Should I Keep My CDL?

Zach, browsing thru the responses on this and took note of a comment made that you're a veteran. Not sure which service, but I'm pretty certain that if you can make it through Basic / Boot, and an A-school, you can, if you put your mind to it, manage to overcome these issues. It takes not only skills, but an internal strength to achieve the first 16 weeks of a military enlistment. You apparently did that. Do it again. RealDiehl is giving you some "Real Deal" advice. Find a different carrier - one of the "training carriers", apply for their program, and gut it out and kick it's arse. Acknowledge that the first time through was not as successful as hoped, and determine to correct that path.

When you restart, do everything you can to identify on a daily basis (or after completion of a specific task series) those items you have done correctly or approximately correct, what if anything you'd do differently the next time you perform that task, determine what caused you to be successful at the tasks, and take the basis for your success and apply to the things you're going to be doing next. While this may all sound like psycho-mumbo-jumbo, I can guarantee you that it works for adult learning. I spent over 25 years training young men and women in high frequency low risk tasks, and low frequency high risks tasks. This works. Focus NOT on what went wrong, but what went right. Build on that stuff. Your trainer could be the greatest tutor in the world, or the worst screamer, but you make the choice to succeed or not succeed.

Hoping you give serious thought to your options. If you choose to stay in the mix, keep us posted.

Reading comments about Zach's saga, I cannot get rid of a feeling that there is some second reality here, as if, for example, Zach was a journalist writing about trucking, who just needs an input :-) I may be wrong, of course, but this is what I started feeling after a while.

You struggled in many aspects to get to where you were, and then struggled all the way along with Western Express. You wanted to quit every time you had difficulties. But you didn't. The question is how badly do you want to drive? Swift trains thousands of brand new drivers and helps turn them into successful drivers. There's no reason YOU can't be another one of them. It all comes down to if you want it. One thing I noticed is you had multiple times you left school or had to get back home for "family emergency". Unfortunately as an OTR driver life goes on at home without you. It sucks to say but you can't expect them to get you home anytime something goes wrong.

With that being said. Take advantage of the offer with Swift. You'll be sent out with a trainer and pick their brain about everything you struggled with. Come here for what you're struggling with. You frequently mentioned being late because your trip planning sucks but you never asked for help with it. You seem to have been 1 foot already out the door even in school. If you need a routine you really need to try to get in doing linehaul somewhere. No trip planning just show up on time and drive until return back home (within HOS of course).

Keep the CDL active even if you choose not to make it a career. You never know what the future holds. Would you really want to spend another couple thousand for school again, and have to test out?

Yes, keep it. I still think you should look into linehaul it would probably be a good fit.

I’ve thought about linehaul work for a long term plan, a way for me to be home more. But it seems no one is ever hiring in the Memphis area.

Not that I’m looking to switch right now, but for a long term plan, yes.

LOL! LOOK at all of these linehaul positions at FXF in Memphis:

]https://careers.fedex.com/freight/jobs?stretchUnits=MILES&stretch=10&location=Memphis&lat=35.14953&lng=-90.04898&woe=7

As you all know my first driving job was a huge disaster and will probably be used as an example to new drivers and potential drivers on here of what not to do at you're first company lol. I've turned my truck back in today and am moving on with my life trying to figure out what the hell I'm going to do next. My question is, is it worth keeping my CDL or should I downgrade since I will probably never drive a CMV again. By the way just to clear up any confusion since I saw someone on another post saying I was terminated, Western Express never fired me my DM asked me to resign and I agreed so I didn't have a termination on my record. I was having trouble making appointments on time and knew he could use that as a way to get rid of me.

Here you go. Apply for anything that has the word "driver" in it.

https://careers.fedex.com/freight/jobs?stretchUnits=MILES&stretch=10&location=California&lat=37.25022&lng=-119.75126&woe=8

Oops. Try this Oops. Try this.

How is the health insurance at FedEx? That's a big deciding factor on when I am looking more into switching to a local job.

