Trying My Best Not to Screw Up

Higher-end companies like old dominion which is were I work for. Average pay for drivers is $80k- 100k.

 

Look into grants from state and local unemployment offices that will pay for your trucking school and you don't have to pay the money back, when you get your CDL remember to go easy , take your time, plan your route, your trip and be as safe as you can be,,you run the truck the truck does not run you

 

Don't be afraid to ask questions. 5 minutes now can save you hours down the road. As you can see on here there are more than enough drivers willing to help. Use the experience, nobody knew all this when they first started. Good luck

 

I'm going to chime in some here. It's true that most companies will want a "vetted" and "proven" driver when it comes to dedicated runs. Sni is no exception.

That being said. I was hired onto Sni's dedicated division right out of school. My cdl hadn't even cooled off from the DOT's printer.

So they'll hire you right out if they need drivers.

However, coming from personal experience, I would highly suggest doing otr first. It sucks, I know. But part of my job is getting into tiny malls or strip malls with landscaping everywhere. You'd be very surprised to learn how defensive and offended people get when you run over a bush by accident.

It's not a fireable offense, but landscaping is forgiving and can be replaced. (Rocks and trees aside...). Some places I've been to have really deep drainage ditches alongside where you pull in. Get your tandems caught in there, or heaven forbid your truck...



...and you end up with something like this.

I'm not trying to scare you, just warn you. There's a learning curve to almost all accounts I've worked with since my starting time with Sni 8 months ago. I made it just fine to this point. So it's certainly not impossible.

But if you hear nothing else from me.......
STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM DOLLAR TREE/GENERAL/ECT dedicated... In my class we had 4 new drivers for that account; none made it to the 4th month.

 

You live in an awesome area for trucking. you could probably get a local gig with 6 months exp and most importantly a clean license. Therefore I suggest you pay for school on your own and not be tied down for a year. I've never heard of someone using a pell grant for CDL school but I guess it woud work at a community college program. I got mine from the Workforce Reinvestment Act a govt program. In my state I had to go to the One Stop career center which was located in the unemployment office. It took some time but they paid the full tuition and the school even had to reimburse me the cost of my permit which I got on my own before school began.I was unemployed when I went through the process but it is not a requirement if you make under a certain amount you are elligable. Good luck to you and remember when you drive for a living your license is your life so keep it clean.

 

It's mostly colleges that'll take Pell Grants. Anything else isn't approved by the government.

They certainly aren't cdl mills as they keep you for almost three times as long (close to a year in some cases) but unfortunately most still do not teach you to be a driver from what I hear.

 

The most important part of avoiding disappointment and regret, know your truck. A good pre trip will save alot of grief over the years. Good luck and run it cool.

 

Check with Sodrel Transportation; may get better home time to see your son.
The school is not free, but they do finance it for you. You are sent to Safe Drivers Institute of America in Indianapolis. One unique feature is you get 44 hours of road time with just you and the instructor; not with a sleeper full of students.