Wrong time to start trucking?

It just doesn't matter.... It is, what it is.
I truly think that , "Going over the road" for today's vicious trucking companys.... is, the WRONG move.
BUT, I also believe ,..TIME, will straighten this country out??
.....Again, WHO KNOWS what will really happen, when we all look back 1,..2,..3....or so, years..from now????..

 

You're right. Everyone is looking to OTR and it's a bad move . They need to look to smaller companies that have trucks but aren't carriers , like construction or food services . People don't want to work . There are openings at jobs where driving is combined with manual labor . I used to work for MPW Industrial Services . They always needed CDL drivers but you had to WORK - setting up vacuum lines and 20k waterblast lines at power plants , putting on full chemical suits to clean chemical tanks . But the money was good . I'd work 84 hour weeks (paying overtime) 2 or 3 weeks in a row . I quit because I was promoted to supervisor and had all types of OSHA training . Then they stressed accountability . I knew the rules so if somebody I was supervising screwed up it was on me. Then I took a class to renew HAZWOPER qualification . When I saw the poor training others got and the attitude of employees I decided to leave . There was no way I was going to be responsible for those workers .

 

A bird in the hand beats two in the bush. In other words, take the class B job if they offer it to you. Jobs are extremely hard to come by these days. Even if KLLM invites you to orientation, you are not officially “hired” at that point. You still have to pass additional screenings, go out with a trainer and be assigned to your own truck. Countless drivers have gone to orientations only to be sent back home a couple of days later with no job and no money.

Pizza delivery guys and taxi drivers are frequent targets for armed robbers. So, I wouldn’t recommend that you continue this much longer.

 

To address the original question, I would say it is the wrong time to get into trucking. It is clearly an employers' market right now, and this is only amplified in the transportation field. Best to sit tight right now, even if that means being assistant manager at the pizza joint for a few years until things straighten out...or hold down that dock/driver job and build up that job history. In three years if things are better it will look good having a consistent job history. You don't want to get OTR and wind up being miserable and making less than at the pizza joint.

 

Hey Boss i see where u had posted this thread in 2009 and as far as i know you have found your perfect job .However i lived in Charlotte for many years and when i left in 2008 I left a really good job and if weather or not there hiring i do not know but her it is .Athens Paper Company 5901 Long Creek Park Dr #A Charlotte NC 28269 704-598-4003 When I was hired on I had to go thru a temp service the pay wasnt great but when i hired on (approx 2 months) they started me at 12.50 hr it was a awesome job easy deliveries home ever night. And theres another option the trucking temp service i know Charlotte has at least 4 temp companys if you need more info yell at me i will be glad to help

 

OP if you are already complaining then you should look for something else. People I know who were complaining in class or job orientation are still complaining now months in since they expect to make $60,000+ and never have to wait and have every weekend home time.

 

This was from more than 3 years ago..