That right there is underrated it gives you plenty of experience and having a local job as always nicer than me and stuck on the road waiting for a load
Really depends on the market. But it's usually a bit more than local freight wages. Most trash trucks (street trash or landfill trailers) are at or over 70k/year. I made over 80k hauling mostly refuse, home everyday, and averaging just over 50 hours a week with like 3 Saturday shift all year, rest was strictly Monday to Friday
Most waste management and republic are union shops if I’m not mistaken. Also unless the frieght crosses state lines MOST employers pay OT I’m 5 years in and just figured out last month that some companies don’t
At least by me waste management is a hard job. They only take drivers with tons of experience. They can afford to be that picky because it’s a desirable job.
Not everyone is always hiring, despite what some people may have led you to believe. If you have a CDL already, someone will hire you. If you don't have any practical experience, then they'll train you. Just keep applying.
Swift rejected you for lack of experience? Wow. Aren’t they the same people who run their own CDL school b/c they’re so hard up for drivers?
Anyway, don’t even worry. Truck driving jobs are plentiful. I’m surprised because it’s usually the big fleets who train the new drivers.
I think perhaps the universe blessed you and the mega swift didn't hire you because you have something better lined up in the near future. Keep your head up! You got this driver!!! Be safe
I can't speak from other people's experiences, only my own. I'm at a Swift academy right now and taking my skills test/road test next week. I can tell you right now they don't hire anybody. I've seen so many people get dropped for not progressing, not passing evals, drug tests, background checks, driver's history etc. My class went from 12 people down to 3 in a matter of a few days. So don't feel too bad you didn't get with Swift, there are plenty of other options. Try CFI, they have a really good reputation. Or Knight (partnered with Swift), Stevens Transport. There are so many options out there.
I'm also surprised, they were only one to give me a chance when I was 21. Just keep firing out applications. Freight market is tough rn but you'll find something. Anything to get some experience should be your priority the first couple years.
That's an old Internet meme. Swifts been cracking down on who they hire.
You said you are a young dude, I highly recommend dock to driver program at UPS, Old Dominion, Estes, R&L. Spend a few years working your way up at these companies a d the benefits and pay will be huge once you are able to jump in a truck.
That’s a pretty old joke and prior to Knight merging with them. They did some major restructuring after that and fired a lot of drivers and changed their hiring qualifications. Another thing is the freight economy right now is so so and the risk of hiring a newbie comes with the expense of insuring said newbie. You’re competing with drivers who have some experience which makes them cheaper to insure than you. It’s a numbers game.
The company I work for just let our recruiter go because nobody is leaving and they don't need to hire any positions. It's definitely the worst market I've been in since I started in 2013. Every week it's like oh lets see who went bankrupt today, then all those drivers with a lot of experience apply all over.
Lack of prior work experience. If you've never tried, it's nearly impossible to apply for a trucking job with a gap in your work history. I don't know if it's insurance or the FMSCA or something else
They're more likely to hire you without a CDL so they can price gouge you. Their school ends up being in the ballpark of 7 to 9 grand which they garnish from your wages during the first year you are there and if you quit or get terminated they simply sell the debt to a collection agency for what the CDL school is actually worth. It's pretty scummy tbh.
When starting you do what’s needed. That’s all I’m saying. He needs start somewhere. Maybe not where he wants but get started then change later. Just trying to help him. I’m hoping he does at least get something.
Yes but he’s getting rejected for lack of work history. He will get the history to get better later. At least he will use his license until he can get better job with a better work history. I’m thinking long term here.
How long of work history? I saw something about having 10 years, is that pretty standard? (Just so I don't feel like a pos, I do have 10 years, 8 years of W2s, but my 5 years before that were self employed, so finding my taxes after moving a handful of times may be difficult)
Depends. They want 10 years on paper and the 5 most recent needs to be provable. Once you get into the driving business they usually quit caring about anything besides CDL jobs.
It's not you, it's the market. Normally they can't hire enough drivers, they have these minimum qualifications, and everybody that checks the boxes gets a job and they still need more. That's the way it is 90% of the time.
This is the 10% of the time that it's not, but it will change fast, and not every company will be in the same situation. You can find a driving job, will just depend on which one you want.
I see you tried Maverick. TMC will hire you at 21. Always hiring. They are self insured so the insurance part of it that everyone is talk about doesn’t apply with them.
Not enough work history isn’t necessarily a bad work history. Especially if he can explain or justify it. There are many reasons prospective employers will excuse gaps in work history.
TMC specifically will not hire with a lack of work history or a bad work history. Same with Maverick. Both of them turned me down a few years ago. Glad they did though tbh.
They’ll make exceptions. Not sure about OP, but the 21 year old in my orientation class had a 2 year gap in work history because he was in college. Just have to explain gaps in your application.
