Profile For Nick

Ahhh! A fellow CDL holder from WA - or soon to be.

If I can offer some advice as someone who just obtained their CDL in WA last year (2024) and is now driving at one of the mega carriers.

I went to CDL school (unfortunately they went out of business due to some shady business practices us students weren’t aware of, but that’s beside the point for the sake of this post.) Your best bet is to find a CDL school here in WA and go through the whole program to get your CDL. I would recommend doing a search on Google for the best ones currently. Avoid CDS and 160 Driving Academy if you can.

I will also say WA state is VERY STRICT for getting a CDL. It is historically one of the most difficult states to obtain a CDL in. I’m not sure how that stacks up in 2025. But they are really on it. 4 weeks of school and then the state exam is pretty involved. They nitpick everything. KNOW YOUR PRE-TRIP inside and out. STUDY STUDY STUDY. I was a one and done who passed their exam first try with the state. I was then hired by Schneider running OTR out of their western WA terminal right out of school shortly after I graduated and got my CDL. To my knowledge, Schneider hasn’t been hiring much for this area anymore since I got hired but Swift and JB Hunt also run out of here so check them out.

Best thing is do your research. Lots of trucking companies in the western WA Seattle area but vast majority of them won’t hire without prior experience. Focus on getting the CDL first but just be aware that WA is a lot stricter than some other states to get your CDL in. Any school here will take your money. It’s up to you to pay attention and study and be prepared for the state exam.

Good luck!

What’s probably holding you up more than anything is that reckless driving from 6 years ago and not so much the charges from 15 years ago. Then again, they involve theft in some kind of way and that’s usually a deal breaker for any company when they’re trusting you with their truck and load. Add on a reckless driving charge and the fact that the market is saturated with applicants and these companies are being way more picky and only taking the best ones, it’s going to be a long uphill battle. Reckless driving is usually an automatic thanks but no thanks. Try Western Express.

I think any of “the big three” (Swift, Werner, and Schneider) are gonna turn you away at the door.

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.