Quitting company after getting cdl

Milk your trainer, pester him with questions. Everything he does question it. Learn what you can. Someday there might be something big going sideways and you will hear that trainer in the other seat telling you *&^% what did I tell ya!? this way not that way... lol.

 

Even after 17 years I can still feel my trainer thumping me in the back of the head when I make a boneheaded maneuver

 

Don't you mean awesomely stupid plan?

 

you would STILL BE responsible for the student loan to get your CDL. they can and will mess with your credit, as you will be signing a bunch of papers.

going team can suck, but that mileage will go by rather quickly, it'll only drag on if you let every little thing bring you down.

do your time, get it done, THEN move on to better places.

but beware, all that glitters from other companies, is not always gold. but rather the pee in a bottle, the sun is shining on.

and by the way, many times, one gets an approval or denial with in 24-48 hours for a student loan, now surely you can wait that long?

 

The first and solid rule is never quit a job without one to go to. Start in and learns some basics and then look around. You don't have to find the best job out there but you may find the best one for your situation if you wait. If you take this job seriously and always try to improve when your my age your be kick back relaxing too.

 

As a driver recruiter, I can tell you that I have a stack of applications from drivers who will never be considered as long as I am here because of their work history. Almost everyone has worked for more than one employer. Almost everyone has left a job because it wasn't what it was cracked up to be. But when I see a 3 year history and they've worked for 10 different carriers - they can't all suck. You need to be very careful about job hopping. Most premium carriers will not consider an applicant without a solid work history. It's one of the reasons we have such a low driver turnover rate (16%). When I see a history of job hopping, what makes me think they won't do the same to us as a company? There are a lot of costs involved in recruiting, vetting, and getting a new driver up to speed to be efficient. I don't want to lose out on that investment or create a revolving door to my office.

Some carriers have non-compete clauses attached to their CDL training that require you to buy out your contract up front or wait a certain time length before being able to work for another competitor. I ran into that recently with an applicant. My advice is stick it out for a while, make the most of it, gain some experience and learn everything that you can while you are there. If you feel that you absolutely must make a switch because of A, B, or C - then the best time to look for a job is while you have one.

If you still owe on your cdl training loan - there are companies like mine that have tuition reimbursement that will even cover the "carrier training programs".

Have a great day and Drive Safe!

 

ALOT of my job changes was specific to equiptment. In the beginning I ran 50's 60's era tractors in fleets that had brand new tractors because the culture demands that the youngest most inexperienced driver... that's me gets the worst equipment, no power steering, no supension, no airride, no adjust seats, wheel etc etc etc. nothing. So if I wreck it it's disposible as i am.

It took about 15 careful job changes each one incrementally improving the equipment situation. If you were my recruiter and I asked if your company has power steering, you said yes after a pause to such a simple basic question, you hired me because that was my goal of changing jobs, to get into better equiptment. The payroll takes care of itself.

back in the late 80's and early 90's there was a big push to retain drivers in good equiptment, meaning airride, jake, etc. And different companies advertised different things. So I would move from the crappy international or GMC trucks into the nicer Pete or CH Model Mack etc. Every move was made that specficially added something until roughly 1994 I had what I considered everything I ever wanted in equiptment. Qualcomm was the last best mod so to speak. No more telephones and time wasting parking, holds and so on. I literally tossed my ATT Credit card for telephone work that year. It was about 400 dollars a month. Poof. Gone. Instant pay increase because that expense went bye bye with the satellite.

Every job I changed up to was for payroll reasons after. Finally I got into what i considered high dollar loads, million plus value narcotics with McKesson and my wife as a team with me. To us we needed nothing more in trucking. All of it was there for us through 2001.

Everything stopped in 2001 for us, medical reasons became actual surgeries, doctors team work tests and so on for years. 2009 was the last time I handled big trucks and crews of CDL people driving a herd of for sale trucks of different ages. My expeirence kicked in teaching the newbies what is what with the old air starters and teach the oldies what's what with the autos for the auction house in little rock. It paid peanuts. but the joy of working with others in a supervisory/teaching position for me was the best. You can take all those dozens of jobs and toss it into the trash heap because none of them had what I was having then from 1999 to 2009.

I could care not at all for never running a big truck again for teir one or intrastate commerce. Im out of that. If I ever get rebuilt medically to where I qualified with DOT again, Im going back to McKesson knowing I will have no trouble at all with one important change. The colt is going with me. Memphis is a bad place. Company polices be ######.

That sir, is the difference between me, the old driver who is set in ways versus a weak newbie hire at 21 who knows nothing and can be taught anything you wish to teach him. America has oppertunties for him. Not for me. I could be a recruiter myself, but no thanks. I know the greater percentage of applicants are unwashed masses I would not want on the big road myself. So I would not be a good recruiter.

I appreciate your thoughts. But today's newbies have something I never had in the 80's a Internet. A chance to read this and go hmmmm. really? Then consider the stories... before they hire onto anything.