Career change, paid CDL training?

I'm thinking about companies that do paid CDL training. I haven't looked far enough to figure out what what kind of contract I would be in after getting my license. I'm also wondering about future job security with autonomous vehicles being on the horizon.

Any advice with my concerns or about getting into trucking in general?

Many moons ago I looked at going to Schnieder. I believe at the time you had to give them a year but not many other places would hire someone out of school with less than a years experience anyway. OTR seems like a tough way to make money right now but depending on your area you can make good money locally with some time under your belt.

In reply to Wall-e:

It's extremely hard to get a local gig without a couple years of OTR under your belt. Plan to be gone for a couple years.

I think I'd be very concerned about the job prospects 5 or 10 or 20 years out.

Here's my advice....

get a job at UPS. Grind out the package sorting and the horrible night shifts... Then jump at a job as a package car driver. They make good money, have great benefits and are home every night... It's an excellent company, the CEO started out sorting packages.

By the time I got out of the army I was licensed to drive anything with wheels. Just sayin'

You should also look into firms that haul cars. Better then dry freight van trailers where you may have to unload it your self. Some are local and some go cross country. In major metro areas there are firms that haul cars from car dealer to dealer, dealer to auto auctions and from auto auctions to dealers. Also many CarMax locations have dedicated drivers & trucks to move cars around.

I spend 25+ years in logistics as a dispatcher, driver recruiter, safety director, and even as a driver. The independent CDL schools are an option. Yes your have to pay for them but most have various firms come to the school to recruit grads and some will help you pay for the school if you go to work for them.

Fueled by Caffeine wrote: Here's my advice.... get a job at UPS. Grind out the package sorting and the horrible night shifts... Then jump at a job as a package car driver. They make good money, have great benefits and are home every night... It's an excellent company, the CEO started out sorting packages.

I worked at a package sorting facility (not UPS) for awhile in college. Most employees were "permanent part-time" working 20ish hours per week. In my 18 months there, 3 full-time job openings occurred and all employees were eligible to apply. They filled all three with people that had been there, working part-time, for 17 years or more. It's great if you can get a full time gig, but it was extremely difficult to get to that point in my experience. YMMV.

I'll be making some generalizations but here is my understanding of "Free CDL Training" like offered by JB Hunt and others.

It is basically indentured servitude.
As an example a self paid CDL school might cost you $8k. JB Hunt will tell you that their school has a price tag of $25k and in exchange for that "free $25k" all you have to do is work there for 2 years, but...

In that two years they will work you like their servant/slave. Management will fail to keep promises of getting you home or getting you days off. The basic leverage will be, "if you don't like it, quit." But if you quit we want our full $25k right now!
And so goes the cycle of slavery.

I may be exaggerating the numbers some here but the concept is the same.

I've also heard over-the road truck driving described as "homeless with a paycheck."
If your young enough or adventurous enough you might like that but if you have a family I'm sure it sucks for most.

Don't do it, the unemployment office will hook you up with a grant to pay for schooling.

OTR is a trap paid cents per mile to be a prisoner to the truck. Get ready for the most lies you have ever been told. Bait & switch. Tell them you wan to quit and they will never bring you home, then charge you with truck abandonment if you dont return it to your home terminal. It is ugly X 10..... Then most will try and stick you in a team driving position, then you are a prisoner in the truck with an ugly roommate.

Local delivery, is what I do now. My first job was towing semi-trucks, it seems that the tow companies have more forgiving insurance deals.

If you have any DUI, wrecks, or 2 pointers on your record, good luck.

Give up weed, but you can take LSD and eat mushrooms they don't test for that.

In reply to JohnRW1621:

That is the down low I was looking for. The local company that advertises is Maine Source. While I'm adventurous, my wife has separation issues. Anything more than a night away is too much for her.

Brian wrote: In reply to JohnRW1621: That is the down low I was looking for. The local company that advertises is Maine Source. While I'm adventurous, my wife has separation issues. Anything more than a night away is too much for her.

Don't do it then. It's not unheard of to be on the road thirty days or more then one night home then on the road again.

You mentioned that your wife see more than one night as too long.

In OTR (over the road) trucking things are counted in weeks away. OTR is not for you/her.

In reply to Brian:

Broome county transit has a position posted for a mechanic's helper. It sounds like they train and help you get your license. Most agencies promote from within so you may be able to move up to a mechanic or bus operator. It could be worth a phone call anyway.

Gobroomecounty

In reply to Wall-e:

That looks like a good gig, especially if more than min wage.
I see the sentence, "must be able to obtain a CDL."

I read that as, "we'll provide you with some guidance to self learning the CDL written exam as well as provide a vehicle to practice and test in."

If that is the case, it's a good value in itself.

Brian, I have thought about this as well. Right now it isn't for me. Found plenty of good info here: http://www.thetruckersreport.com

In reply to JohnRW1621:

When I started with NYC I had to have a learners permit to get hired. They trained us to drive the bus and took us for our road test.

In reply to Wall-e:

That was my similar experience when I worked for Coca-Cola years ago. We hired drivers with no CDL and trained them in our own vehicles.
This also did not mean that you had to pass the CDL test in one try. You could take it multiple times.

In reply to JohnRW1621:

The down side to that is you had to deliver soda. I did that with my dad for a few years and it's a lot more work than people realize.

They took us out for 7-10 days of training, four to a bus, and then we had two shots at the road test. The felt if you didn't pass in two tries maybe being a bus driver wasn't for you.

If you're willing to be away from home, work weird hours and feel like a servant for a couple of years I'd suggest working for the railroad. The first few years will suck but after that you can start bidding on better jobs. All union jobs which is both good and bad.

If you want to drive something see if there is anything on www.usajobs.gov in your area. Our drivers (shuttle bus) are WG-7s and have a pretty laid back gig.