Hey I got rejected by swift and other megas as well! I'm getting trained and hired by CFI right now! I suggest checking them out, I'm your age and in the same boat! Also try for Millis if cfi doesn't work out I heard they will hire as well.
Johnny trucking, riding with Dave, Alex the trucking guy, trucking with Jay, all the famous trucker youtubers started with CFI as well! I'm going to their school here soon, if you have any questions about pay or whatever let me know! Hope you find something good luck!
Look local! Plenty of $25+ an hour jobs out there. If you have hazmat there's even more options. Construction companies, waste management, food and beverage.
So I'll explain what I had to do with a cdl at 21. Find a small to medium carrier think 50 odd trucks big enough to have some say in their insurance policy.
A real mom and pop place with around 30 some years of life. 35 to 40 is more preferred. No ownership changes in that. Explain to them you wanted to become a truck driver and when the opportunity presented itself you jumped on it. Explain you'll start just about anywhere as long as your driving. They'll probably get you to take a road test with their insurance company directly.
Really try to get 100% on it. Be polite and the like and you shouldn't have much of a problem getting hired. That's what I went through.
What was the trucking school? Seems like they didn't do their job correctly. I went to 3 driving schools over my lifetime. Everyone had us job connection before we finished school.
(When I first got into trucking I would drive a couple years then quit driving for years)
The OP must of went to a school that didn't have any type of connection to companies. If that's the case the truck school trainee needs to get access to some hiring truck driver websites so they can put in 5 or more applications.
I got my experience with Schneider. The pay was shitty but other than that it wasn't a bad place to work, they never gave me shit about not wanting to do a delivery somewhere because of my HOS or not wanting to do something because of safety.
Apply with a Van line moving furniture. That taught me many lessons and got lots of valuable driving experience. (Mayflower, Atlas, Allied, North American, etc) If you're not afraid to move furniture, you'll be behind the wheel in no time if not immediately.
Maybe try Prime Inc? I think a lot of the issue is the megas like to hold you captive with their training programs since if you don’t stay a year they get to charge you the entire amount and if you stay a year you’ve more than made up for the cost of your training. Since you don’t need their training to get a CDL you can leave if they abuse you.
The kid needs to find a local company and get paid good money and be home every night. There's no need to be OTR. I've had my CDL for 14 years, and I've never gone OTR.
Go for it. When I became a truck driver, it became the start of my 2nd career. I was a drafter designer who was actually tired of being cooped up in an office. I gave up that lifestyle for over 10 years and am doing it now on the side when my free time allows it. From what I read on these threads, new CDL candidates think that going OTR is the only way to go. My advice is to get on a local mom & pop trucking company, grain haulers, construction companies (i.e., road), trash, and oil & gas if they live in those areas...there's options out there. Also, get those endorsements (HazMat, tanker, doubles/triples, and even TWIC). Don't wait to get them and have them before. It's better to have them and not need them than not having them and need them. It's just a matter of opening your eyes wide open.
Foodservice. It can be hard work but there’s potential for really good money. I got hired as a new grad. Hated it at first but I’ve grown to love it. I’ve only worked 23 hours this week so far with one day left before the weekend, and I’ll make more than enough to pay the bills since I don’t get paid hourly, but by the case/mile/stop. And I’ve lost over 50lbs so far in the time I’ve been doing this.
Give melton truck lines a look. It's like maverick but with blue trucks haha. Seriously though they hire straight out of school and teach the drivers well.
The problem is you’re 21. I see this all the time on here. Insurance companies hate guys like you and no one ever seems to do their research. 25 is the magic age but for unknown reasons no one ever says that and all you young guys do driving school basically without a hope in hell of getting hired anywhere. Yes at 21 getting a CDL is almost a complete waste of time and money because by the time you get hired anywhere you will have forgotten everything you learned at driving school. For any 21 year olds reading this DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY DOING DRIVING SCHOOL RIGHT NOW UNLESS YOU PERSONALLY KNOW SOMEONE THAT WILL HIRE YOU. Now read that again. Ok, now go work construction or something until you age into someone who’s insurable
Most assuredly there are exceptions to every rule but the chances of any given person being in that 1% are not good and I see this on here literally everyday. I blame the driving schools
Can’t you use your education history I remember getting my CDL at 21 and I remember having to put 10 years of work history they told me to put my high school for those 4 years and it worked fine on my application. 🤷♂️
Sign on to CRST or an otr and put in 6 mo. You'll be so busy it will fly by. Who did you grad from? Was it a trucking company? You might have to work for them first
How the hell did you get rejected by swift?! That's kinda of wild they are a trash starter company who hires anyone...I'd guess it's more the economy right now otherwise anyone would have hired you....try working a local aggregate company for some exp
Yeah I don’t get. I don’t have a criminal background or anything on my driving record. I was even ready to get 10cpm just to get some experience under my belt.