We have an 80/20 plan. I'm single so not sure what family deductibles are but probably a few grand before United Healthcare starts paying. What do you pay now?

You struggled in many aspects to get to where you were, and then struggled all the way along with Western Express. You wanted to quit every time you had difficulties. But you didn't. The question is how badly do you want to drive? Swift trains thousands of brand new drivers and helps turn them into successful drivers. There's no reason YOU can't be another one of them. It all comes down to if you want it. One thing I noticed is you had multiple times you left school or had to get back home for "family emergency". Unfortunately as an OTR driver life goes on at home without you. It sucks to say but you can't expect them to get you home anytime something goes wrong.

With that being said. Take advantage of the offer with Swift. You'll be sent out with a trainer and pick their brain about everything you struggled with. Come here for what you're struggling with. You frequently mentioned being late because your trip planning sucks but you never asked for help with it. You seem to have been 1 foot already out the door even in school. If you need a routine you really need to try to get in doing linehaul somewhere. No trip planning just show up on time and drive until return back home (within HOS of course).

Keep the CDL active even if you choose not to make it a career. You never know what the future holds. Would you really want to spend another couple thousand for school again, and have to test out?

If I do stick around out here SWIFT is probably my best option. I don't think line haul would be a good fit atleast not right now. My backing sucks, my city driving skills still aren't great, I don't have doubles and triples on my CDL and honestly pulling doubles seems really intimidating, I don't think I'm ready for all that yet.

Zach, I’m rooting for you, as we all are, but I can’t help but be skeptical of your intentions and what you actually want. Do you actually like making decisions or just dragging ass and dwelling in your own pity? Trucking is an exciting and lucrative career for those of us who actually put in the work, time and patience. Be patient man, one day at a time and one lesson at a time. It’s ok to make a mistake every day, we just can’t make the same ones every day. If your heart is truly in trucking, then quit trying to find the bad in every situation and realize that all these incidents are now chalked up as experiences that can make you a better performing driver. Not every person or company is good for us but that’s ok, it doesn’t always matter, just gotta suck it up until you get to where you wanna be. Good luck man, hope to hear more from ya!

Zach, what ever DID become ?!?!

Did you go with Swift ????

Kinda be nice to hear an update; many of these fine folks put in a LOT of time talking you up *and down* with your issues. I've always remained neutral; just would love to hear what life passed on to you, (or what you've made of it) at this point.

Thanks, good man.

Hope to hear.

(Momma)

~ Anne ~

My personal vote is to keep it, you've worked hard for it and who knows what could happen for you in the future, could mean the difference between having a job or not, a job is better than no job and it has taken me over 43 almost 44 years of life on the planet earth to finally understand that there is no perfect job, no perfect company , no perfect situation. Our idealizations, expectations and perceptions exist soley in one place - our head.

Trucking is a journey with a lot of lessons (professional and personal to learn). Have you thought about maybe taking a warehouse job running forklifts? Its easy (relatively speaking), pays decent enough to live on , and still keeps you around the industry (cross transference of skills, networking, better opportunities etc) . Plus with your CDL maybe you could get a hostling job, just backing trailer or running trailers from one yard to the next on public roadways. Regualr schedule and hours , plus home every night- cant beat that. Just some options to think about.

It may seem like this is the worst thing you are going through now, but trust me life has SO many more curveballs. Keep your head up bud!

Going off of the gps tracker he is currently at the Swift terminal in Manteno, IL. I check the tracker from time to time and it caught my eye. Good luck Zack. Hope you can make it happen this time around. No excuses. Keep us posted.

Zach, what ever DID become ?!?!

Did you go with Swift ????

Kinda be nice to hear an update; many of these fine folks put in a LOT of time talking you up *and down* with your issues. I've always remained neutral; just would love to hear what life passed on to you, (or what you've made of it) at this point.

Thanks, good man.

Hope to hear.

(Momma)

~ Anne ~