I have never seen a driver who would actually quit driving for a minimum wage job. It might be a rough first year or two, but those who hang in there, and are determined, are rewarded. Not so with most minimum wage jobs.
Howdy - how important is PDTI certification?
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Road Dust - that is also useful information. I am only asking so many questions because of the pay situation. I am not afraid of the long hours or hard work.
It seems that the year or two experience is the key, then things might be easier to get a better job and location.
It seems that the year or two experience is the key, then things might be easier to get a better job and location.
WOW - new idea-----is driver school a big deal or necessary? If so, does it matter who/where you get the training? I went to the information seminar for Sage tonight. 5,000 bucks for 5-6 weeks training? 160 hours or so and I get the written test done by myself? WOW.......
I retired to become a truck driver.
Sort of.
After retiring from the power company I fell into the driving job I have now, the only paid driving job I have ever had. I made about half driving what I made as a mechanic. Now I make nearly 75% of what I made as a mechanic.
I was fortunate in that I didn't have to take the accepted route into trucking. I didn't have to "pay my dues" and drive for a crappy Mega Carrier for a couple years and put up with all the stuff I read about.
The carrier I drive for pays a competitive wage, and is buying new trucks and trailer like they are going out of style. My first year I drove a 2 year old truck, about 18 months later I moved into another 2 year old rig, about 12 months later another 2 year old truck, and last August I inherited Monstro, a 2013 model VN780 with just over 300k on it. Like a new truck it is.
Life is good.
D
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Try your local community college or tech school. They will be much cheaper and they're not so much the driver mill as the driving schools are.
pro1driver
I don't wanna go fishing, even though i got stuff
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the school i worked at, back in 2008/2009, was charging a "mere" $4,000 for a 160 hour course, and $8,000 for a full time course.
prices now, i have been told are $12,000 for the full time course, which i do believe is at or about 6 months now. as for the 160 hour course.......i do not remember......
so yeah....
be prepared to be stunned even MORE, in the near future.....
and all ANY school teaches......
is the BASIC foundation, once you get hired, your education REALLY starts.....
Actually, if you can handle the "roughneck" type of work, the oilfield jobs pay very well. $60k a year to start is not an unrealistic expectation.
But.
Be prepared to live in a camp trailer or pickup camper (the population in those areas is growing faster than the local infrastructure can handle), pay inflated prices for all consumer goods (the locals are keen to cash in on the oilfield boom), and be ready to move and change jobs frequently, as it is "boom or bust" in that business.
pro1driver
I don't wanna go fishing, even though i got stuff
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be careful, be VERY careful...
you could end up living in a place like this in the oil patches..
and you might have to share that place with a co-worker and his family.....
with a very modern day kitchen, and dinning room....
and i'd watch out for this promiscuous, little hussy of a sexual maniac gal...
because if you "have your way" with her...
you're gonna have to satisfy all of these as well....
and then of course, these two will want some action with you as well....
to which point and time, you will resort to using these....
and end up here...
so you REALLY SURE, you wanna go to the oil patches..???
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pro1driver
I don't wanna go fishing, even though i got stuff
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go to CDL school, get your license, get a job, stop at the plethora of truck stops in your short time as a driver, listen to all the B.S. flying around at all those truck stops, about how any driver will tell you what he'd "like to do" with all those gals....
then watch him waddle to his truck, and watch the truck lean very heavily to one side as he enters....
or, watch the trucker that claimed what "he'd do" with all those gals, go to the game room, and drop all of about $50 into the game machines, and then take a slow walk to his truck, broke and hungry, and listen to him on the cb radio wanting to sell something, cuz he IS broke.....
yeah....
what they'd "do" to all those gals......
trucking "is sweet" to someone who "thinks" it's a great job, great pay, great brand new state of the art equipment, great home time.......
till the dream bubble bursts, and reality of the hardships of the job sink in, and they are a million miles from home.....and miss out on many things....... like life......
