Truck Driver-Trucking Jobs

For me my first trucking job was out of necessity being separated with three small children to support.

In 1993 to become a truck driver you are required to pass a CDL state exam.
I had worked on trucks as a mechanic in the Army but only five ton and below so I had never held a commercial drivers license.
I had to find a truck driving school. I found Schneider National which is based out of Green Bay Wisconsin.

Schneider National became my truck driving school and my first trucking job.
If you are the type of person that does not like to be by yourself Average Guy a truck driver career just might not be right for you.

You will spend a large majority of your time in your truck driving by yourself with no one to talk to except for other truck drivers and a bunch of loonies who owns CB's just so they can talk trash to truck drivers. You may not find your best conversations on the CB radio.

I feel the choice of trucking jobs has definitely narrowed with the economy being so slow and plus the fact that fuel prices have skyrocketed put many small trucking companies right out of business, even some of the largest trucking companies are having a very difficult time now due to the fact that the amount of freight available is very small.

I expect that most any large trucking company is still hiring drivers but keep in mind when you are driving over the road you are getting paid to deliver a load.
I have actually sat for a few days waiting to find a load, this is not unusual.

There are probably as many truck driving schools out there as there are truck drivers I mean there are many.

Use extreme caution when choosing a truck driving school because the quality of training will very drastically when I say drastically what I mean let me give you an example, while I attended Schneider Nationals truck driver training we had students come from other schools that Schneider had contracted with and these Poor Guys could not drive at all.

If you do decide that trucking jobs might be right for you out of truck driving schools available I strongly recommend that you check out Schneider National, when I attended their training in 1993 they actually put me up in a hotel room and paid for three meals a day, sent a shuttle van to the hotel every day to pick me up and take me to school and they did all this for free, no charge, if that will be the case now and with you I am not sure you will have to contact Schneider national and find out I know Schneider National loves prior military service personnel.

Being a truck driver is not an easy life, most days you do not get enough sleep, it never seems you're allowed enough time to get where you're going.

Loading and unloading burns up very valuable driving time, even after spending most of your day loading and unloading you are still expected to drive and get your load delivered

You will spend a large majority of your time in your truck driving by yourself with no one to talk to except for other truck drivers and a bunch of loonies who owns CB's just so they can talk trash to truck drivers. You may not find your best conversations on the CB radio.

I feel the choice of trucking jobs has definitely narrowed with the economy being so slow and plus the fact that fuel prices have skyrocketed put many small trucking companies right out of business, even some of the largest trucking companies are having a very difficult time now due to the fact that the amount of freight available is very small.

I expect that most any large trucking company is still higher in drivers but keep in mind when you are driving over the road you are getting paid to deliver a load.

I have actually sat for a few days waiting to find a load, this is not unusual.

Most companies will pay you even when you're driving by the mile even when you do not have a load, although usually they will not send you a very long-distance to pick up a load, it is to the company's advantage to load you as close to where you unload as possible, this saves the company money from paying you burning fuel and wear and tear on the equipment.