New guy - just got my permit

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by mmohn, Jun 2, 2023.

  1. mmohn

    mmohn Bobtail Member

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    Hey guys, I’ve been reading the forum here for quite a while really wanting to start a new career in trucking and finally decided to do it. I enrolled in a CDL course that starts july and just got my permit this week.
    I live in Tulsa and have been a software engineer for the last 16 years, working at the same company for the last 9. I started working from home during covid and needed to get out of the house a bit so I took a part time night job working the dock at Estes about a year and a half ago. They have a dock to driver program but I didn’t want to quit my regular job to do that without having a good driving job set in stone so I decided to just do the CDL course on my own.

    I am wanting to find a local job(local is a must) amd would love working as a p&d driver or linehaul with Estes or any ltl company. But driver positions at Estes seem few and far between and there’s not much turnover. I have been able to hostle trailers a few times and my boss told me I can do more of that to get the experience with backing trailers and hooking up sets and things like that.
    I should have my CDL this august so I’m hoping the industry turns a round a bit by then. Any suggestions from you guys would be appreciated, as far as what I should do between now and getting my CDL.
     
    Rideandrepair Thanks this.
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  3. Numb

    Numb Crusty Curmudgeon

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    Estes dock to driver isn't a "good driving job set in stone"?
     
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  4. Chinatown

    Chinatown Road Train Member

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    Hang in there with Estes until you get your cdl and all endorsements. Then make a move if Estes can't give you a driving job.
     
  5. mmohn

    mmohn Bobtail Member

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    It is a good program but the one guy I know who did it over a year ago still doesn’t have a dedicated route. He floats around and drives when needed. That’s not necessarily the problem, I wouldn’t mind that but it took a year for him to get to that point. He was still working the dock for the first year pretty much full time, and maybe driving a day or two a week.
     
  6. Chinatown

    Chinatown Road Train Member

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  7. Opus

    Opus Road Train Member

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    I'd hang with Estes. Pay your dues and you'll be rewarded down the road.
    And, by the way, welcome to the club.
     
  8. Chinatown

    Chinatown Road Train Member

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  9. mmohn

    mmohn Bobtail Member

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    I didn’t know these ltl companies hired new grads, it seemed like everything I saw required a year of experience. I’ll give them a look again.
     
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  10. Opus

    Opus Road Train Member

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    Oh, and another thing to consider is that since there's "very little turnover", it usually means that it's a pretty good job......jus sayin
     
  11. mmohn

    mmohn Bobtail Member

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    Absolutely. The money seems to be pretty good with these places.
     
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