Starting out for rookies

Hey man call me I'm 20 and I have hotshot experience have a class a cdl no airbrakes but been doing oilfield work since I was 18 out of high school graduated and need a job asap name is Randall

 

I have read though this whole thread and just want to ask a few thinks that pertain to where i live. Im in Bay St Louis, Ms near Gulfport, Ms. I just got laid off and need income fast but i have been thinking of becoming a truck driver for years and decided this is the best time because i don't have a job I read Swift is ok and they pay as you get trained. Also thinking of having my wife become a driver also. I understand we will not train together but how does a team not see each other when driving when there are laws against driving 12 hours straight?

Im not looking to become filthy rich. Just enough to support my wife and i. 50k is more then enough or am i having high hopes? Even if my wife doesnt change her job 30k is more then enough to us. Any info or advice would be great.

 

Great suggestions, thanks for the advice!

 

Today's trucking industry offers many opportunities to get the training and experience that you need. Simply contact one of the major trucking companies; Werner, Schneider, Swift etc. They will put you on a truck with a driver trainer for several weeks depending on whether you have less than a year or have graduated from their school or another. Once you have completed the dual time required you can test out and be placed in the solo driver category. Then it's simply a matter of incurring some time behind the wheel to move on to a job of your choice.

I hate to say it but that's been part of the problem in the trucking industry in recent years. Companies are opening the doors to training programs but they don't pay the new driver that much. They would rather hire a new driver with less experience who is simply glad to be hired at .26 cents per mile rather than a guy like me with over 30 yrs and an unblemished record at .50 cents per mile. Corporate profits off the idea of "earning your way" to higher pay as you acquire more experience. You work hard all your life to get experience and a safe driving record but then nobody wants to pay you for it. I was a car hauler for many years and the same thing that has happened throughout the rest of the trucking industry has happened there too.

There was a time when I made over $100,000 a year as a company driver hauling cars but those days are diminishing.