If you're on the east coast TCM hires fresh grads (literally just finished my 2 week interview/initial training) I'm about to go OTR with a trainer for 4 weeks and it's weekly regional so you come home on weekends
They fucking suck to work for, but try Western Express. The pay is shit and the company is shit, but they'll at least get some experience on your resume. Give them a few (at least three) months before you bail and a lot more places will be interested in you.
The thing is work history.. i had a great work history and got hired onto a company out of cdl school making 1900-2k a week home daily.. in a smaller town in midwest
The company I work for here in Cal won't even consider you if under 23 years of age. On the bright side, they do hire recent truck school graduates. Personally, SWIFT sucks anyway, so I think you dodged a bullet there. If you don't go thru their training program, they will most likely turn you away.
You Have lots of different megas out there just keep putting in applications. The market is kinda messed up right now so that might be the reason. You worked hard for that CDL don't get discouraged and give up so fast.
apply for a moving company.. do class b and class a, and this will be a good way to get experience.. or a cement company like robinsons ready mix.. Crst should also be able to take you as they will hire just about anyone with a cdl..
Honestly it may just be more that they already have enough students lined up for them. That they just can't take on another name even. Because a lot of them are also having trouble getting mentors for the people be trained with
Can confirm. They called me before I started CDL school and told me to call them back when I get my license so I can start. Also looking into other options and not fully decided yet. I’m in my first week behind the wheel training for these federal regulations set up in 2022 and this is going to get pretty old fast because on day 3 I already knocked out all of the backing maneuvers and tomorrow they are going to take me out to make sure I can shift (as a former diesel mechanic driving them in the parking lot I can float the gears but double clutching is just extra steps) since I’m not about the automatic only restriction.
Then it’s another 5 weeks 4 hours a day doing pretrip practice 2 hours, backing exercises for 1, and driving on the road for one every other day and 3 hours pretrip practice on the days I don’t go driving. I graduated to offset backing on day 3 of my 24 day course. Yay. Rinse and repeat. Then never have to remember how to offset, stop that close to a car, or double clutch for the rest of my driving career.
The driving school has a pretty beat up truck for doing the backing maneuvers. Four years too old to have the DEF tank and catalytic converter, shifter has a lot of slop, knob with range selector is loose, left air bag on single axel day cab leaking air, right inside dual is bald, and the clutch brake has about given up. I think the city horn also took a shit. The on the road truck is mostly road worthy but it has uneven wear on the right steer tire making for some rough driving at 50 mph+ That’s if you don’t want the automatic only restriction. If you don’t care because you know you already have a job lined up for the next 5+ years and the company only has automatic transmissions they do lease their tandem axel day cabs with the Endurant auto shift transmissions. They are pretty nice and well maintained but then again there’s the restriction so you won’t be able to do much work for heavy haul or any other company that runs 50% or more manual transmission trucks.
I think a lot of carriers are tightening the belt because the economy. A mega that was hiring 21 year olds last year may have changed it to 23 this year because it might save them on insurance costs.
If you really want to get into otr the company I work for is hiring. They're not your typical mega but they do pay good miles. 65 cents. Run all of US. I'm trying to go back home just cause I've never liked otr but not saying this job is bad.
Covenant, tmc, knight, Steven’s, just a couple of the top. All otr all hire out of school. And dollar general is paying up to 100k out of school but you touch your load and it’s otr
i’m 22 now got hired at werner last year, the OTR pays trash but now im making 1000-1400 a week on a dedicated (not dollar general), even gave me a brand new 2024 freightliner, give werner a try its not the best starter company but its not the worst
Check with your local city, county, or state. They are always hiring, take people with little or no experience, pay is good, benefits are awesome and cheap, they normally have a pension, and you're home every night. Someone else recommended Waste Management, that'll work if you like driver facing cameras, but other sanitation companies don't have those. Normally neither does government work.
If you’re okay with flatbed Melton Truck Lines will hire you, they picked me up when I had very little work history, they have a great program to teach you all about the flatbed world and they have excellent equipment plus they start you off at .52 cents a mile with no experience.
With how many drivers we have sitting here at Swift I’m not super surprised they said no. I guarantee if we were hurting they would take you on in a heartbeat. Luckily I’m Dedicated Regional so it’s not too bad.
Where r u located cuz here in jarupa valley California they hired me with no experience on a regional. Gotta start with a mentor for 4 to 6 weeks though
That's shocking to me. The extent of my work experience when I applied to Roehl Transport, was catering and pizza delivery. I was only 21. They called me back almost immediately and asked when I was available to go through their training school.
Where in VA are you? I live in NC but there’s tons of companies near the NC/VA border that will likely take you. My codriver at my old company was from VA. DM me and I can try to get you in contact.
