Are the jobs there?

[Jim49525]

Hi all,
First want to thank all of you for your posts. This seems to be a good forum with some honest folks out there who aren't simply trying to scare us new guys or whine about how miserable they are!

After twenty years in social work, I'm going to fulfill a dream. I start CDL school in a few weeks! Last October my employer called me in and said they'd decided to eliminate my position. I was pretty blown away since I'd given them 15 years of my blood sweat and tears, and just a few weeks previously had received an outstanding performance eval with no warning of the termination! No such thing as job security anywhere anymore!

My daughters are grown and it's just my wife and I. The first 8 years we were married, I was in the Air Force and gone from home 9-10 months a year, so the road time won't be new to us. The thing my wife keeps wondering about though is how can there be so many job openings for truckers. I tell her the work can be hard and not for everyone, but I'm starting to wonder too. Is there really this huge demand or will I be struggling to find a position after school? I have pre-hire agreements from most of the typical OTR carriers, but I'm seriously considering Schneider. I like the sound of their training program and from what I've been hearing, they treat their drivers pretty well. I figure I will have to go with one of the big carriers to get the experience I need, and they seem like a good choice. I talked to one of their recruiters again today just to ask some questions, and I was a little concerned when I asked about projected openings for OTR dry van drivers in the Michigan area around the end of June. She said they are hiring currently, but she didn't seem real definite about what might be happening down the road. Anybody have any thoughts? Thanks again for welcoming us newcomers so graciously--my dad was a trucker in the old days, and it's good to hear that some of that old trucker respect and courtesy is still around!

[SevenOfNine]

Welcome to Truckingboards! You are tapping iinto a forum with members that have a vast amount of experience in trucking and most will try to answer your questions honestly and with out blowing smoke up your behind.

Schneider might give you a better shake then most big OTR companies out there.

There is series of "Questions to ask" threads located click HERE that might give you some ideas on what to ask the recruiters/truck companies.

I don't think any company can give a definite answer about whats down the road for specific area or job opening. If they say they can,then odds are they have a magic 8 ball and we all know how well they work......LOL

[pro1driver]

Originally Posted by Jim49525

Hi all,
First want to thank all of you for your posts. This seems to be a good forum with some honest folks out there who aren't simply trying to scare us new guys or whine about how miserable they are!

After twenty years in social work, I'm going to fulfill a dream. I start CDL school in a few weeks! Last October my employer called me in and said they'd decided to eliminate my position. I was pretty blown away since I'd given them 15 years of my blood sweat and tears, and just a few weeks previously had received an outstanding performance eval with no warning of the termination! No such thing as job security anywhere anymore!

My daughters are grown and it's just my wife and I. The first 8 years we were married, I was in the Air Force and gone from home 9-10 months a year, so the road time won't be new to us. The thing my wife keeps wondering about though is how can there be so many job openings for truckers. I tell her the work can be hard and not for everyone, but I'm starting to wonder too. Is there really this huge demand or will I be struggling to find a position after school? I have pre-hire agreements from most of the typical OTR carriers, but I'm seriously considering Schneider. I like the sound of their training program and from what I've been hearing, they treat their drivers pretty well. I figure I will have to go with one of the big carriers to get the experience I need, and they seem like a good choice. I talked to one of their recruiters again today just to ask some questions, and I was a little concerned when I asked about projected openings for OTR dry van drivers in the Michigan area around the end of June. She said they are hiring currently, but she didn't seem real definite about what might be happening down the road. Anybody have any thoughts? Thanks again for welcoming us newcomers so graciously--my dad was a trucker in the old days, and it's good to hear that some of that old trucker respect and courtesy is still around!

there are jobs out there for "newbies/rookies", that i wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole..........

why you ask.......??

because you will be "dogged" by the big companies and basically bullied into doing things you know you shouldn't.

for the more experienced person like me, i sift through the B.S. of "new trucks arriving daily", or "real hometime", or "plenty of miles", or "no NYC".............

frankly, i don't care if "new trucks are arriving daily"..........this doesn't mean you'll be getting a new truck when they "do arrive".

as for "hometime", forgedaboudit........

