Prospective OTR driver with a couple questions

Schneider pay is low, but it may be a start.
Chattanooga is good because there's no state income taxes in Tennessee.
Yes, get all the endorsements; all of them.

 

Another driver on here in your situation said he has a pending application with PAM.
Two years being unemployed is as big a barrier as the DUI.
PAM has a 6 mos. contract.
Home Page – PAM Transport, Inc.

 

Schneider accepted me in their rookie program after I had been out of regular employment for almost 2 years....so it has been doable with them.

To get in the door there, I already had a CDL...plus all relevant endorsements....plus a TWIC card (& a US passport); also: no accidents/incidents/citations....or criminal history.

If you have more like that on your application -- you are obviously a more appealing driver prospect for recruiting.

Schneider has a terminal in Atlanta, & a small one in Lebanon, TN.

As I write this -- I also know that Werner is aggressively hiring in the southeast.

Just some food for thought.

-- L

 

Welcome aboard, you came to the right place. Many people in your situation turn to trucking as a viable replacement for work. It's entirely possible for someone today, with no trucking background whatsoever, to be successful, mostly because it may be the only game in town.
1st, if it's about location, you couldn't be in a better place. Chicago Intermodal is huge, and mostly regional work ( maybe a layover), and midwest is never short of work, if you can handle winter trucking. A move down south has many issues you may not be used to, but no shortage of freight in Atlanta. 2nd, there are several types of trucking. Local( home daily), regional( overnight or 3), and OTR, never home, or shouldn't be an issue anyway, the truck becomes your home, and with social media today, it's entirely doable. There are different types of actual trucking, reefer/van, tanker, dump, flatbed, and a slew of specialized deals, all requiring experience. Starting out, you can expect a van delivering to Dollar General stores, for maybe $60gs/year. Local hourly work, seems to hover in the $28-$35/hr. range to start. Some exp. can make $50+/hr, but not too often. Specialized and certain accounts, some can make $100gs/year, and the recruiters always use that as an example, but not likely either.
If it's something you really want to do, and my standard reply is, remember,,50% of new applicants quit in the 1st 6 months, 25% of the remaining don't make it a year, so the odds are clearly agin you, but you can do it. Keep us posted, eh? Good luck.

 

Millis Transfer has a training facility in Cartersville, roughly an hour north of Atlanta and about 2 hours south of Chattanooga. Might want to look there.

 

I am going to offer you some really really important advice that will keep you out of trouble.

DO NOT WORK FOR A COMPANY AS A 1099 EMPLOYEE.

The exception is this - if there is a contract, if there is no expectation from the company that you will work as they want you to work and most importantly you do not have their permission to pick loads or be told how to drive.

The contract has to have a lot of details, like how you get paid, how much you get paid, and when you get paid.

 

GP Transco does not hire rookies.

Only certain companies will hire & train total beginners....like you.

Thus -- starting out -- your choices will be rather limited.

The companies mentioned earlier here specialize in grooming rookies for CDL careers.

-- L

 

Millis might work with you on the 2 yr. employment gap. Some companies will work with you on the DUI because it's 6 years old.