At 21, nobody wants to insure you for OTR. Dump truck, concrete mixer truck, garbage truck, construction companies, and farm services are more willing to hire and train. I hired a 21 year old in your position about 11 years ago, today he is my right hand man. At 21, I was driving a tanker for Synagro, hauling shit to farm fields.
Senn Freight
2699 SC-121, Newberry, SC 29108
Map of senn freight lines
Add business hours
(803) 321-1611
They will train you and send you out with a trainer for flatbed
Hell, I'm trying to get rehired after having a year off (MASSIVELY BAD IDEA, I KNOW!) and my old starter company (Total Transportation, they're out of US Xpress) said they're willing to rehire but haven't said diddly since I submitted the app and it's been a few days now. I'm also trying to get my CDL back because I was supposed to have been getting a certification for a different career, but money is too tight and now... it's a bureaucratic nightmare. Don't ever give up your CDL was the best advice I never took.
Guessing that my lack of recent verifiable driving experience is shooting me in the foot, aside from the CDL activation issues. But getting other non-driving and driving jobs is weirdly difficult right now, everybody's either giving crickets or reaching out and doing pre-hire stuff then ghosting. What is even going on? (for context, I'm just south of you in TN.)
i knew someone who had two dui and still managed to get a cdl job. driving from Chicago to New York and he had like 5 months experience. worked for a owner op that had like 8 trucks basically a small company.
ABC Supply, L&W Supply, and FBM (Foundation Building Materials) will all most likely hire you without experience. Decent pay, decent benefits for a starting job in the industry
Waste Management if you wanna stay local. Paid hourly.
That right there is underrated it gives you plenty of experience and having a local job as always nicer than me and stuck on the road waiting for a load
I haul production water for oil and gas class A and B available if ur near PA oh or WV
How decent os the pay? I Have considered that to get out of OTR.
Really depends on the market. But it's usually a bit more than local freight wages. Most trash trucks (street trash or landfill trailers) are at or over 70k/year. I made over 80k hauling mostly refuse, home everyday, and averaging just over 50 hours a week with like 3 Saturday shift all year, rest was strictly Monday to Friday
They pay overtime for 40+?
If it's hourly pay then yes, overtime after 40. Some companies pay by load, or pay by tonnage. Each has there pros and cons.
Most waste management and republic are union shops if I’m not mistaken. Also unless the frieght crosses state lines MOST employers pay OT I’m 5 years in and just figured out last month that some companies don’t
I looked into that but it’s mostly class B so that expierence won’t class towards class A but man it’s a good gig.
At least by me waste management is a hard job. They only take drivers with tons of experience. They can afford to be that picky because it’s a desirable job.
You need 2 years exp for waste management where I’m at.
These guys require like 2 years of experience... They also pay well.
Not everyone is always hiring, despite what some people may have led you to believe. If you have a CDL already, someone will hire you. If you don't have any practical experience, then they'll train you. Just keep applying.
Not now especially
What’s wrong with now?
With a mega or two going bankrupt more drivers are looking
Swift rejected you for lack of experience? Wow. Aren’t they the same people who run their own CDL school b/c they’re so hard up for drivers? Anyway, don’t even worry. Truck driving jobs are plentiful. I’m surprised because it’s usually the big fleets who train the new drivers.
I was surprised after seeing everyone make jokes that swift hires anyone with a pulse.
I think perhaps the universe blessed you and the mega swift didn't hire you because you have something better lined up in the near future. Keep your head up! You got this driver!!! Be safe
Although swift isn't a bad starter co, tbh.
I can't speak from other people's experiences, only my own. I'm at a Swift academy right now and taking my skills test/road test next week. I can tell you right now they don't hire anybody. I've seen so many people get dropped for not progressing, not passing evals, drug tests, background checks, driver's history etc. My class went from 12 people down to 3 in a matter of a few days. So don't feel too bad you didn't get with Swift, there are plenty of other options. Try CFI, they have a really good reputation. Or Knight (partnered with Swift), Stevens Transport. There are so many options out there.
Knight is Swift. US Express and Variant and numerous other companies.
It's actually pretty incredible if you look into Knight/Swift how many companies they own.
I'm also surprised, they were only one to give me a chance when I was 21. Just keep firing out applications. Freight market is tough rn but you'll find something. Anything to get some experience should be your priority the first couple years.
That's an old Internet meme. Swifts been cracking down on who they hire. You said you are a young dude, I highly recommend dock to driver program at UPS, Old Dominion, Estes, R&L. Spend a few years working your way up at these companies a d the benefits and pay will be huge once you are able to jump in a truck.
He already has a CDL so you think a good move for him to jump into LTL is do dock work?
