Thinking About Getting My CDL And Trucking. So.. I Guess I Am Asking For Advice? Some Direction? My Story = Inside.

Hi. My name is Wesley. I am a 34 year male. I am tired of working in kitchens. Call centers. Doing janitorial work. Warehouse jobs. I think i want to start trucking. It kind of occured to me the other night. I was driving back home from my mom's house after visiting her over Valentines Day. I was doing 70 miles back home and had the radio up a little bit, listening to some old AC/DC , the window cracked a little... and had this sence of peace. I realized then and there that I love driving. I really do. I am comfortable taking trip by myself, all alone, in my car. I like listening to the radio... seeing the open road. I truely have this odd sense of peace when i am behind the wheel of a vehicle. And so... I came to the conclusion. Trucking.

This week i called a few recruiters this week. And they keep calling me a great candidate. a "golden" candidate. And what they seem to want from me .... is for me to go to there school. And get hired out of the school and pay back the tuition via my first job. Or take out some private loan via Sallie May or whatever... But honestly... I don't want to do that. Also... because Technically... i am a student right now.

I am currently a welding student at a local community college in my town. And honestly, I am not very thrilled with it. And when I finish ... i will technically be working in a factory. And inhaling toxic fumes into my lungs. ... and sweating my ass off.

So after having that

A little bit about myself.... and I am telling you this for you to see where i could be at after getting my CDL.

I am 34. No major traffic violations(i have had two speeding tickets in my life.) . No DUI's No felony's. I have had a few brushes with the law ... 2 misdemeanors. Fighting, but the charges were "disorderly conduct". No drug charges. I think these things are why one of the recruiters kept calling me "golden".

That's a really good thing for getting my CDL and a descent job starting out , correct?

Do you think this is a good idea? What should I look out for... as far as getting screwed over on pay in my first year. OR like company's getting me to sign contracts with them.

Does my criminal record look promising as far as getting a job with a good company?

Ok. Lead the way Ladies and Gentlemen. Lead the way.

I am getting excited about this whole thing.

Welcome sir to what I would consider the world's foremost authority on the trucking world. Now yo answer some of your questions.

First question is easy. Yes it is extremely helpful to have a clean record. I myself had three speeding tickets buy that never hurt my chances. Criminal record I'm not so sure. It doesn't sound bad but different companies may have different criteria that you'll have to meet. Best bet is to talk to the companies you're interested in and be completely forward with them. Then they can tell you whether it not you could be hired.

Second, is it for you? Only you can answer that. The fact that you like to drive is really only a small fraction of what it takes to really succeed in this business. This job is going to be a complete and utter lifestyle change. You need to be ready to be gone long periods of time, drive at all hours, weekends, holidays. Miss out on special occasions. There's many things that can break people early in their trucking careers. That's only something that you can determine. I would recommend reading everything this site has to offer. Also Brett's free book is a great glimpse into this life.

Third choosing a company. This will be again all about what's important to you. Do you want good home time? Do you like the idea of pulling different types of freight like tanker or flatbed. Would you want to team drive. Do you really want to go OTR or would something local sound better. Again there's a lot of info on this site that can help. Start here: How To Choose A Company

Which brings me to the next part. Do you want the company to pay for your cdl or do you want to pony up and go to a private school. Be aware that a private school is usually not able to qualify for traditional student loans because the courses are typically to short. Having the company pay is a good option for people that are cash strapped. With that though comes the "contract". Yes companies will want you to commit to them for usually a year. Bare in mind that they take all the risk by assuming all the expenses and then putting you in their equipment. If you do choose to leave early then you should expect to get billed for It. It's only fair when you think about it. People usually don't understand why this happens and then go off and complain that the company screwed them. Then there is the pay. Don't, whatever you do, don't expect to make great money your first year. To make more than 35k the first year OTR is not easy to do. Your first year is going to be more challenging than you probably think. You will earn every mile and every dollar you get. They want to to prove yourself before you really start making the great miles or cake runs.

To avoid making this post too long I'll stop there but keep the questions coming and we'll keep helping.