Is it a good deal to have truck driving?
Q. I am cosidering a job in truck industry, but I do not have my driver licence yet. The thing is that the other day I called Schnider National, and they told me they are going pay for the School, and after I get my driver licence they are going to start paying me .27 cents a mile. plus $80.00 each time I unload the truck. Do you think this is a good deal? Actually, I live in Los Angeles, California and I have a job getting $ 9.50 per hour, but the thing is that the little money I earn goes to pay bills, not having anything left. I would like you to give an advice on which company to go with, because I would like to earn more than what I making righ now.
A. I actually got started driving trucks living here in Japan, but went back to the States from 97-99 and drove there. I took the vo-tech route for getting a CDL, and I'm glad I did. Total cost of training (in TN) was under $700, and the course lasted 11 weeks. Perhaps the best thing was that the school wasn't beholden to any company. Recruiters would come and visit us....and after they had left the veteran truckers who were our instructors reviewed the recruiters' line of shit and helped us see how to read between the lines. Many of the commercial schools, on the other hand, in addition to charging you several thousand dollars for questionable training also charge several hundred dollars to the company they "sell" you to. Of course, they don't want you to know that they are doing that. You'll come out with better training, better driving skills, a better knowledge of the industry and its different sectors (OTR/local, flatbed/van/reefer/tank/etc) and be at least slightly more prepared to make a more informed decision as to which area of the industry is better suited to you. Be aware that there is an amazingly high "washout" rate for people coming into trucking. Some can't keep up with the training program at company schools and get washed out. Some can't cope with the OTR trainer, sometimes because of personality problems. Some find that family considerations mean they can't continue. Some find out that it involves more than just tooling around the country and sightseeing and decide to quit. There's no shortage of people who put 3 or 4 thousand bucks into getting a CDL and then finding that something prevented them from making use of it.
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