Some Advice Would Be Greatly Appreciated

Hello all,

My name is Jon. I am a Navy veteran and lately have been very interested in going into truck driving. I live in the Orlando FL area. I recently went over to TDI school in Sanford FL and got some information with them. They are a 3 week course and seem like a very high tuition (which im not to worried about because my veteran benefits will be paying for it). First of all I would like to ask about job opportunities in Florida. I have been told that Florida is one of the worse places to find driving jobs in the country but do not know the truth behind that. Second question is about the schooling. Is going through a private school like this the better way to go? I have money saved and money that could support me and my family while I go off to school if I chose to do something like Prime, Swift, etc. My next question is about these schools in general (prime, swift). Lets say that I get accepted to go to one of these schools, I am a little confused on terminal situations and getting home time. Im not worried about the home time in itself, but my question is that, if I join one of these schools and go to another state to do the schooling, do they match me with a job that will near my home in Orlando? I am sorry if the questions are a little confusing. Basically my main question is if I went to a school such as prime or swift, once you graduate from these school do they put you out of places near your home? Thanks for your time everyone.

Hello Jon, and welcome aboard!

First of all I would like to ask about job opportunities in Florida. I have been told that Florida is one of the worse places to find driving jobs in the country but do not know the truth behind that.

Jon, Florida has been notoriously a little tough for over the road truck driving jobs, but it is not impossible. We have several drivers in here who are from Florida and they are doing just fine. The problems with Florida stem from the fact that the state just doesn't produce a lot of manufactured goods. There is, of course a lively citrus industry there and some Floral business and of course there are quite a few fish loads coming out of there. What happens is that when people get their trucks down into that area they are likely to take just about any load they can get to get back out the state, thus the freight rates are really low in that state. I have a dedicated customer in Miami, so I'm down there fairly often - I do see quite a few Prime trucks in the state though.

Second question is about the schooling. Is going through a private school like this the better way to go?

Jon, I don't consider one better than the other. Look at it this way because in reality this is how it will work itself out. It doesn't matter whether the school is private or Company-Sponsored Training , they both do the same thing - they get you just far enough along to get your CDL. They don't make a professional truck driver out of you. The next step in your career will depend on your willingness to stick it out for a year somewhere until you can go through enough of the daily experiences that will help to transform you into a professional who is just starting to scratch the surface of knowing what he is doing. If you take the company route they will have you a job waiting for you at the end of your schooling, and you will give it your best shot for that first year. If you go to a private school, you will then need to start trying to find someone who is willing to five a green-horn a shot, and then you will give it your best shot for that first year. It's that simple. I went to a private school, and had some issues trying to land a job that completely blind-sided me. There is some very good things about the Company-Sponsored Training that can possibly relieve some of the stress of getting started. It's your call, but remember that either way you go the important thing is that you have got to make a commitment for that first year. Don't let that idea of committing yourself to an employer snag you up - you will need to do that anyway.

Lets say that I get accepted to go to one of these schools, I am a little confused on terminal situations and getting home time. Im not worried about the home time in itself, but my question is that, if I join one of these schools and go to another state to do the schooling, do they match me with a job that will near my home in Orlando?

Okay Jon, my trucking jobs have usually been dispatched from a terminal that was more than a thousand miles away from my house. Proximity to your home base is not important or beneficial. You are going to be an Over the Road Driver, which more than likely means you will be travelling the whole country. Now if they decide they have a regional opportunity for you, then that region will be probably in a six to eight state region including Florida. They will not put you in a "Western Eleven" region if you live in Florida.

Home time is this simple. You inform your dispatcher ahead of time (a week or two) when you would like to go home, and they will find you a load that gets you near your home-town close to the time you are wanting to get there. Here's an example: I was one time in upstate New York, and had one of my daughters riding along with me. She got an unexpected phone call that some company she had applied with wanted her to come in for an interview. I sent an e-mail to my dispatcher, let him know the situation, and requested a load to Texas so that I could try and get her home as soon as possible. He found me a load to Dallas, Tx, and I had her home in three days. When ever you need to go home for your home time, it won't matter if your dispatcher is sitting in a cubicle in Oregon, he will find you something that goes down to Florida, or south Georgia, or just as close as he can get you to your home. You will make that delivery and then you will drive home from there. If you can't park your truck at home, you will need to find someplace near by like a truck stop or a Wal-Mart or something like that where you can get permission to park for a few days.

Hello Jon and thank you for your service!!! You've heard right about Florida HOWEVER you live near one of the best areas for trucking jobs in the state. There are quite a few LTL our local companies to hire on with in the Orlando area. Personally I would always recommend getting a local job over OTR any day. Especially if you have family or a relationship. You've been in the service and are used to many months away from home already do are you willing to continue doing that as an OTR driver??

Next about private schooling vs company sponsored programs. Since you have a GI bill working for you I personally would recommend private schooling over company sponsored simply because you have a better chance of a year long commitment like you WILL have no matter what company sponsored program you go thru. TDI has job placement as well as another school not far from you in Lakeland and that school is Carrer Tech. I went thru CT for a refresher last year and would recommend them. If the same recruiter for CT is still there his name is David Lamb and is an ex marine and goes the extra mile for us vets. They also have job placement but maybe not as many local jobs that TDI has from what I found last year.

Next, call around to local companies around Orlando or OTR companies anywhere and ask them about jobs. Most companies will reimburse the cost of private school with a 1 year commitment but since uncle Sam is footing the bill yay should be a moot point. In Orlando, just to name a few that I know of, you have FedEx, con-way, RL carriers, Avert express, UPS, Sysco, US Foods all as LTL or local companies. Call them and ask about getting hired right out of driving school. And if you go private school plan on going to work directly after getting your CDL. If you wait more than a couple of months you WILL have an extremely difficult time finding placement anywhere. Trust me, find an interested company first, verify they hire out of school and get a pre hire and go. Don't get a CDL and sit on it.

A few OTR companies that either have small terminals or drop yards or hire out of Florida are: Knight transport has regional/dedicated runs near Orlando. I want to say the terminal is in Lakeland but I'm not sure. Also Werner has regional positions out of the Orlando area but will most likely tell you you'll have to go OTR for several months before a position opens up because they fill fast and/or have a waiting list to get on them. Prime has a drop yard in Auburndale and one of their customers is coca-cola out of Auburndale as well. I think all of the mega-carriers will hire out of Orlando.

You live in a good area for trucking even though you're in Florida. I seriously don't think you'll have a problem finding work. My last bit of advice is stay away from long term commitments if you can. That way you keep your options open but the flip side to that is don't job hop. That will hurt you down the road.

Good luck and welcome!!

I have a quick question general knowledge is driving safley n rules n reglations correct ?