Opinions Please
#11
02-08-2007, 07:58 PM
I guess you need to decide on whether you are going to attempt to eat the entire elephant all at once (go the CDL mill route) or take it (new career) in smaller bites. You could get your CDL on your own dime and do local jobs. You might be in for many surprises. You may not like trucking? THEN WHAT! What about benefits (health/etc..)? That is another story altogether.
Tough decision, good luck. For what it is worth, I have been in Mgt for over 25 years (military and Civy). ****I HEAR YOU***** My situation is a little different. Eight years ago, I already had my military retirement and bennies as a safety net, and I was tempted (still am) to go after the ENTIRE elephant. But, I had a young family, and I already knew the rigors (military lifestyle) of being away. I still have 2 kids at home, but they will be out of the house in three years. I got my CDL last June (the VA and myself), and I have been doing part-time trucking work since. I do enjoy having the leverage. Though I would love to, I am not sure whether I will ever do OTR. Maybe seasonal, it's hard to say. Bottom Line: Everybody's circumstances are different. Best of luck to you.
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#12
02-08-2007, 08:23 PM
Go with local, if possible
My fiancee and I looked into a lot of options when he wanted to get his CDL. We checked out a number of CDL mills and comapnies that promised CDLs, but didn't like what we read/heard/discovered. The training seemed substandard at some and if you trained with a company you HAD to stay whether you liked it or not, or owe them a lot of money. One CDL mill-type school down south offered the great-sounding "free" CDL and then they deduct it from your wages later, but we discovered that it would amount to $7,000+ while the local school was $3995, no strings attached for later. So he got a student loan (offered through the school) and went with the local school. We were much happier doing it this way, plus he didn't have to be away from home while he trained. From what I researched, the private schools teach you more about safety because they're not under pressure to get you into a company truck by a certain date, their main goal is to make sure you pass your CDL. Also people sometimes run into problems with the out-of-state mills because sometimes you get down there and they tell you that you need to change your out-of-state license to an in-state license before you can get your CDL...all sorts of hairy things pop up. If there's a local option, take it. They'll be invested in getting you your license and teaching you what you need to pass the test.
#13
02-09-2007, 12:12 AM
From what I understand a drivers first year has the highest turner of all. Some companies, especially the training ones, have more than 100% turnover. The SLC swift terminal that I worked out of when I gave trucking a 2nd chance, had an average 0f 140%. This largely due to the fact of having a very large pool of new talent and not informing said talent of the true life of being on the road. The local Sunday paper is full of ads promising a $40k jobs with 3 or 4 weeks CDL training. You call them and all you hear is how much money you can make. Without stating," Oh by the way, your 40 hour work week, just went to a 100 and all of the sugar coating I gave you tastes great but you really never knew what I was feeding you :twisted: "
IMO, your local community college should be the best place to get your CDL. My local college costs around 1800-2000, and you get 8 weeks of training, 5 days a week. I have heard really good things about Sage tech too. This particular school has one on one training, not 3 or 4 to one as you might get with a cdl mill or training company. Most people outside the trucking industry don't realize how many different areas of trucking there are. You have dry van, reefer, inter modal,LTL(YEAAA!!  ) Auto hauling, flatbed,oversize,household goods,parcel, tanker, and some more that even I don't know of. If you keep and open mind and pick a good starting company and stay there for 1 or 2 years with no tickets or accidents, you will have a very impressive and attractive resume for more advanced opportunities. As stated before Cad has and enormous amount of info here and some very intelligent people. Best of luck.
#14
02-09-2007, 01:24 AM
I'm with coldfrostymug on this one.
You're not going to see your wife or your daughter. Their lives will go on without you. You'll be a spectator. Being a "professional" doesn't mean anything. We all sit in the same cage and talk to the same people that like to make you wait simply because they can. Think about it long and hard before you make the leap.
