A possible job idea for the unemployed

[Mountainman]

I was just hired last week as the controller for the largest labor contractor in this area. (Bakersfield, CA). My company also has a trucking division. We have 40 new Kenworth and Peterbuilt trucks but are having a hard time finding qualified drivers. We are opening our own driving school and are doing what we can to help the students pay for the schooling.

Some schools charge about $5000 for the course but because of the shortage of drivers they may be willing to lower the cost or possibly a state agency will pay it.

There was a new law passed recently that forces drivers to stand down for so much time and they are spending the time sleeping in motels which contributes to the shortage of drivers.

It was said in a meeting we had that CA will have a shortage of 84,000 drivers in the coming year. Our people go to the DMV looking for drivers and are even hiring retired people who want to supplement their social security.



Now the pay is not real great and you spend your time living in a box and away from home but it may be something you want to consider.

Look in the phone book for trucking companies in your area and ask them if they are training drivers and what you have to do to become a driver.

I think you may want to stay away from some of the ads in the paper for trucking schools. I suggest calling the trucking companies themselves for information.

I was considering doing this but luckily I found a job in my field.

If your unemployment is running out this spring it may be something to consider. We will train qualified people both men and women at any age so check it out.

[JanMichael]

1. I hope that this helps someone.

Thanks for the suggestion.

I'd do it if I had to. Actually I know a couple of people that did it for a couple of years and loved it. Both women by the way.

[ProudGerman]

2. You answered you're own unasked question

That being why is there a shortage of truckers?

You wrote:
Now the pay is not real great and you spend your time living in a box and away from home but it may be something you want to consider.


Now, a severe shortage should get the pay to rise a bit, to entice people to give it a shot. But I've yet to see that happen in any company I've worked for, so I wouldn't hold my breath.

[camero]

3. The shortage is for good drivers

Which the companies don't want to pay for. And it's real easy to get blackballed.

[ProudGerman]

7. I realize this

I drive a van for a living for precisely the reason the original poster stated. I know for a fact that their is a shortage of good drivers, and no matter how bad the shortage is, they won't pay a decent wage to do it. Even though I get more face time with customers than anyone else in the company. Kinda makes your head spin knowing how poorly they treat someone who could have a huge impact on their books. I know the customers who I've gotten to know like it when they see me climb out of the divers seat.....still won't get me a decent raise though.

[camero]

8. They would rather have the rookies who work for less

Than a good experienced driver. And watch what happens when you tell your dispatcher that you're gonna run legal.

[Mountainman]

6. I was unemployed for the last five months and thought about it.

My unemployment was going to run out in March and then I would have to sell my house and land and live on the street. I like driving and the idea of spending my time on the road alone with my thoughts and my CB didn't seem all to bad considering the alternative was being homeless.

[soothsayer]

4. that was a brief dream of mine during a cross country drive, until

we were up in the mountains and saw our first runaway truck lanes----gravel or sand roads leading up steep, steep hills, so if your truck loses its brakes going down a mountain, you have a safe place to steer it to. The scariest part was that we saw tire tracks on some of 'em. Yipes!

[camero]

5. By the grace of god

I have never had to use those. Alot of it is common sense.

The trick: Put in the lowest gear possible and let the jake do the work. Snow and ice, 2nd gear and watch your trailer.

[greendog]

9. I did it for four years.....

Worked 80 - 100 hours every week.....made a little over $40,000 per year. Home every two or three weeks for 1 1/2 days.

Constant pressure to break the law.

Work in an industry where the job gets worse every year.

Eat at truck stops and fast food joints 700 times a year.

On the plus side: Because I put all my stuff in storage and "lived" in the truck I was able to pay off all my debts and save a lot of money.

Learn a lot about the economy and the way capitalism works. If you lean left going in, you'll REALLY lean left coming out.

[camero]

10. Why did you leave?

Just curious because I did it for a little over 5 years.

[greendog]

13. I left OTR because I was being sent to the east coast all the time.....

...lots of work....little pay. A crappy load to Brooklyn was the proverbial straw that broke the camels back.

And the constant lies from the company, you probably know about this....promises that things will get better in a few months once they've instituted the "new system"....and the "new system" ends up being the same old crap, only worse.

After OTR I tried LTL for a few months....the pay was great but the work load was unbelievable. Report to work at midnight....work the docks for several hours(hourly pay). Then punch out and pull a set of doubles to Chicago for mileage pay...or stay on the clock and do city deliveries and pick-ups until I'd used up my 15 hours. Sometimes I'd have to do that 4 days in a row. Sometimes they'd throw in an extra day of dock work - 75 hours in 5 days!

[camero]

15. Yep, been there done that

I was fired while on medical leave for my diabetes and my DAC was falsified. I love to see the country and the road, but trucking is uncontrolled capitalism at it's worst.

I think more people should look at trucking to find out what Corporate America wants to do as far as the rest of the workforce goes. Long hours and low pay.

[greendog]

16. I'd go back to trucking in a heartbeat.....

...if the job was covered by the FLSA, the pay was fair, and the HOS rules allowed a few hours sleep "at the same time" every night.

But we both know that'll never happen.

I gave up my CDL when I moved to Montana. What's the point in keeping it. I had a perfect safety record and a perfect on time delivery record....but that's not what they want. They just want a dumb grunt who'll do whatever they want and not ask questions. If he crashes they'll just find someone else.

[camero]

17. You're right

And I had the same record as you. I actually had some hope when they talked about going to military time. But the companies quashed it.

You're right, that's exactly what they want.

[gator_in_Ontario]

14. I had alot of contact with truckers...

working as a shipping clerk in the citrus industry. They were over-worked and under-paid and above all....TIRED! Believe me...we knew who would "run heavy" and there were regular drivers that were too tired to be on the road. It scared me, and makes me think about every truck that passes me on the highway.

[Skittles]

11. I WOULD LIKE TO DATE A TRUCKER

it would be the perfect mate for someone like me who feels suffocated by constant companionship, ya know ???

[camero]

12. I had my ex-girlfriend in the truck for 3 months

Best time I had on the road.