Qustions

Home time is important? Try to get with a local Tech. College and maybe find a job hauling beer.
Most OTR jobs are going to have you out 7-14 or more days and maybe home for 2 after that. Then your our for that many more days again.

SWIFT, STEVENS, ROEHL, all these have their own Academies. But your likely gonna want to try something else first.

 

I would strongly recommend you finding another career. You are just going to waste precious time and money on this idea of being a trucker. If you are fully prepared to see your daughter for a handful of times a year then proceed. If not, see suggestion above! These recruiters are going to lie to you, you will believe them, spend lots of money and time going through school and orientation and training and when you get out on the road and your dispatcher doesn't let you come home every month you will quit! This is the leading cause of new drivers quitting! It is very, very, VERY rare for a newbie to land a truck driving job in which they are home more than once a month! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise you will just be hurting yourself! Why do you think these companies have to spend millions of dollars in advertising to get you to work for them? You will be just as well off signing up for the Navy and being "stationed in Hawaii"!

 

i agree if ur new and worried about hometime then maybe rethink your career choice.

 

Sorry man...find another career.
Trucking is not the right choice for you...


Out of every 100 new drivers that start in this industry..
At the 1yr point...97% are no longer around.
Most either quit or get tossed out and end up in even MORE DEBT than they started with.

Seriously, you would be better off finding a job at Home Depot and being home each and every night...
Heck, you might actually make more money too...

~

I bought my rig from an O/O that was away from home too often and has 2 little girls.
He didnt like the fact they were growing up and he wasn't home. The odd part of this?
He was only on the road Sunday PM until Thursday PM each week. Home a good portion (which is NOT common)
and it still wasn't enough...To me, the gig he had was the ultimate...but oh well-

 

jason, it is EASY to go to school and learn how to drive....

it is EASY to apply for jobs

it is EASY to be turned down as well.

home time is important to everyone, but for the new person coming into this business, home time takes a back seat for the time being. you will have to attend some school, preferably one near you that you pay for yourself. if you get locked into a training contract with a company, you very well may be away from home for a few weeks.. a person really needs to "pay his dues" before getting a local job, over dozens of experienced drivers that are just starting out. you would need to be in the right place at the right time.

if you were to sit and wait, then you'd be waiting a long time. best advice anyone can give is two fold...

1), go to school, then go with a company that'll keep you on the road for about 2 to 4 weeks at a time....then put in a huge sacrifice to get it done, gain experience, then after about 6 months to 1 year, look for more localized work......

or

2) seek another job occupation, like diesel mechanics (they get paid better), auto mechanics, plumbing (get paid WAY BETTER THAN MECHANICS), or go into warehousing...(fork lift operator)...those jobs you would be home daily, and make far better money than a driver, and no road crap to ever worry about.

by the way, its all a matter of semantics, all companies are "the best of the best".....just ask any recruiter....

frankly, there is NO BEST OF THE BEST.....its all opinionated....and like blow holes, everyone has at least one.........

 

Ok my 2 cents here.

I got in a trainers truck the beginning of Dec. I got in my truck last Friday. Since Friday I have earned a whopping $82.88 because of weather. I am 4 hours from home and can't get there, and I have been sitting at a so-called truck stop for 2 days now. I have not been home since the week I got in my trainers truck.

Is this what you really want? Go to college and be there.. if at some later date in life you really want this life thean go for it.. that what I have done..

 

If being home is important then don't drive a truck.

 

Ditto that... & all the other replies you've gotten here Jason... if home time is high on your priority list you may want to seriously re-think things.

At the VERY LEAST look into a local school & not one of the company sponsored ones... otherwise, when you don't get enough home time & decide you want out you then at least won't be on the hook for 4-figures.

I went the local school route for a similar reason... to keep as many open options as possible once I had my CDL... so now I have quite a few options on the table as I write this to pick from.

Of course in my case, home time isn't one of my largest concerns (my step-son is now 18 )... only real factor there is that I live in the far northeast part of the country so I've kept my eye on who's equipment I see up here on a daily basis... that way I know they have a decent amount of frieght in & out of this state so they at least have the chance to get me a load headed in this direction once in a while.

 

Everytime I am in Houston,I see alot of highway construction,get your "A"and try that...Dont know if you will have all winter off there like in the great "WHITE" north though......