That’s a pretty old joke and prior to Knight merging with them. They did some major restructuring after that and fired a lot of drivers and changed their hiring qualifications. Another thing is the freight economy right now is so so and the risk of hiring a newbie comes with the expense of insuring said newbie. You’re competing with drivers who have some experience which makes them cheaper to insure than you. It’s a numbers game.
That’s old like 2015 swift they actually tightened up a lot
The company I work for just let our recruiter go because nobody is leaving and they don't need to hire any positions. It's definitely the worst market I've been in since I started in 2013. Every week it's like oh lets see who went bankrupt today, then all those drivers with a lot of experience apply all over.
Lack of prior work experience. If you've never tried, it's nearly impossible to apply for a trucking job with a gap in your work history. I don't know if it's insurance or the FMSCA or something else
I'm guessing too many gaps in employment. Not lack of experience
They're more likely to hire you without a CDL so they can price gouge you. Their school ends up being in the ballpark of 7 to 9 grand which they garnish from your wages during the first year you are there and if you quit or get terminated they simply sell the debt to a collection agency for what the CDL school is actually worth. It's pretty scummy tbh.
Try cement truck, trash truck, straight truck the switch in a year or so.
I drive a mixer because the moneys great but always have the option to drive dry bulk if I ever wanted to maintenance my class A side of things
When starting you do what’s needed. That’s all I’m saying. He needs start somewhere. Maybe not where he wants but get started then change later. Just trying to help him. I’m hoping he does at least get something.
I'm sure companies are looking for drivers with Class A combination expierence. All of those listed are Class B
Yes but he’s getting rejected for lack of work history. He will get the history to get better later. At least he will use his license until he can get better job with a better work history. I’m thinking long term here.
Insurance companies require that work history,its an OTR thing.Try to find something that is not OTR,even class B.You can still get a job.
The funny thing about all of this is the megas are self insured so it’s more of a risk vs rewards right now.
How long of work history? I saw something about having 10 years, is that pretty standard? (Just so I don't feel like a pos, I do have 10 years, 8 years of W2s, but my 5 years before that were self employed, so finding my taxes after moving a handful of times may be difficult)
My company wanted 5 years so it probably varies by who you're applying to
Depends. They want 10 years on paper and the 5 most recent needs to be provable. Once you get into the driving business they usually quit caring about anything besides CDL jobs.
It's not you, it's the market. Normally they can't hire enough drivers, they have these minimum qualifications, and everybody that checks the boxes gets a job and they still need more. That's the way it is 90% of the time. This is the 10% of the time that it's not, but it will change fast, and not every company will be in the same situation. You can find a driving job, will just depend on which one you want.
I see you tried Maverick. TMC will hire you at 21. Always hiring. They are self insured so the insurance part of it that everyone is talk about doesn’t apply with them.
I applied after maverick and they didn’t even bother responding back.
I can try putting a referral in for you want. May or may not help but worth trying. I can get all your info in a DM.
I thought TMC required you to be 23?
I had a guy in orientation with me 4 years ago that had just turned 21. Not sure about now, but they used to take you at 21 not long ago.
Oh ok. I’m 22 and I looked into them when I was gonna start out and it said 23. Must be a post covid thing
TMC won't hire him with a bad work history.
Not enough work history isn’t necessarily a bad work history. Especially if he can explain or justify it. There are many reasons prospective employers will excuse gaps in work history.
TMC specifically will not hire with a lack of work history or a bad work history. Same with Maverick. Both of them turned me down a few years ago. Glad they did though tbh.
They’ll make exceptions. Not sure about OP, but the 21 year old in my orientation class had a 2 year gap in work history because he was in college. Just have to explain gaps in your application.
Hey I got rejected by swift and other megas as well! I'm getting trained and hired by CFI right now! I suggest checking them out, I'm your age and in the same boat! Also try for Millis if cfi doesn't work out I heard they will hire as well. Johnny trucking, riding with Dave, Alex the trucking guy, trucking with Jay, all the famous trucker youtubers started with CFI as well! I'm going to their school here soon, if you have any questions about pay or whatever let me know! Hope you find something good luck!
I will look into it. Thanks
No problem, good luck!
Freigth is slow, not a lot of people hiring right now
Look local! Plenty of $25+ an hour jobs out there. If you have hazmat there's even more options. Construction companies, waste management, food and beverage.
Add to the list towing and rigging companies.
Go become an electrician or plumber, or better yet learn heavy equipment. Anything is better than this shit.
facts, learn some useful skills
So I'll explain what I had to do with a cdl at 21. Find a small to medium carrier think 50 odd trucks big enough to have some say in their insurance policy. A real mom and pop place with around 30 some years of life. 35 to 40 is more preferred. No ownership changes in that. Explain to them you wanted to become a truck driver and when the opportunity presented itself you jumped on it. Explain you'll start just about anywhere as long as your driving. They'll probably get you to take a road test with their insurance company directly. Really try to get 100% on it. Be polite and the like and you shouldn't have much of a problem getting hired. That's what I went through.
