Profile For Nick

Thanks guys! Already have my first two doctors appointments in the coming days so hopefully back to work soon!

Well, breaking my right middle finger wasn’t exactly in the cards for ending 2024 and starting 2025 yet here I am! It was a non-work related injury on my own time during my Christmas break that I tried to go to work with but unfortunately it just didn’t work out. The pain became too unbearable and considering there’s a lot more to the job that requires both hands other than just holding onto the wheel, I had to wave the white flag. I was officially pulled out of service yesterday and placed on a medical leave of absence until CertDrive officially clears me to return to work. I’m not sure if I’m more bummed about breaking my finger and having to go out on a medical or the fact that I had to give up my brand new 2025 Cascadia since I’ll be unable to drive it. Lol! I’m just kidding… Maybe with a string of luck, they can find me another one once I’m ready to go again! Had a lot of cool adventures in that truck but it is what it is. I learned a lesson here. Your health comes first before any job and as my manager put it, take care of myself and get better. My job will be waiting for me when I return.

So I guess it’s a few weeks on the couch for me!

One of the things I’m grateful for working for Schneider. No inward facing cameras. And no plans to add them, either. Not that I do anything wrong but it’s nice not having that thing spying on you.

This seems to be the norm more and more recently. I’ve been on the road full time for 6 months and at this point, I’m honestly shocked at some of the “professional drivers” I have seen at truck stops and on the highways. Not pulling forward from the fuel island, taking a 30 min lunch AT the fuel island (one was even taking their 10 hour break on the fuel island at the Flying J in Mira Loma CA because there was “no parking and I ran out of time”, double and triple parking at the truck stops making it impossible to maneuver around them, speeding, texting and driving, no situational awareness, lack of basic comprehension and knowledge of their job… I often wonder how they managed to make it through CDL school and the drive test and how many of them even obtained a CDL legally. I worked incredibly hard and paid a pretty penny to have my CDL because this is what I wanna do and I get irritated at seeing drivers like this who make the ones like me, and all of you on here, and the other thousands of actual honest, professional drivers look bad and make a mockery of this profession. I may still be green but it doesn’t take long to figure this stuff out. After 30,000 + miles in a few months, I’ve seen a lot already.

Okay, rant over… Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Brett! I’ve been apart of this forum since the summer and have found it very helpful and useful. Glad to be here!

As a newbie at one of the US majors, about 6 months in now, I fully expected to be working today. I’m very grateful and happy to announce I put in to have the Christmas holiday off and it was approved almost immediately! I got back to my yard and parked my tractor mid day on 12/23 and am enjoying a nice few days at home for the holidays! Lots of relaxing on the couch with movies, hot chocolate, and of course eating good food today! I’m also a gamer so lots of video games will be played as well! I’m in charge of making the big Christmas feast for dinner. Something I cherish being able to do since good home cooked meals are far and few between nowadays.

I’m off until 12/29 before I’ll hit the road again. So 12/23-12/29 is a very generous and welcomed break for the Christmas holiday! I worked Thanksgiving so I’m gonna milk this week for all that it’s worth!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Give a little more information like when this charge was from. Did you receive probation? Any legal restrictions you were under? What was the consequence?

Typically, you’ll be able to get your CDL. Any school where you pay will be happy to take your money and train you. As far as I know, schools don’t do background checks. Mine certainly didn’t. As you said though, getting a job is a totally different thing. And with the current market and how picky companies are being now because they aren’t desperate for drivers, they’re cherry picking the best of the best. It could be an uphill battle with something on your record, especially something drug related.

Your best bet might be finding a company who will train you to get your license and then offer you a job. Someone like Swift. I believe they still do their own CDL training.

Nick's curiosity:

I’m very curious to get an update on how things have gone the last month since this post was made.

That depends on the OP. Many times the discussion doesn't go the way they want, and they ghost.

I have a friend that is making a decent income as an O/O. But I feel it's like basketball. Many people in the US aspire to the NBA. But there's less than 600 contracted pros in the league. (SportsBoom.com) Stick with Company. Fewer headaches, similar take-home.

Yeah I’m starting to think just staying a company driver is the best option. I mean really, I feel like I have my own truck anyways. I was assigned a brand new 2025 Freightliner once I was released from training that was barely 4 months old at the time. I have it all setup just to my liking and have made it very comfortable. No one else drives it. I regularly get 2,500 miles a week, sometimes more. This last week was 2,627 miles, including working Thanksgiving so I got that holiday pay and that included being delayed a whole day waiting out a storm. So far, the company has treated me very well and is taking care of me. I’m making enough money to cover all of my responsibilities and then some. I can’t complain right now. Makes me wonder if I’d feel the same way as an O/O. I’m not much older than the OP and have similar experience yet do just fine as a company driver without all the added stress as an O/O.

As someone who’s a company driver at a mega carrier (that offers an O/O lease program and helps you get all setup) it’s definitely something I’ve considered for something down the road if I stay where I’m at. In my opinion, having been solo for a bit now, I’d never even consider starting out as a lease or O/O out of the gate. There’s so much to learn even without all the stresses of being a business owner.

I’m very curious to get an update on how things have gone the last month since this post was made.

I would add as well - yes, failing to provide a sample, even if you weren’t necessarily “refusing” the test is still considered a refusal which is basically the same as a failed test. And it is required to be reported to Clearinghouse. That’s going to make it next to impossible to move forward now. Even if you get your CDL, virtually every company is going to see a “failed test” which resulted in a dismissal from school as a major red flag and won’t even give you the time of day. Especially given the current market, all of these companies are now being extra picky on who they hire. They’re only looking for the best of the best because they aren’t desperate for drivers. If there is anyway to get that removed off of your Clearinghouse, you need to do that ASAP or you will never be able to move forward. Unfortunately, it’s just the sad truth right now.

I’ve always worked in transportation. My first CDL job was at 19 years old driving charter buses. Back when it was a lot easier to get a commercial license. Proved a little challenging to find a company willing to take a risk on a young 19 year old. Insurance companies weren’t super keen on the idea. But, I found one who was and it worked out great. When I turned 21, I left that company and drove city transit buses for a municipal agency in Southern California. After that, I left driving for a few years and took a variety of jobs in the airline industry. From customer service, operations, and all the way to management. I loved it. Thought I’d stay there forever. When COVID hit, I left the industry and it took a while for me to figure out what I was going to do again. But I got back in the seat and this time I decided to go for my full CDL-A and start driving tractor trailers. My years of driving buses definitely has helped, even though it is a totally different animal. Now I’m at one of the mega carriers based out of WA state. - Best decision I ever made to get my career back on track in a post COVID world. Yeah, freight is down a bit. But at my company, we’re showing an upward trend. I’m having a great time.