Curiously Considering A Trucking Career
Topic 18866 | Page 1
Welcome Jesse! Sorry it took so long to get you a response. My bad.
We have exactly the information you're looking for all laid out perfectly for you. Check this out:
Truck Driver's Career Guide
That covers every topic imaginable that pertains to getting your trucking career underway, including how to choose a school, how to prepare for the start of schooling, how to get through the exams, and how to choose a company to work for. And yes, company-sponsored training programs are covered thoroughly.
To give you a quick start, the company-sponsored programs require very little. You need a solid (but not perfect) driving and criminal record and you need to be able to pass a DOT physical and drug screen. That pretty much sums it up. A decent background and a passing physical pretty much gets you the opportunity to get started with one of these programs for little or no money out of pocket.
But be aware of the fact that the failure rate in these programs is very high. A lot of people either lie on their application or fail the physical or drug test and are out the door day one or two. By the end of the first week at least 25% of the class will be sitting home looking for another opportunity. It's not the driving that gets most people, it's their paperwork or their background or the physical/drug test that gets em.
So it will definitely increase your chances of success greatly to do your homework and prepare yourself well before you begin your schooling. Here is the list of links we give people who are in your position and considering a career as a driver:
- Truck Driver's Career Guide
- Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
- High Road Training Program
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Company-sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
Thanks, Brett. I appreciate it. I'm not so much concerned about failing anything, whether it the background, the DOT , or any testing along the way, think I'll be okay on that front (though I'm assuming that I'll be very very nervous, especially with the hands on stuff, lol I've read some stories about students people have had, and a couple sounded just like how I would be.) I deal really well with things when they're already lined up for me and I'm told what to do. Tell me exactly what to do and how to do it, and I'll do it, and I'll remember all the steps. My biggest concerns are getting everything squared away for the trip I'd take to be in the program, making sure I have enough money for food and such during it, making sure I'm prepared and have everything I need, yanno? Just anything arbitrary scares me. I'm planning to ask whoever I talk to about the school on Monday about all of this, hope I can get some solid answers.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Passing the written test to get your permit with all your endorsements is easy. I passed the practice tests just guessing before I even studied, but learning your backing skills and learning to double clutch is not. You shouldn't take passing for granted, and definitely not the driving skills. Everyone in my entire group learning to drive failed their first time.
I'm thinking about company sponsored training as well, but surely there has to be a better company than SWIFT? I went to their headquarters when I was going to trucking school, and some of the things they said was not even remotely acceptable. It's about putting as much responsibility on the driver, while putting all the control on management. Of course, there are plenty of tools that are happy to take on the burden, or don't even realize the exploitation.
Double Clutch:
To engage and then disengage the clutch twice for every gear change.
When double clutching you will push in the clutch, take the gearshift out of gear, release the clutch, press the clutch in again, shift the gearshift into the next gear, then release the clutch.
This is done on standard transmissions which do not have synchronizers in them, like those found in almost all Class A trucks.
Company Sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
but surely there has to be a better company than SWIFT? I went to their headquarters when I was going to trucking school, and some of the things they said was not even remotely acceptable. It's about putting as much responsibility on the driver, while putting all the control on management.
Can you give us some examples?
And please, without any actual experience in the industry can you refrain from judging companies? You really should understand that you don't know enough about this industry to be giving others career advice. Just focus on yourself and getting ready for your own career.
Brett,
I don't really want to get into the details of what annoyed me with swift. It would devolve into an argument where I'm flabbergasted that a certain someone would actually support such a stance. It doesn't require being in the industry to see power disparities being exploited; particularly tied to "professionalism" so people will swallow it. It's like saying I should work at a sweat shop before I can judge it. Funny thing, I voiced my disdain to them at the place, and they prehired me anyway. (I didn't even ask them to consider me, but I guess my school did it.)
I'm honestly a bit confused because I thought I saw someone recommend swift in here, but now I don't see it. Anyway, I don't pretend to know of a better company school than SWIFT - I was just hoping there was one. I'm looking for one because the idea of working for swift disgusts me.
Prehire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
Brett,
I don't really want to get into the details of what annoyed me with swift. It would devolve into an argument where I'm flabbergasted that a certain someone would actually support such a stance. It doesn't require being in the industry to see power disparities being exploited; particularly tied to "professionalism" so people will swallow it. It's like saying I should work at a sweat shop before I can judge it. Funny thing, I voiced my disdain to them at the place, and they prehired me anyway. (I didn't even ask them to consider me, but I guess my school did it.)
I'm honestly a bit confused because I thought I saw someone recommend swift in here, but now I don't see it. Anyway, I don't pretend to know of a better company school than SWIFT - I was just hoping there was one. I'm looking for one because the idea of working for swift disgusts me.
Ok fair enough.
Folks, obviously Ryan is really, really frustrated with his situation so just let it be. We'll help him figure this stuff out and get his career underway if he'll let us.
Prehire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
I'm honestly a bit confused because I thought I saw someone recommend swift in here, but now I don't see it.
Well they are the largest and most successful long haul carrier in the nation so there's no shortage of people who love them, and no shortage of people who hate them. If you don't like them, that's fine. There's a ton of companies out there. You just have to find one you're comfortable with.
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So I've thought about it a bit, and heard some good and bad things about being a "trucker," and I've decided that it might be a real choice for me. From the small amount of research I've what I can tell, what I need is to get a Class A CDL I think? Something else that may be important is that I've got absolutely NO experience doing anything like this.
I'm curious as to how to get everything rolling, so any info is helpful, but I have a few specific questions, too.
-Is there anything special I'm required to have or do to get into a company-sponsored training program?(excuse me if I'm not using the correct terms)
-Is there any efficient route to take that won't require much initial funding from myself at all to get started and obtain a job?
-How exactly do these programs or schools work, and how do I go about finding them?
-Any other general advice you might have for me?
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
Company-sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.