Truck Driving Jobs
There are more than 3 million Americans driving trucks for a living, and there are more truck driving job than that. Pick up any newspaper in the country, and you’re likely to see lots of truck driving jobs in the help wanted ads. Take a drive down any freeway, and almost every semi you see will have an ad on its side or back offering to hire truckers. Anyone who doesn’t mind navigating a tractor trailer will never have to worry about being out of work. The opportunities are endless. How do you get started as a truck driver? You’ve got to have a commercial driver’s license, or
CDL. Theoretically, you could get a CDL on your own, but that’s not recommended and it‘s hardly ever done. The best way is to attend a reputable truck driving school. There are hundreds of them across the nation, and there’s sure to be one near you. In fact, many trucking companies either have their own schools, or will pay for you to attend a school, and guarantee you a truck driving job upon graduation. Generally you’ll have to work for them for at least a year after graduation, or you’ll have to pay them back for the tuition, but that’s a good policy anyway.
One of the biggest problems in the trucking industry is turnover-people hopping from company to company, hoping to find that perfect truck driving job. You want to avoid that as much as possible. Job hop too much and you’ll find that no company will hire you. How do you find a good company to start with? The same way experienced truckers do.
You’ve got to know what you want and do a little research, and realize that there’s no such thing as the “perfect” truck driving job. Even the best companies will have their downsides. So before you head off to driving school if you’re new, or start looking for a different company if you’re experienced, make a list of what’s most important to you. Are you looking for the most money, and everything else takes second place? Then you’ll want a company that keeps you on the road for 3-4 weeks at a time, and they’ll be glad to have you. Do you hope to one day be an owner operator? Then make sure up front that the company has an O/O division, and if you’ll be able to qualify down the road. Do you need to drive the same truck all the time, or are you fine with slip seating? How much loading and unloading will you be expected to do? How long will it take before you get a dedicated route, if you want one? These are the kind of things you want to find out before you take a job. And don’t just take the company’s word for it. Go online and visit a few trucker’s forums. Go hang out at a truck stop for a few hours. Truckers love to talk, and they’ll give you the inside scoop.
You’ll find out what the real company policy on forced dispatch is! A truck driving job can be a great career. Many drivers love their jobs, and you can,
too. Just know what you want and do a little research before you make any commitments.