if you're in california on thursday, and you live in maine, you ain't gonna get home for that weekend. in fact, you might not be home for the next weekend either. its all got to do with freight availability. they will NOT deadhead you home.

as for "no NYC", fine........maybe.............

but you WILL SEE chicago, L.A., Miami, and some other major headache cities.......

i applied for a job once, well, actually i spoke with the person doing the hiring.......

he showed me a 1990's model truck. real great shape too.........

he told me that the pay would be 50¢ per mile.....

he told me that the benefits were very good (and they were)...........

he told me that i would be home about every 3 weeks...........that was ok.......

he told me however, that it was a "dedicated run".............

and that i will be sitting for long periods of time, without pay...............

he told me the miles would be about 2,000 per week..........

he told me i would have to "shop around for fuel" each time i needed fuel.............

i told him to stick his job up his butt.........

i'm not going to waste even more time searching for cheap fuel and not getting paid for it, sitting for long periods of time and not geting paid for it, and then trying to find a place to bed down for the night, especially if the fueling place has a small lot, and there is no parking to be found.

these are just some of the things that i as an 19 year experienced driver will NOT PUT UP WITH..........

you on the other hand...........would have no real choice..

you NEED your experience.......

[Jim49525]

Thanks guys--SevenOfNine, I'll check out the link you mentioned. So maybe I should look at the recruiter's inability to give me a definite answer about the future as a good thing--if she made me some kind of promise, she'd probably be lying!
Pro1driver your comments will help guide me. I have told myself that I will refuse to do anything illegal or anything that compromises my safety, the public's safety or the safety of the load. I simply can't live my life like that and I'll quit and suffer the consequences. I am realistic enough however to realize that I will have to work hard and put up with the BS that any new guy has to in any career.

[cstaats]

The driver shortage seems to be some what market specific. I am looking around my regiona and I have no problems in UT, OR or ID but go to Seattle, WA and it is a big thorn in my side. I get a driver opening in SLC or Portland I already have it filled but Seattle. It is like finding a needle in a hay stack to find a driver.

[kikbxr]

Originally Posted by Jim49525

Hi all,
First want to thank all of you for your posts. This seems to be a good forum with some honest folks out there who aren't simply trying to scare us new guys or whine about how miserable they are!

After twenty years in social work, I'm going to fulfill a dream. I start CDL school in a few weeks! Last October my employer called me in and said they'd decided to eliminate my position. I was pretty blown away since I'd given them 15 years of my blood sweat and tears, and just a few weeks previously had received an outstanding performance eval with no warning of the termination! No such thing as job security anywhere anymore!

My daughters are grown and it's just my wife and I. The first 8 years we were married, I was in the Air Force and gone from home 9-10 months a year, so the road time won't be new to us. The thing my wife keeps wondering about though is how can there be so many job openings for truckers. I tell her the work can be hard and not for everyone, but I'm starting to wonder too. Is there really this huge demand or will I be struggling to find a position after school? I have pre-hire agreements from most of the typical OTR carriers, but I'm seriously considering Schneider. I like the sound of their training program and from what I've been hearing, they treat their drivers pretty well. I figure I will have to go with one of the big carriers to get the experience I need, and they seem like a good choice. I talked to one of their recruiters again today just to ask some questions, and I was a little concerned when I asked about projected openings for OTR dry van drivers in the Michigan area around the end of June. She said they are hiring currently, but she didn't seem real definite about what might be happening down the road. Anybody have any thoughts? Thanks again for welcoming us newcomers so graciously--my dad was a trucker in the old days, and it's good to hear that some of that old trucker respect and courtesy is still around!

welcome jim49525: from now until eternity ,there will be an abundance of cdl positions around this country. from OTR, LTL, PRIVATE COMP.,and DISTRIBUTION TRANSPORTATION driving opportunities along with railroad outfits requiring cdl licenses and various ship-ports needing the same aound the counrty. too many others to name. myself, after having been an instructor at 2 seperate community colleges trucking dept.,i find myself incouraging many individuals of to obtain their cdl-training due to the great demand for drivers as well as entry level drivers. been in the industry for 27+ years. well wishes