Want to be a local driver, but don't know where to get started!

Sure you can, go knock on some doors. Try food distribution, yes long hours i work only 4 days 10-12 hrs. Don't worry about not being able to sleep at night, you'll sleep like a baby haha

 

nailed it......

 

if your trucking your working those hours.... no doubt. if you are lazy and want to work a nine to five... go look somewhere else.

 

don't know what area you live in but it was very easy for me to get local job when i first started 8 years ago.. you mentioned Sysco they have a sister company called sygma they use to hire school grads and hired me and many others with out a cdl then put them in school.. 50k a year potential to start back then could be more or less now i haven't worked there since 2008 its tough work hauling food on a hand cart down a ramp from the trailer and putting it in coolers.. the nice thing about sygma is they do big fast food chains like wendys Panera bread panda express Sysco handles all the little mom and pop pizza shops and diners wich are a real pain.. depending on where you live they use to have a 60 mile radius of the terminal hiring area again that may have changed i assume your in one of the Carolinas if north Carolina they have a place in charlotte

 

I was hired in with sygma in Harrisburg pa.. I had my permit when I started. . During the interview when they explained training pay and period of time I would be in training as a helper I almost walked out.. I asked if I had my license could I skip the grunt work and the answer was no.. I remember they said a year driving or had to go to school. . I would call them if you're interested. Like I said I worked in Harrisburg pa and it was great then I moved near Columbus Ohio and transferred and all went bad because they are a union location and wanted to do 100% of the job for 80% of they pay and start at zero .. that didn't work for me because I was already a employee not a new hire into the company.. well on two occasion I took a 10 stop run and brought 2 stops back to the yard. We agreed I should go.. but Harrisburg was non union I'm not sure about Charlotte.

 

I got hired by a soda company. Seven months OTR experience. Ad claimed they were only looking for those with 2 years tractor-trailer experience. A bunch of ########. In my area, even Pepsi and Coke hired dudes with a freshly minted CDL. If you could learn to shift a ten speed you could get a job delivering soda in southwest CO.

Hell, now that I know what to look for I'm sure I could land a local soda delivery job almost anywhere. I see food delivery ads a lot too. It's fun and ok in the summer time. But come winter I PROMISE you that you'll think "why in the #### did I think this was a good idea?" I slipped on ice one time and had to chase 2 Liter soda bottles down the parking lot.

#### happens is a constant saying in the soda delivery business.

The local thing is nice yes. Get to be home every night. If you got a family that's great. For me it was the most boring #### I've ever done, and I've held several office jobs. Soda delivery is the same ####, day in day out, maybe it just wasn't for me. And some of those corner store employees can be straight up anal when they check you in!

My advice? Listen to Chinatown. Dude is always pushing tanker jobs, although I swear he runs dry and refrigerated grocery by some of his posts! He knows his ####, and it would benefit you to look into the companies he lists.

unloader

 

Where to start? You start by applying. If they say no, they say no, and you move on to the next prospective employer. Beat some pavement, meet them face-to-face, look them in the eye. It can happen. If you're willing to do the leg work, it can go a long way. If your plan is to sit behind the computer in semen-stained underwear or whatever and expect something to fall into your lap from a Craigslist post, you'll probably be in for a disappointment. So get out there and get it! Don't be dissuaded by naysayers, people who buy the "you MUST do OTR first" nonsense, people who want what you want but are too timid to step out of their little box, etc. Just go at it balls to the wall, and don't shy away from trying because you expect them to say no. Like the idol in Zardoz spoke, "go forth.... and kill!".

But don't actually follow through with the bit about killing. It doesn't make for a very good first impression.
I'm rooting for ya, dude. Get out there and make it happen.