What can you tell me about 3rd party Testing (state of Pa)...Wife asking here)..

Just my humble opinion, but job security is almost as important as the job. If I find myself worrying excessively about getting laid off, I go job hunting. No job pays enough to compensate for that stress. And they have laid off 8 of 11 guys. That place is a sinking ship. Time to jump that ship to one that isnt sinking. I understand it's 30 bucks an hour. But 30 bucks an hour times no hours after the inevitable lay off is 0 bucks.

 

I have over 20 years in the RR biz, have worked for all the big ones in all but about 6 states. This is a severe downtime. I've seen trains go by recently that would look like any other train to most people, but the contents gave me a cold shiver about the state of things out there. There are sidings with miles of locomotives sitting mothballed. In some eastern terminals they are back to 2010, everyone hired after that is laid off. In another post on TTR it was stated that BNSF alone has laid off 7000 people.

Usually the RR companies use this time to repair infrastructure, but this time they aren't. And they are bringing in outside contractors for what little is being done. RR management is famous for making the stupidest wrongest decisions possible, so it doesn't mean all is lost, but it does mean the RR will act like it until it gets a hard bonk on the noggin. They will wake up when they have trains backed up everywhere with no crews and broken infrastructure.

While things might pick up, and the job pays well, the issue I had with RR is that the job isn't portable. There are only so many companies left and the skills and job descriptions are alien to most HR drones. For those who haven't worked for a RR, they have their own unemployment and it doesn't pay much.

He's getting a B to drive crew bus and/or Brandt Truck, but if he had an LTL job he'd make just about as much without the stress. More importantly, if he was working for a trucking company that went sour, their competition would likely have a terminal nearby In PA the choices are CSX, NS, GWRR, or god forbid RJC.

That hard-earned seniority cuts both ways because it glues people's feet to the ground when they'd be better off leaving a burning building. Nearly every single day I worked an engine, some old timer would find a former RR worker in the obits, often they had been retired for less than 6 months. When the work ended they had nothing else. This downtime might be doing you a favor.

Best of luck.

 

I just recently graduated from a school that did 3rd party testing. I believe you could pay for just the test and maybe a few hours on the course before hand for around $350 maybe a bit more for the course time. Not sure how far you are from Harrisburg but they have a school there.

As far as the permit goes you get the medical before taking the permit test (written). If he is ready to take the test just go to the local dmv with the medical paper work and get the permit. Do this ASAP because you must wait 15 days from when you get the permit until you can take the driving portion.

 

Jobs are... like a morning fog, it's nice to have it. But that too shall change.

My father was one of the top paid People in his department by decades of experience creating product his company relied on system wide unfortunately he was downsized and took a pension going from 40K plus with bennies to a pension that was maybe 10K if that. Why? Company was staggering under expenses when the customers payments slowed.

My work with trucking taught me that there are 50 wanna bes each week in orientation ready to replace me in the cab. No one is special or untouchable.

With the CDL learning, it's going to cost you not only a few thousand dollars, but also approximately 4 months in time on weekend schedule, assuming your Spouse stays at the job during the week. If your Spouse takes off it's still a couple months for CDL school.

The State is going to hand your spouse the test for CDL after a vareity of papers, identifications which has become steeper this year in many if not all states costing more to get in both time and money. The school after completing the course will provide a truck to test on.

If you needed to procure a 18 wheeler to test on, you are going to have expenses you wont believe. It's a wash. Go to school. Spend the time pass the course and then go get the cdl test.

If your spouse's company decides enough is enough and sends him to pension or unemployment, you are going to understand and change your stronghold attitude that perhaps spouse is somehow untouchable. Let me say this with all due respect. If you really want job security, Buy the company spouse works for outright. That way YOU get to say who stays and goes.

 

Let's see. Airbrakes written test can be discovered online from previous years to give you an idea of what is involved. Airbrakes is the bread and butter. Without it you are not going to see a heavy vehicle B or A anywhere. Because the physics and thermal heat involved in braking a heavy vehicle will make a fire and burn it down with hydraulic. And USA does not use Vacumn braking.

The Passenger should be straight forward. After all, humans load and unload themselves. What's left? I don't know. I looked into running a bus once and the attitudes I recieved from them matched what I recieve from buses on the interstate in the northeast. We don't like one another for a variety of reasons.

The Combination vehicle is important. Take it. Doubles and triples is a special form of trucking You dont need that one. Tank? If your spouse company does not have tank fine, don't do it. But I say do it. Because if your spouse does get laid off, having that tank endorsement means he can run a Cement Mixer for example.

Hazmat is the BIGGIE. Im thinking your Spouses employer does not handle a speck of hazmat anywhere. Make sure of that before you go in because even one box of something hazmat in a truck or car set up for CDL is enough to need a placard in some cases.

Regarding the dust, I am not a popular person in life because I have a big mouth and no tact. I say it like I call it. So many people have gone down the path that somehow the Union Job or Non Union Job whatever it may be is a strong place never to be violated, fired or dismissed, retired etc

Let me repeat, Im not a person to be diplomatic or nice. But I do make a effort to show you what I do or do not know. My own story does not match 99% of everyone else. We all have a walk in the life our own.

In our life and work, we always start looking for other work whenever a company or management starts to even THINK about reductions, layoffs, firing, reassingments or anything like that. Weeks or months prior to them actually axing people. We aint gonna be there no more. No problem we are already moved into something else.

Work for the State Government, Or the United States Government. Then you will see how less stress a position will be plus the ability to double dip the pensions and so forth with your social security if we still have it decades into the future.