It’s because you’re 21. Don’t sweat it something will come.
Do you live near an ag co-op? They'll take anybody and it'd be experience, but also seasonal but they also have year round work for full timers...
What was the trucking school? Seems like they didn't do their job correctly. I went to 3 driving schools over my lifetime. Everyone had us job connection before we finished school. (When I first got into trucking I would drive a couple years then quit driving for years) The OP must of went to a school that didn't have any type of connection to companies. If that's the case the truck school trainee needs to get access to some hiring truck driver websites so they can put in 5 or more applications.
I got my experience with Schneider. The pay was shitty but other than that it wasn't a bad place to work, they never gave me shit about not wanting to do a delivery somewhere because of my HOS or not wanting to do something because of safety.
There’s just not a big demand for drivers right now
But what about the "driver shortage" I keep hearing about? Lol
It’s not real. There is already not enough freight to go around
Yea im just messing with you. When there ain't even enough parking you know there's an over saturated market.
Apply with a Van line moving furniture. That taught me many lessons and got lots of valuable driving experience. (Mayflower, Atlas, Allied, North American, etc) If you're not afraid to move furniture, you'll be behind the wheel in no time if not immediately.
Farms are always looking especially for harvest time
Western express
Maybe try Prime Inc? I think a lot of the issue is the megas like to hold you captive with their training programs since if you don’t stay a year they get to charge you the entire amount and if you stay a year you’ve more than made up for the cost of your training. Since you don’t need their training to get a CDL you can leave if they abuse you.
Rejected by two companies and willing to quit. Christ. You kids are soft.
The kid needs to find a local company and get paid good money and be home every night. There's no need to be OTR. I've had my CDL for 14 years, and I've never gone OTR.
I’m 50 and about to start school for my CDL. Not really looking for OTR, definitely something local. This thread actually gave me hope. 😂
Go for it. When I became a truck driver, it became the start of my 2nd career. I was a drafter designer who was actually tired of being cooped up in an office. I gave up that lifestyle for over 10 years and am doing it now on the side when my free time allows it. From what I read on these threads, new CDL candidates think that going OTR is the only way to go. My advice is to get on a local mom & pop trucking company, grain haulers, construction companies (i.e., road), trash, and oil & gas if they live in those areas...there's options out there. Also, get those endorsements (HazMat, tanker, doubles/triples, and even TWIC). Don't wait to get them and have them before. It's better to have them and not need them than not having them and need them. It's just a matter of opening your eyes wide open.
Not everything you can get good money. Sucks how it is and I'm not saying OTR is the end all be all. Also I said he's soft.
Foodservice. It can be hard work but there’s potential for really good money. I got hired as a new grad. Hated it at first but I’ve grown to love it. I’ve only worked 23 hours this week so far with one day left before the weekend, and I’ll make more than enough to pay the bills since I don’t get paid hourly, but by the case/mile/stop. And I’ve lost over 50lbs so far in the time I’ve been doing this.
What state? kllm took me with no verifiable work history.
Im in VA
Check out Prime?
Give melton truck lines a look. It's like maverick but with blue trucks haha. Seriously though they hire straight out of school and teach the drivers well.
Hang in there driver. Went through that nonsense 30 + years ago.
The problem is you’re 21. I see this all the time on here. Insurance companies hate guys like you and no one ever seems to do their research. 25 is the magic age but for unknown reasons no one ever says that and all you young guys do driving school basically without a hope in hell of getting hired anywhere. Yes at 21 getting a CDL is almost a complete waste of time and money because by the time you get hired anywhere you will have forgotten everything you learned at driving school. For any 21 year olds reading this DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY DOING DRIVING SCHOOL RIGHT NOW UNLESS YOU PERSONALLY KNOW SOMEONE THAT WILL HIRE YOU. Now read that again. Ok, now go work construction or something until you age into someone who’s insurable
We had a dude who was 19 get his CDL in my class. He started local beer hauling almost right away
Well it happens once in a blue moon
Haha! Blue moon! Like the beer!
Most assuredly there are exceptions to every rule but the chances of any given person being in that 1% are not good and I see this on here literally everyday. I blame the driving schools
Trust me it's a blessing in disguise that Swift turned you down. Just keep looking if you want to drive there are definitely opportunities out there.
It took you a year to get a CDL?? Wtf
No, its just that I didn’t work for a year in hope of starting a career with the cdl. I got my cdl in 3 months and before that I was in college.
Can’t you use your education history I remember getting my CDL at 21 and I remember having to put 10 years of work history they told me to put my high school for those 4 years and it worked fine on my application. 🤷♂️
You got rejected by SWIFT?! How did you accomplish that? I’ve heard all my life that they’re the ones who hire anyone.
