Question for ALL you new guys WITH a CDL

I had my class 3 for a couple years up here in Alberta which entitles me to drive the tandem axle rigids. Last month when I was looking to step up to a tractor-trailer and get my class 1 license I looked around at various companies and what they pay. I found a guy here who was looking for a driver to haul flat-bed into the states. I called him up and told him where I'm at with my licensing. I got the job on condition I pass my driving test.

I booked 2 days with an instructor driving all over the city hauling a 53' van and then aced my driving exam. Now I've got the job and my first run is this Monday. I've been away from driving for a while until now, so it took an hour to shake the rust off with my shifting but towing the trailer wasn't really anything new for me.

So technically, I got my job before I even had a license. Mind you, I'm no stranger to towing stuff as I worked at the calgary international airport towing around anything from 737s upto airbus A300s and 757/767s and those skills were directly transferrable. I also towed various gooseneck trailers in the oilfield up north too.

They are pretty short on drivers in Alberta. Anyone who has a good head on their shoulders typically doesn't wait very long at all. When I hear of the doomsday stories about how trucking is going to die off I have a really tough time believing that since we are still relatively balls to the wall. With the price of oil coming down it has affected certain business sectors here in alberta but many of them are still going strong. Because of the driver shortage up here, a lot of the companies still pay really well.

 

I started as a student on the 1st week in Sept.. I had a couple of accepted applications at graduation.
I'm sure with the economy, that companies are being more selective, but they have to keep hiring.

 

danc694u,
u really look stressed out!
Laugh everytime I read that.....lol I am curious why you ask, do you see a big slow down ?