Just Now Getting My DL

Hi everyone! I'm looking into getting my CDL right now since i just turned 21. I've been wanting to for a couple of years now but now that i'm of age i have other concerns. I'm currently getting my drivers licence. I wasn't able to afford driving school as a teenager and i'm just now able to start. I've been looking into doing paid training or go to the community college but i wasn't sure if i could even go to classes for it if i haven't even been driving for a year. Will this be a problem? Is there a experience limit? Also i have little work history in that I've only worked one documented job (for six months and it is retail) and i was a nanny before then and unfortunately i no longer have contact with the family to verify that i worked at all during that time. Will this look bad when i apply to a company? Thanks in advance for any help.

Savanna, Welcome to the forum!

Hey, that one year of having a drivers license is pretty much the way it works. Some states handle it differently, I recommend you make a phone call to the drivers licensing office in your area and ask them if you can get your CDL before you've had your regular drivers license for a year. If they say no, then really it is not going to hurt for you to spend the next year practicing driving a regular vehicle and preparing yourself to be a driver of the big rigs. You could start working on the High Road Training Program, and looking into Company-Sponsored Training schools that you could attend when the time comes. If you attend one of those programs they will pay you while they train you, and guarantee you a job after you complete the training. It also gives you a chance to try and stick with a job for a year provided you can find one - I know it's tough these days, but if you can land a job try to stick it out no matter how tough. As far as verification of your past employment goes if you can just get a friend (not a relative) to write a not stating that they know you were working as a Nanny for such and such a time period, then find a public notary and get the note notarized, that should suffice in most situations as a legitimate verification for that time of employment.

Remember that if you go through one of the Company-Sponsored Training schools you will need to be prepared to stick it out with them for one year of safe driving. They will require you to sign a contract agreeing to work for them for one year as payment for the training. Each of them handles this a little bit differently, but if you will click on those links I provided, you will be able to research the different ones available and decide which works best for you.