No mountain experience an issues getting hired?

I’m contemplating moving up north, as hazmat jobs (especially those willing to train drivers with no hazmat experience) seem to be more plentiful than in the south, not to mention better pay, AND they’re local. I have no desire to go OTR. I’m considering WV due to the low cost of living, but it is a mountainous state. Even though I have 2 years of tractor-trailer experience (and 3 more in a class b), and in a 10-speed, would they be unwilling to hire me if they see that I have lived in the south GA area all my life?

There’s several hazmat companies in WV that will hire with no hazmat experience (and one that has been known to hire out of school), but they have a fairly high turnover rate and seem to always be hiring on Indeed, despite the good pay. And even the negative reviews will agree the pay is decent. But I figure if I can bite the proverbial bullet and work at one of these jobs for a year or two to get experience, I’ll then be able to get hired at a more reputable company (some of the reviews even suggest this). It’s the equivalent of when a graduate works at a mega carrier; they’re terrible to work for, but you hang with it until you get experience and go work for a better company.

 

Unless you are the one exception, if any other drivers have learned the job so can you. I hope you understand EVERYONE leaving CDL school is only qualified to sit in a semi-truck. Companies that hire newbies always put them with an experienced driver or a trainer for 1 week to 2 months and that is where you learn the 95% of the job school never even discusses. PRETEND to be the most careful person the company has ever hired until you are comfortable and drive more realistically. Drive like the highway patrol has a trooper in the passenger seat and the boss is watching.
WV not only has big hills but it has weather on those big hills. BOTH should make you drive more carefully until you get a good feel for the hills and the weather.

There is no one rule for all WV companies hiring outside of the state. Apply and see what happens.

 

I grew up in Colorado. Trust me; what they have in WV are just HILLS........

 

Make the move to WV! You'll do just fine there.

 

There's gold in them there hills!

 

If I can find a $25+ hourly job with OT combined with $600 monthly rent, that’ll be quite the net income.

 

Not sure what all you are open for, but, this company hauls into the mines. I hauled magnetite back when I was going through divorce many years ago, can be dirty work, but takes you interesting places too.

As a WV native my whole life, I’ll say this…. Many only see the interstates here in WV or roads like route 19 across the the new river gorge or route 52 and such. Those same people may scoff at this area when comparing it to the Rocky Mountains, and they are correct, these mountains are not nearly as long as those out west. But, when you are making the edge of the road crumble with your steer axle as the trailer cleans the ditch line on the other side as you look over the hill and see a stream that looks like a trail of sewing thread, you suddenly realize a 1000’ drop can kill you as easily as 2000’ drop.

Quality use to be Akers years ago, but if it’s something that peeks your interest it’s a start. They are about 25-30 minutes from the Ky border as well as the Ohio border…..

 

They will only know you have no mountain experience if you open your mouth. Mountain driving....is one of the reasons why most companies require OTR experience. West Virginia is not all that bad when it comes to mountains. There are steep ones but they pale in comparison to whats out west, at least in my view.

 

I moved to New Hampshire after living all my life in southern Arkansas. There’s definitely some good hills up here and slick roads. You just be careful. You’ll have a few good scares, but it’s definitely doable.

Make sure you can get that reasonable of rent. Up here jobs pay better, but rent is commonly $2,500 a month and not easy to find. Buying is difficult too. One of their biggest problems is lack of housing availability. Idk about WV, but make sure of that.

 

As someone who has driven a lot of miles on both Colorado and West Virginia roads, I agree. WV is a much more challenging place to drive.