#15
02-09-2007, 01:26 AM
Re: Opinions Please
[quote="BigDabble"]Hello Everyone-
First off, Big Dabble, Welcome to CAD!! Glad to have you with us. I am going to address your points one at a time, so please bear with me here. Just a note here, I had made my money in life before I ever got behind the wheel of a big truck, so I can relate to your situation. Another good person to chat with would be out friend Josh, a.k.a. "Ardmore Farms Forever"; sadly we have not heard from him lately. G-Man is another one who's advice and counsel will be very beneficial to you. I am new to this post but have been lurking around the forums for months. I have been seriously considering this profession. I am not going to ask alot of the conventional newbie questions, just want some insight on starting out. I have basically grown tired of corporate management and in essence "dealing with people". I do know what you mean here, and while there are many "social misfits", and the fact that they are "misfits" does not necessarily mean that they are bad drivers. in the world of driving, this is still a people oriented business. The shippers and receivers are your customers. Your dispatcher can make or break you. You have to keep your company's Safety person ell happy, and that sometimes means running the risk of pissing off a dispatcher. Anyone who has been in management will know what I mean. I have talked to my family for months, my wife and daughter, and they are supportive and understand the sacrifices. I have some money behind me to support myself and family while I make a change. First step in the right direction. Have a financial game plan in order, and have every dollar "spent" on paper before you leave your present job. Remember that the flu and broken arms do not take holidays, so having health insurance premiums properly funded need to be done as well. PLEASE!!! Do not take a gamble on this one!! Look carefully at your debt load, and monthly budget. Get rid of as much debt as you possibly can before you start driving. The first year or two in driving can be rather lean!! Some Freight Relocation Universities offer weekend and/or evening classes. I you can attend those while keeping your present position, it may well be to your benefit. Use company sponsored training with it's accompanied indenturement as a last resort. It seems to me in applying for company sponsored CDL training there is alot of playing around with prospects. CR England basically sent me an email, never contacted me or ask one question, saying come join next week's training. This sent a red flag to me that I will avoid their company at all cost. By all means, stay away from CR England at ALL costs. We have told many new drivers, wannabe's and plan2B's this in the past. Some were wise enough to listen, others had to go pi&& on the electric fence in order to find out for themselves why it is not recommended. Swift sent a mass email to me and about twenty other prospect with an application and no greetings, instructions, or information attached. I find that to be extremely lazy of them and will pass on Swift as well. Another basically said that if I quit my job now, they may be able to take me in a week or two, but may not too. (I want to give my current employer proper notice so this was not an option). Something that I am going to ask you to consider here: A recruiter works on commission. If you do not have a CDL, or if you are not inquireing about entering a company's sponsored training program, then you are burning up his/her time, while the recruiter at the next desk is booking a driver and earning a commission. In your case, from their end of the desk, they are talking to a "Maybee-Wannabee-Plan2B" who may be truly interested, but who is just as likely to be kicking tires. Time is Money in their line of work, and without your CDL, you can't put food on their family's table, or keep the heat on in their homes. I am seriously considering taking CDL training locally and then Maybe my prospects from there if other applications don't look promising or I receive no reply. Once again, this would be your best option. Do check with your local Community College District; many of them offer much higher quality training programs, for considerably less money than the Diploma Mills. Do bear in mind that many companies who hire students offer tuition re-imbursement programs as well. Do be realistic in your expectations here. You will gain just enough knowledge and experience to pass the exams, and get your CDL' you will not come out an accomplished driver. I want to be a professional, not a wannabe and I want to be successful. It seems to me that I need to make the right decisions to do that. Attitude and proper planning is the key. Really concentrate upon formulating a game plan. Seems the recruiters' game is to fill seats in their training class. I'm going to ask you to check your attitude on that one. I'm not trying to insult you here, but I won't sugar-coat the reality here. You mentioned "The Recruiter's GAME"; Not neccessarily so!! More like, "It is the recruiter's JOB to keep the seats filled!! Please go back and read what I said earlier. YOU may be COMPLETELY serious about wanting to become a driver; but foe every person like you, there are another dozen or so "tire kickers" out there, looking for a recruiter to entertain them. Once you are enrolled in a Freight Relocation University, and once you have started classes, you will find many of those same recruiters willing to invest their time on you. Put the shoe on the other foot. Let's say you have your CDL, and are ready to get started; but the recruiter is presently tied up entertaining a tire kicker. You see where I'm coming from here?? My goal is to be successful. How best do I do that? In order to get started?? Thorough research, proper planning, and sound budgeting!! BOL2U!![/quote]
#16
02-09-2007, 02:06 AM
Senior Board Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Planet Earth, Milky Way Galaxy
Posts: 937
Originally Posted by BigDabble
I come home daily griping to my wife and kid. And feel horrible about it. Also feel horrible about where I am. I made it to the top so to speak, and basically found out it is miserable.
