Just Starting Out

[Big Bill]

Just starting out

I received a question recently about just starting out - who’s hiring, etc. A very good question but not so easy to answer with one swipe of the keyboard.

So, let me respond this way. There are many rhymes and reasons for “starting out” as it was put, and therein is the starting point. Are you just out of high school, looking to change careers, over fifty (50), single, married, with or without children, have prior felonies, recovering from substance abuse, physically challenged, single parent, prone to sickness, illiterate, combative, without references, broke, been on a job in the transportation industry but not a driver, or have no idea whatsoever why you want to be in this world? I’m sure I could add others to the list, but for now this will do.

In addition, let’s add to the list your personal persuasions. Do mind working and driving nights, can you handle the cold-heat-humidity-bone chilling wind, can you handle constant bending and lifting, can you handle pressure, can you handle yourself in potentially dangerous situation, can you handle cash, can you think and act quickly when things change, is getting lost a problem, do you have to have a minimum amount of money each week, do you mind doing things not related to your job, can you handle complex paper work, can you follow complex laws and regulations, will you study on your own to abide by complex laws and regulations, do you mind working with people less intelligent than you?

The reason for listing these items above, all hinges on the availability of work and what type the industries are going to need drivers.

For someone just starting out with no CDL there’s local work like auto parts drivers, United Parcel vans, florist delivery, bulk newspaper drop-off, and the like just to get your driving record - a record. That’s a rough road to start off with- but for some, it’s a start. Other considerations that move up to bigger equipment - straight jobs, are night shuttle drivers that delivery to stores on a route. Windshields, auto parts, office supplies and other commodities are delivered this way. But this work is not for everyone. A large bundle of keys hanging from your belt is a tough thing to wrestle with at two in the morning in the pitch darkness at the back door of a store or warehouse.

For CDL work, most, if not all of the companies today require some sort of formal driver training - like a CDL school accredited by a state or commonwealth that the school resides in. Some carriers have a program that feeds off one or more these schools, while others don’t. If you plan to attend a CDL school, in most if not all cases, you’ll first need your DOT medical card and your CDL permit.
After your CDL course completion and successfully passing your driving test you’ll be consider a rookie-student for all intensive purposes for those companies looking to hire drivers of your experience. Normally a trainer will be assigned to you, but that varies on nature of the work and the level of proficiency required of you. As a terminal manager I used rookies a lot and for various reasons - both beneficial to the man and myself. Two of the biggest reasons where utility and economics. A rookie needs experience, I needed flexibility. A rookie is inexpensive, I need cost savings. A rookie will follow directions, I don’t need “that’s not my job.” On a Friday night when a 53 footer pulls in the yard, loaded from nose to tail with miscellaneous FAK, a rookie will work the dock stripping “misc” till one or two in the morning. At the other end of the spectrum, when a gravy run came our way - the rookie got his/her first shot at “show me what you got.” Invariably though, after two years with little room for improving their lot, they’d be off to a better job somewhere else, along with a letter of reference from myself that open the doors.

Driving over the road, either regional or long-haul is a horse of a different color all together. Just staring out is a learning curve that’ll test your sanity, patience, and self discipline. You’ll be living out of a box for somewhere in the vicinity of $200 - $300 a week, net. Your eating and sleeping habits will vary daily. If you're not a night person - you will be in short order. You’ll spend somewhere between $10 - $30 a day to eat, and if your gone for two weeks (14 days) that’s roughly about $70 - $210 a week. Kind-a eats into your net $, doesn’t it. You’ll more than likely be with a trainer that you’ll be sharing a sleeper with. So get ready for people talking in their sleep, grinding their teeth in their sleep, trainers with absolutely no ability to train pigs to fly much less you, short tempered, and that’s just scratching the surface. But, there are many trainers that take the job as more than just a job - I did.

By the way, don’t just look at driving as a way to start out. Here’s why. The business is broken down into two major sectors - traffic and transportation. Traffic alluding to the planning/logistics management. Transportation alludes to the carrier - both public and private fleets. You will find a mixture of both within an organization. Then there are those organizations that feed off a little of both.

To summarize a very dynamic question, don’t overlook other opportunities just because there’s not steering wheel attached. Dock work, rating and billing trainee, over-short-and-damage (OS/D) clerk, yard man, yard jockey, dispatch clerk, driver’s helper, fuel and truck washer, freight counter-checker, warehouseman, mechanic’s helper, and other occupations can earn you money so that when your CDL training is finished at least you have your foot in the door somewhere to take advantage of actually “knowing” someone who can put your name on the front burner when something comes available. Also, having a good work record in the industry isn’t nothing to pass up either.

Good luck.