"how do i REALLY FEEL'....????
i feel like taking the guys that worked at my service station (3 of them), that were either retired truckers, or part time workers for me (and working full time as drivers), telling me how great a job trucking is, and how i should get into it, and wring thier grubby necks tight, till they die.....
if i had stayed in the garage business, i could have been (a long time ago now), a service manager or service director at any of the new car dealerships, making far better money and benefits, but now, it's so damn late, i will be in this industry till i retire, or drop dead, which ever comes first, and my luck.....
i'll live another 150 years.....beating Racer once again, in the "age game".....
does any of this tell YOU how i really feel...???
trucking IS NOT your grand father's job any more...
it is getting tougher, in many aspects of the job, including the DOT physicals, driver training requirements, time constraints, traffic patterns, and what ever else the "non-trucking" politicians and citizens rights groups "think they know" how things should be done...
if only EVERYONE would mind thier own "F" ing business, about how we should be doing OUR job...maybe then.....it would be a GREAT job....
what ought to be done is the politicians ought to CONCENTRATE on how to get jobs BACK INTO America, and STOP spending BILLIONS of dollars across the seas to governments that HATE US....
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pro1driver
I don't wanna go fishing, even though i got stuff
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There can be only one . . . . . . . . .
we don't like "pretty boys" like that in our clan....hell, even the ladies think guys like that are too "sweet" and need to be taken from behind....!!!
i am the ultimate rugged cave dweller that the chicks dig....
here is a group pic of all the gals in my clan that jumped my bones....
and this is a pic of "Grinka" who after having her way with me, devoured the freshly killed dinosaur i slayed earlier that day....man, was she ever hungry....
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grocerythrower
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Mustb, watch who you go to work for, LTL is gonna want your life, when it comes time for you to take it easy, that ain't gonna happen, you may get sucked into the money and give them that very life of yours. Look to some smaller companies, we have Ryder Brick here, you can work however hard you want, I talked to the owner and he gave me the lowdown, he only hires experienced drivers but you get my drift I'm sure.
Its gonna be tough to get what you want, you could bite the bullet and get your experience on the road then search for a company that would take a semi retired driver, its hard to find though, most places want your life. I work for Sysco and its no different here, they require all that I have to give, and sometimes a little more.
Its gonna be tough to get what you want, you could bite the bullet and get your experience on the road then search for a company that would take a semi retired driver, its hard to find though, most places want your life. I work for Sysco and its no different here, they require all that I have to give, and sometimes a little more.
Thanks for the info GT - I have family in and around Norman - looks to be about 1 1/2 hours away.....I have never been a money person. I am happy to pay the bills, have some fun and save for a rainy day. It has worked for 50 years so far. I am used to working 60 hours a week as it is - that is my normal, so a little more won't bother me. We have many smaller outfits where I live - But with no experience I have no chance. I will have to sell my soul for a while, then come back and work for the smaller outfits. I swear I pass more trucks in an afternoon than I do cars. Within 15 miles of my house are Walgreens, Walmart, UPS, warehouses and a couple of citrus plants. I-95 and SR-60 are very close and the Florida Turnpike is just around the corner....All those jobs - but I have no experience....
So you're in Florida?
Something not mentioned here yet.
Florida is a black hole for freight. Stuff goes in, but not much comes out. As a result, even crappy driving jobs based in Florida are few and far between. Getting a start with a mega carrier that has a yard close, i.e. Georgia or South Carolina will be your best bet.
Oh, and do not even entertain thoughts of Carolina Criminals, er, I mean Carolina Cargo. Last I heard they pay ten cents a mile, and give anyone with a pulse a job.
"Cream 'O The Crop", so to speak.
Oops...yes I am prepared to go out of state.....to keep expenses on the cheap, I have access to free room and board near Dothan, Al., Blairsville, Ga., Pittsburgh, Pa. and Norman, Ok. I am hoping to land something near those towns so that the starting pay will be plenty. If not, I guess I take the ND oil patch job........Least desirable, but the pay enables me to keep the Fl. home up and running for the family and support myself living under a rock up there...
grocerythrower
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What about Indian River, a food hauler tank outfit out of FL, I know they go all over but they have nice trucks and tanker would be a dang shade better than reefer or dry.