BigDabble When I am driving the truck I think about driving and thats it, if I was to think about the phone bill and stress over it how can I be safe when i am driving. When I shut down I can forget about driving and deal with my life issues, if my wife was here I would hug her because I am done driving for the day and i wont grip about that damn car that pulled out and the stupid idiot that cut me off, no I deal with that while working and she don,t need that stress when we are together....because I leave it behind and its gone for the day.
Originally Posted by BigDabble
Rarely get appreciation from superiors or staff.
BigDabble
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#17
02-09-2007, 02:14 AM
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Originally Posted by BigDabble
Rarely get appreciation from superiors or staff.
Being a good truck driver is kind of like peeing in a pair of black pants on a hot Summer's day; it gives you a nice, warm feeling, but nobody really notices!!
#18
02-09-2007, 03:49 PM
Biggest Issue for me . . . my daughter. That is the biggest concern I have and the impact it will have. Talked to her about it last night, she got a little upset, but the more we talked the better. Honestly she was more upset when I bought a motorcycle. (Asked me how could I buy one behind her back).
Couple more questions. I understand what LTL is but not which companies offer that service. Who are they? Secondly, I have read alot about Millis Transfer. I may be seeing an approval letter from them next week. One of the more professional companies I have dealt with. Program seems pretty honest? Any opinions?
#19
02-09-2007, 05:20 PM
Originally Posted by BigDabble
Thank you everyone for their information. I am keeping all options open. I would just like to point out a few things about my current position that shows that trucking is not the only profession with its problems. I work in Human Services and here is the lowdown on the problems that are daily reminders that there are issues everywhere . .
1. I am the manager of the program but their has been 3 in the last four years. I have been in this role for almost two, thus far I have lasted the longest. My company does not have a good reputation due to the huge turnover and business suffers for that. None of which I had anyting to do with, I have tried to make the situation better. 2. 50%-79% turnover per year in the program as far as staff. Remember these our managers and counseling types. That is a huge turnover for this type of work but not the 100% that is claimed in trucking. (By the way, where does that number come from? I know truckers tend to jump from company to company, but there is a percentage who make this a career for a number of years. 100% turnover for certain companies I could see but as a profession as a whole? I really question that). 3. I basically do the job of two people on a good day. 4. Eventhough I am the manager of the program, I rarely get to make important improvements to the program in terms of personnel or finance. There is always somebody in the many levels above me who trump what I want to do. 5. I come home daily griping to my wife and kid. And feel horrible about it. Also feel horrible about where I am. I made it to the top so to speak, and basically found out it is miserable. 6. Work 5 1/2 to six days a week now. 7. Rarely get appreciation from superiors or staff. Not that if I jump into this profession all things will be better. I understand about management, I am management afterall, and there are always people who live to make your day miserable. And no I really do not look forward to spending my nights in a sleeper cab or encountering the many negative aspects of this profession. But I do look forward to making a change, to coming home and being with my family when I can and enjoying the time I have. It is hard to do now when you are constantly worried about your office, the politics of it all, and where you want to be in a few years. I also look forward to the measure of independence trucking offers, and the wide range of types of freight and companies that are available once you get experience. I have requested some info. from some of the local CDL schools, one a CDL mill type school, one a voc. school, and one a community college. If things don't work out with my current applications, I will give this route a try to enter the profession. I am not afraid to work hard, and not afraid of starting over again. If I make this jump I will do it knowing a good bit about what I am getting into, and also with my eyes wide open about want I want to do. I want to be a professional, and be far away from the type of work I do now when I make a change. BigDabble Its a good job but the truth is its hard on the family and no one likes you out on the road.
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#20
02-09-2007, 11:41 PM
I would think alot of companys would want you to give the proper notice before leaving your current job. They would want you to do the same if you when you leave them. Never burn any bridges you never know when you might want to go back to them or will want a good word from them in the future. There alot of good companys who have thier own schools. Millis Transfer has a great training program no pressure from them. I know from personal experience because thats where I started and Schneider's training program. I almost went to them but decided on Millis instead. No pressure from Schneider either.
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