard drivers. This is an industry in which success and longevity is contingent on each individual driver. The most successful drivers are adaptable, available, and reliable. Those drivers can work for any company and do well, even the ones that have bad reputations. Is there a sector of trucking that interests you? Figuring out which sector of trucking you like will help you develop your trucking personality. Also, do you want to run all 48? Regional? Local? Local will require some experience, 1 or 2 years of OTR. After CDL school, take in all the info. Focus on honing skills, and getting acquainted with the highways. Everything else will take care of itself. Bottom line, if you figure what you want is important to you, then it becomes much easier to find a company that fits your needs. First things first: gotta get experience.

 

Ignore the "Negative Nancys" because if trucking is so bad, why are they still doing it.

 

IMO, don't go to CDL school until after you have found an employer that hires people with your record and running drivers where and how you want to work. For example, don't hire on to a company running the Northeast and the Midwest if you really want to run Rocky Mtns and West coast. Anybody and everybody can pass CDL school. EVERY CDL school will take your money even if they know you have almost chance of getting hired for some reason. CDL schools just teach you to pass the state test. You learn the other 95% of the job at your first company while you share a truck with your trainer. I rode with my first trainer for 8 weeks. The trainer was nice country fella we got along well. It still wasn't comfortable with 2 adults sharing one truck. It has about the space of a cheap hotel bathroom. Some newbies want to go solo ASAP. IMO, that's a recipe for disaster. 1, find the employer you want to work for, then let that decision dictate which CDL school you attend. You will pass CDL school and you will likely feel unprepared for the state test like many of us. Your best chances for a good outcome happen if you have a stable work history with no gaps over 30 days, nor criminal history, no traffic tickets. For me, the tanker sector is the gentleman's part of the industry and it usually pays better than dry van and doesn't work harder than a coal minor to make unremarkable pay. HazMat tanker mostly wants drivers with 1 year CDL experience and no accidents/tickets. Food-grade tanker sometimes takes newbies with no CDL experience. There are over 31 flavors of ice cream because people like different things. I'm a strawberry or vanilla or chocolate ice cream person. Some people demand the other flavors. I like steady, comfortable, professional type companies. Other drivers feel like if they didn't earn more than any other driver in North America last week they failed. You need to take a personality inventory in your mind and decide what you need, who you are, and what you can do for 1,5, 10 years and work toward making that happen. I tend toward medium and big companies that solid and expect drivers to be professional. As often as possible I just followed my dad and my brother's foot steps until they left the industry. Then I got into tankers and loved it.

 

Great question and you've hopefully come to the right place to get good advice. It is always best to consider the "Pros and the Cons" of the industry, compared to the working life your currently engaged in. Can I handle the day to day activities of driving over the road if that is your goal, if not then maybe local driving would be more suited to my needs. Do I have a good driving record? Very important as driving schools won't warn you about this as knowing you may not have a chance at getting a job would not encourage one to spend money on a CDL driving course so they would be reluctant to inform you of this matter. Sadly many find this out after they've wasted money on a CDL driving school course. Can I a pass a drug and or alcohol test? Note many companies will get you to take a hair follicle test if you have taken illicit drugs quite a while back and a company requires you to take the hair follicle test you will test positive so avoid them. Your option in this case if you have taken drugs would be to wait for enough time to pass to get this out of your system. e.g 1 1/2 inches of hair can detect drugs about 3 months back, longer hair can go back even further in some cases up to 12 months. Urine tests are better for more recent drug taking, whereas hair tests are good for drugs taken further back. If you intend to drive professionally stay clear of banned substances instead do what all professional truck drivers do and just get high on caffeine. All the best on your future driving goals.

 

Most megas with a school will make you drive for them for a year if they get you your cdl at no cost, which is not entirely unreasonable. Or, you can go to school and pay a few thousand. You CAN actually have it both ways, though. Ask around about tuition reimbursement. Many companies offer it. It won't be a lump sum, but it'll be 100 bucks or so on every check.

 

Maybe they're stuck here LMFAO!!!

 

One positive of company provided CDL school is you will have a job when you get your license.

 

That's why I'm still doing it. At 41 starting over isn't an option, especially to be making 6 figures. I've thought about leaving, but the math doesn't work. Go into massive debt while putting my family through hell, to potentially be earning in 4-5 years what I'm making now.

 

Industry is in recession. THERE IS NO TRUCK DRIVER SHORTAGE. You are not guaranteed a job. The difference between a 'good job' and a 'bad job' is one provides what you need and want and the other provides what someone else needs and wants. Some people are vegans and some people are meat & potatoes people. If you ask them what's a good restaurant they will give you different answers. So a good job for you might be someone else's definition of a terrible job.

You need to be specific, not say easy job, high pay, lots of time off, etc, etc. You need to define specifically what you need. EVERYBODY has different wants and needs. EVERYBODY wants lots of pay and easy work. Newbies aren't getting either.