every truck job.com

[caveman]

What is the best way to get into trucking, money is an issue. Does it have to be? Also with the new regulations, drivers from Mexico and gas prices going up is it even worth going into trucking today? I have read some really good advice to some tough questions so I know there are a lot of guys here who know what they are talking about. Thanks for the help anything you guys could offer is apperciated.

[forum moderator]

Would I get in NOW.... no, especially if money was the issue - go to www.everytruckjob.com and run a search for "student / recent grad" and your state, or a state near you, and see who is hiring first... I wish I could say this to anyone considering truck driving school; "...don't listen to the hype, first see IF you could get hired and then shell out the money..." I could tell your horror story after horror story of people with felonies or misdemenors that were told "...you'll make 50k a year..." paid the money and now find out NO ONE is trucking would ever hire them...

So like anything, research first, call around, and be frank as "if" you went to school if they would hire you when you graduated. Tell them about your legal past, and see if the type of school you'd need to go to might help your chances.

We have about another 14 months of downturn left, but on the bright side trucking is the FIRST thing to improve in an economy before anything else.

[Mortis]

Another company you might want to check out is:

CRST

[notarps4me]

CRST????? What did this poster do to tick you off?

[forum moderator]

there goes the neighborhood....darn monkeys

[dab11999]

Back when I started driving truck 20 years ago, schools were a relatively new thing. Back then, most drivers got into the industry by learning from someone who had experience. Most drivers started out by learning on a local job such as bulk hauling, or log hauling, then got into OTR later on. This is a different age of trucking, I guess, but you might try finding someone who is willing to teach you. Trucking schools don't have a monopoly on who gets hired. You can still learn the old way if you want to.
When I started, I went to a 3 month school, and then had to go with a trainer for 3 months. I had almost 6 months experience before I got an OTR truck of my own. But before I even started, I had some local driving experience on a 2 ton truck with a 2 speed axle. Don't see too many of those anymore.
Point is, try and get some related experience somewhere, and don't give up.

[bigcountry]

Caveman don't let anybody discourage you if you think this is something you want. There is never a good time to start a new career but you just have to determined and give it your all. When I started driving 10 years ago i was told by everyone i talked to that i was crazy. Well they were right, i am crazy, but i love trucking and love to see this beautiful country of ours. Most companies out there that hire "ROOKIE" drivers out of driving school, are not companies that you will want to stay with long term, however, they do provide you an opportunity to get started and they will pay for your schooling as long as you stay with them for a minimum of one year. That is really not a bad deal if you go into it with the attitude of knowing that you have to stick it out for a year and then you can move on to another company of your choosing. that first yr can be tough and they will try you every way they can but don't give up and just remember once you have a yrs experience you can move on. You can find these schools by searching "truck driving school" and most of them will have a list of companies that they work directly with for job placement after graduation. You can also pay for i=school yourself and then give yourself more freedom of who you try to work for from the start but IMO you should let someone else pay for it and tough it out for a yr. Good Luck.