Wannabe with questions: Can I Drive Part Time? And other Hometime questions.

Hey all, (sorry in advance for the long post... scroll down to the bold and I'll get to the point)

I recently found myself in the HR office at my workplace realizing I had just been laid off, and then rehired at part time status. I don't want to cut ties with the company, because despite their recent behavior ("budget cuts") it's a fantastic company and there are some hours that they give me, and there are prospects for me getting back to full time around first of the year.

That being said, if things don't work out with my current employer, Trucking is my backup plan. I've driven routes for a living before, although it wasn't in a truck. I was a pharmacy courier for a Nursing Home company in California. I loved every second of it... except for walking into the horrible nursing homes the company owned... But I loved every minute of the road.

Anyway,

I'm wondering, if I get my CDL and start working for a company (let's say Schneider) that is offering Regional work with weekly home time for the 34 hour restart, how hard would it be to get home Saturday afternoon through Sunday Night every single week? (I work Saturday and Sunday Night at my current job and I really can't miss that... otherwise I could lose my opportunity at full time)

Also, how often/how little notice can you request home days during the week at a company like Schneider? For example, if I got a call from my other job about 3-4 days in advance, would I be able to request a day off?

Would it be better to request "Part Time" work? Do you get medical by working Part time in trucking?

I know they're rather specific questions, so I appreciate the help!

 

The only problem with your plan is that even the weekend is governed by the HOS, Technically those hours spent working at ANY job you receive pay for are supposed to count against your hours. I've known a few guys who've done part time work on the weekend and didn't get caught but, one never knows. If you have M-F available, most companies are going to want all that time and more from you and good luck getting home when you actually need to. I've heard of some CDL required yard switcher jobs around here that offer part time but it doesn't pay much, $12/hr. Not likely to get health insurance from a part time employer either. The ACA, (obamacare) is causing many companies to cut folks to part time to avoid being forced to provide health insurance to their employees.

 

You are probably gonna be served best by looking at another type of part-time work "if" you want to keep the door open for full-time opportunities where you are at the moment. Just starting off you will little to no wiggle room to request time off like you are wanting. They will want you to be available when the freight needs to move , not necessarily when you are able to move it. Besides...ALL of the time you work at your current job would have to logged as "on duty" time and that would go against the time you have to drive the truck...it can be done absolutely...but your scenario might be difficult, especially just starting with a company. As far as benefits go I've never known a company to pay part-time help any....

 

In that case, do companies like the aforementioned Schneider do part time, slip seating arrangements? Like out for 3-4 days for newbies?

Benefits aren't a huge deal and I don't mind if I'm not home during the week just gotta be able to work the 6 hours on Saturday and 4 on Sunday.

 

i seen schneider post part time jobs. so you can prob do that. even if you work weekends i doubt anyone will find out. but like the guy said you never know.

 

Yes - Schneider does part-time - currently working a schedule where I go out Friday and come home Sunday - 800 to 1200 miles. If I need time off, I request it ahead of time. No bennies attach to this type of schedule, but it works out well for me. As a supplement to other income, it's a good assignment. (of course, you have to pay to get your CDL, and that might not be worth it for some)

 

Yeah school alone will run you anywhere from $3,000-5,000 (depending on where you go). And I don't know how Schneider does it, but you could end up doing about 6 weeks training on otr. From my experience with Swift, I didn't get paid much during my training period. My family struggled financially during that time. So with school and training, you're looking at probably 2 1/2 months before you could go back to your regular job. I suppose that time would be less if you can get into trucking school close to where you live and do that work on the weekends. And since trucking requires so much dedication, just make sure the cost of school, and the amount of time you will need to focus on trucking, is worth it. That's a lot of money and time to just to drop trucking a few months later for your old job.

Also, make sure you WANT to drive trucks before you start. If it's just a backup, you may hate it. There's no guarantee you'll get the part time job that you would like to get.

 

Did you get the part time job as a rookie? This sounds perfect for me (but with different days) if they would accept a rookie. I'm willing to miss a weekend's worth of shifts at my other job for training but I can't miss much more than that. How long was your training?

 

Typically a school whether you go to a trucking company school , a private school , or a community college , the time span is at least 4 weeks , maybe 6...unless you go on just week-ends (Sat , Sun only ) then it can be as long as 8 to 12 weeks. Then once you get hired as a driver , you will train for as long as the trainer/mentor thinks you need to train , most folks spend as much as 4 to 6 weeks or 10 to 15 k miles. Also remember that you will be expected to run their freight when the freight needs running...the time and cost involved in getting to where you want to be as a part- time driver may just turn out to be a wash , if the current job you have decides to put you back on as a full- time employee....trucking is a very rewarding career , for some , for others even on this site...not so much. In your case I would really think this thing through , before spending not only the money required , but the time investment also...for a maybe....

 

Yes - first job after 4 weeks of truck school & obtaining CDL. SNI training was 3 weeks before being given keys to truck. In my situation, truck is assigned to me for 3 days, and to another driver the other 4 days.