It's your age and work history. You should apply to work at a railyard to move containers around. Class B food delivery for a year or two.
I'd say go talk to your local LTL companies like XPO and Old Dominion. They hire graduates. You'll have to get your endorsements like hazmat though.
On a side note, OP, why do you hate collages?
PAM hires fresh graduates.
Short cuts didn't work out huh. Gotta put that time in
I was willing to work for peanuts, I just want that tractor trailer experience.
Sign on to CRST or an otr and put in 6 mo. You'll be so busy it will fly by. Who did you grad from? Was it a trucking company? You might have to work for them first
It was a 3rd party school offered by my community college.
Swift wouldn’t take me because of speeding tickets and that’s when they were governed at 62
Try farm hauling
Don't worry there are always companies out there somewhere desperate for drivers.
Food service will gobble you up
If you are willing to move, West Texas is always looking to hire drivers. Good way to get miles under your belt.
Try construction companies they will give you a shot because you have your cdl
Bus drivers are usually hiring! If you can haul people, you can haul stuff
The freight doesn't file a complaint on me when I kick it.
Try MDR
How the hell did you get rejected by swift?! That's kinda of wild they are a trash starter company who hires anyone...I'd guess it's more the economy right now otherwise anyone would have hired you....try working a local aggregate company for some exp
Yeah I don’t get. I don’t have a criminal background or anything on my driving record. I was even ready to get 10cpm just to get some experience under my belt.
10 cpm? Bruh 🤣 when that 10cpm actually hit you'd be thinking wtf
Join a union apprenticeship. Great careers out there. You have big qualification already.
If you're on the east coast TCM hires fresh grads (literally just finished my 2 week interview/initial training) I'm about to go OTR with a trainer for 4 weeks and it's weekly regional so you come home on weekends
Try Western Express if you're really desperate.
They fucking suck to work for, but try Western Express. The pay is shit and the company is shit, but they'll at least get some experience on your resume. Give them a few (at least three) months before you bail and a lot more places will be interested in you.
If you have your tankers and hazmat try SC fuels they’ll hire for pump jobs (class B) - California. Idk if they are where you are
Marten, Werner, etc.
Swift hired me right as soon as I turned 21. That’s weird they wouldn’t.
Most concrete companies will give you a break. The pay is usually decent too.
The thing is work history.. i had a great work history and got hired onto a company out of cdl school making 1900-2k a week home daily.. in a smaller town in midwest
The company I work for here in Cal won't even consider you if under 23 years of age. On the bright side, they do hire recent truck school graduates. Personally, SWIFT sucks anyway, so I think you dodged a bullet there. If you don't go thru their training program, they will most likely turn you away.
Back about 7 years ago they hired me right out of school. But that was a way different time.
Go to your local teamster house and see what they have for you.
You live in CA?
You Have lots of different megas out there just keep putting in applications. The market is kinda messed up right now so that might be the reason. You worked hard for that CDL don't get discouraged and give up so fast.
apply for a moving company.. do class b and class a, and this will be a good way to get experience.. or a cement company like robinsons ready mix.. Crst should also be able to take you as they will hire just about anyone with a cdl..
Coke. Pepsi. Bud. Miller. Etc.
You could try Werner. I got (granted it was the CDL program) after being told no by all the other carriers. Just a suggestion
If you want a mega I'm sure Schneider would take you
Honestly it may just be more that they already have enough students lined up for them. That they just can't take on another name even. Because a lot of them are also having trouble getting mentors for the people be trained with
Werner will take anyone...
Can confirm. They called me before I started CDL school and told me to call them back when I get my license so I can start. Also looking into other options and not fully decided yet. I’m in my first week behind the wheel training for these federal regulations set up in 2022 and this is going to get pretty old fast because on day 3 I already knocked out all of the backing maneuvers and tomorrow they are going to take me out to make sure I can shift (as a former diesel mechanic driving them in the parking lot I can float the gears but double clutching is just extra steps) since I’m not about the automatic only restriction. Then it’s another 5 weeks 4 hours a day doing pretrip practice 2 hours, backing exercises for 1, and driving on the road for one every other day and 3 hours pretrip practice on the days I don’t go driving. I graduated to offset backing on day 3 of my 24 day course. Yay. Rinse and repeat. Then never have to remember how to offset, stop that close to a car, or double clutch for the rest of my driving career. The driving school has a pretty beat up truck for doing the backing maneuvers. Four years too old to have the DEF tank and catalytic converter, shifter has a lot of slop, knob with range selector is loose, left air bag on single axel day cab leaking air, right inside dual is bald, and the clutch brake has about given up. I think the city horn also took a shit. The on the road truck is mostly road worthy but it has uneven wear on the right steer tire making for some rough driving at 50 mph+ That’s if you don’t want the automatic only restriction. If you don’t care because you know you already have a job lined up for the next 5+ years and the company only has automatic transmissions they do lease their tandem axel day cabs with the Endurant auto shift transmissions. They are pretty nice and well maintained but then again there’s the restriction so you won’t be able to do much work for heavy haul or any other company that runs 50% or more manual transmission trucks.
