Profile For Danny O.

Ok, I've been researching how to obtain a CDL intensively for a year now. The way I see it, I have 4 viable options

OTR mega carrier training school (under a contract, or pay the mega carrier off) Be a dock worker for around a year or so and then get trained and contracted (or pay them off) Obtain a class B and then transfer to a class A Go to a local trucking school and pay off loan

I've decided I don't want to go OTR but that leaves me with either working for some place such as XPO or YRC and being left on most likely some sort of year long wait list to obtain a CDL and then having to work for them under contract. Or, I could go through a school but that would impact me financially having to get a loan or fork out a few thousand dollars for a school. I guess my real question is, are my assumptions about dock to driver positions correct? Putting in a few months to a year or two on the dock and then getting hired as a driver under contract? Do local companies that train drivers right away even exist?

Thank you for keeping up on posting periodically about your experiences with Wilson. Been seriously thinking about driving for them as they’re one of the only companies to hire 21 year olds and one of the only “mega carriers” (if you can even call it that) that has a terminal where I’m planning to move to (Yakima, Washington). From Maui, Hawaii. Did it seem like their hiring process was more selective? Saw an interview on their Facebook page where the head of recruiting said they were one of the harder companies to get into.

There’s no real easy way to explain this. I’m currently a 20 year old box truck delivery driver on Maui Hawaii for a restaurant supply company (Bargreen Ellingson) researching trucking jobs near Yakima, Washington where I’m moving right about when I turn 21. I have work experience that spans back 5 years (mostly on and off summer jobs, and a year with the restaurant supply company). My situation is a peculiar one, I’m really in need on some advice about how to secure a career in trucking.

My experience with finding detail when it comes to finding the right train to drive trucking company has been met with a lot of gray areas. However, things like this demand exact answers for planning for the future. I'm not looking to get swindled by a recruiter, that's why I've come here to see the straightforward input of this forum. I'm 20 years old, studying for my CDL permit so I can get it when I move to Yakima, Washington. However, I noticed a lot of train to drive companies say they hire 21 year olds but I look up online for age requirements and some websites say those same companies hire 23-25 year olds. I tried pushing the subject with recruiters and I never get a straightforward answer. The companies I'm looking at are Swift, Jim Palmer Trucking, and Knight. Anyone have any experience or know of anyone who interacted with that company that could say whether or not they let 21 year olds into their own trucks once training is done? Or any general wisdom when it comes to age and train to drive companies.

Thank you