Any commercial truck drivers here ?

[NRG]

Any commercial truck drivers here ?

Im considering taking the Truck Driving course at Chattanooga state, so I can get back to work emoBang.. I cant afford to sit and wait for the economy to come back to life .. I have 6 months of unemployment then I don't know what I'm going to do if I cant find a job by then.. I really don't want to do long haul being gone most of the time away from my family , but Im starting to feel desperate .. Ive applied to over 50 jobs and only 2 interviews so far .. its only been a couple weeks since I was laid off .. maybe I just need to sit tight a while and wait .. and see what comes along. Im so confused on what to do .. I know yall really cant make the decision for me .. but I cant afford to sit on my butt and wait forever either .. I need to make something happen soon.

What are my chances of finding a local or regional driving job straight out of school with no OTR experience ? I think its prob little to no chance without a good 6 months of OTR time .. any input would help positive or negative .. this cold weather gets my brain all out of wack emoGoofy.. stuck in the house makes me think of all kinds of crazy stuff/ Ive been considering the Driver training for some time .. a good 6 -8 months before I was laid off .. because of the potential money could be made OTR that and getting the chance to see the country.
emoPlease
I need some guidance .. and prayer emoScratch emoConfused

Thanx
Sean aka NRG

 

[Guest]

Sean, you might be able to talk to someone over at US Xpress or Covenant, these places are owned by the Parker brothers, I would guess they would be needing drivers since they have hundreds of trucks at each place, they might help you with the schooling also, maybe let you ride along with another driver to learn the ropes. Just a thought.

 

[twilson]

Sean I have my CDL dont have any experience OTR though. I just have mine to move my equipment around. I know a few people that just went through the school here at Northwestern Tech in Rock Springs though. The feedback from them is at least 6 to 12 months OTR experience before you can get a job that keeps you around here. You may want to consider trying to get someone with experience you know to team up with you for the first little while anyways. Team drivers tend to make a little more from what I hear anyways. Either way I dont know that I would spend the money to go through the school I just went to the DMV and picked up a book studied it for a day or two and went back and took the written test to get my learners. Not sure about TN but GA test involves 95 questions I think broke down into 3 sections to get your Class A with combination and air brakes which should be what you need to get started anyways. Also not sure how long the course lasts there but just going to the DMV could probably get you going a lot quicker. If you decide to go that route I have a dump truck and trailer you could take your test in as well.

 

[CouchTater]

Sean,

I have been around trucks all my life and most insurance companies will not insure you with out 2 years verifiable OTR Experience seeing that each truck has to carry a million dollar liabilty insurance. Which Doc brings up a good point, I work for US Xpress in the breakdown dept. The company is self insured and you would have to train with a trainer for a specific amount of hours behind the wheel and of course pass the tests. Here is the Corp. Headquarters phone number 423-510-3000 and ask for recruiting or you can go to www.usxpress.com and check out all the info there.

 

[yellburt]

i work at cov.trans,an they also train,