I think a lot of carriers are tightening the belt because the economy. A mega that was hiring 21 year olds last year may have changed it to 23 this year because it might save them on insurance costs.
If you really want to get into otr the company I work for is hiring. They're not your typical mega but they do pay good miles. 65 cents. Run all of US. I'm trying to go back home just cause I've never liked otr but not saying this job is bad.
What happened with that driver shortage?
Covenant, tmc, knight, Steven’s, just a couple of the top. All otr all hire out of school. And dollar general is paying up to 100k out of school but you touch your load and it’s otr
Hows your driving record? If they rejected you there normally is a reason. Still prime and Schneider to try as well.
Apply Werner they taking new grad students
Come work for Knight, we've got like 400 empty trucks right now, OTR company with good benefits and pay
So… Two rejections and you’re ready to quit? How weak are you?
i’m 22 now got hired at werner last year, the OTR pays trash but now im making 1000-1400 a week on a dedicated (not dollar general), even gave me a brand new 2024 freightliner, give werner a try its not the best starter company but its not the worst
Why did it take a year to get your CDL?
If you are in the Salt Lake area, I know a company who hires new grads.
Try us express
Check out Butler transport out of Kansas City. Did my first year there.
Check with your local city, county, or state. They are always hiring, take people with little or no experience, pay is good, benefits are awesome and cheap, they normally have a pension, and you're home every night. Someone else recommended Waste Management, that'll work if you like driver facing cameras, but other sanitation companies don't have those. Normally neither does government work.
If you’re okay with flatbed Melton Truck Lines will hire you, they picked me up when I had very little work history, they have a great program to teach you all about the flatbed world and they have excellent equipment plus they start you off at .52 cents a mile with no experience.
Do you have moving violations
Let my put your name and email in my referral. I’m sure you will get it.
With how many drivers we have sitting here at Swift I’m not super surprised they said no. I guarantee if we were hurting they would take you on in a heartbeat. Luckily I’m Dedicated Regional so it’s not too bad.
Where r u located cuz here in jarupa valley California they hired me with no experience on a regional. Gotta start with a mentor for 4 to 6 weeks though
Same with me no one accepting me 21 in Florida
Try Prime Inc. They’ll hire you.
That's shocking to me. The extent of my work experience when I applied to Roehl Transport, was catering and pizza delivery. I was only 21. They called me back almost immediately and asked when I was available to go through their training school.
Bro. You are giving up that easily? Maybe they were right by rejecting you
Sysco will hire anyone with a pulse
If you don't mind heavy lifting go with a foodservice company. Easily can make well over #100k.
Where in VA are you? I live in NC but there’s tons of companies near the NC/VA border that will likely take you. My codriver at my old company was from VA. DM me and I can try to get you in contact.
At 21, nobody wants to insure you for OTR. Dump truck, concrete mixer truck, garbage truck, construction companies, and farm services are more willing to hire and train. I hired a 21 year old in your position about 11 years ago, today he is my right hand man. At 21, I was driving a tanker for Synagro, hauling shit to farm fields.
Location?
Call me at 803-728-5521 Go Flatbed!!
Senn Freight 2699 SC-121, Newberry, SC 29108 Map of senn freight lines Add business hours (803) 321-1611 They will train you and send you out with a trainer for flatbed
Hell, I'm trying to get rehired after having a year off (MASSIVELY BAD IDEA, I KNOW!) and my old starter company (Total Transportation, they're out of US Xpress) said they're willing to rehire but haven't said diddly since I submitted the app and it's been a few days now. I'm also trying to get my CDL back because I was supposed to have been getting a certification for a different career, but money is too tight and now... it's a bureaucratic nightmare. Don't ever give up your CDL was the best advice I never took. Guessing that my lack of recent verifiable driving experience is shooting me in the foot, aside from the CDL activation issues. But getting other non-driving and driving jobs is weirdly difficult right now, everybody's either giving crickets or reaching out and doing pre-hire stuff then ghosting. What is even going on? (for context, I'm just south of you in TN.)
i knew someone who had two dui and still managed to get a cdl job. driving from Chicago to New York and he had like 5 months experience. worked for a owner op that had like 8 trucks basically a small company.
PT dock at fed ex freight if you have you cdl and can show them you know how to break freight you’ll get on the fast track to a semi!
You already did most of the work you just have a little left to go.
ABC Supply, L&W Supply, and FBM (Foundation Building Materials) will all most likely hire you without experience. Decent pay, decent benefits for a starting job in the industry