Question:
I'm a 43 year old man considering truck driving. I'm single, so time away isn't a big concern. I need feedback on some questions, though.
First- pay. I currently make $10 an hour + benefits working in retail. Everything I read indicates that I should expect to make around 30k driving if I work 60 or so hours a week. Is this realistic? If so, that's about the same "per hour" rate. Some things I've read, however, indicate that some of those hours are idle time, waiting to load & unload, etc.- could the time be used to study online courses in another field or is the job just to fatiguing to allow for that kind of thing?
Second-Does learning to drive at a private or public school, as opposed to being carrier trained, improve my odds of landing a desireable position? Will it make me a better and safer driver? So far, my interest has been peaked by the program at Isothermal Community College in North Carolina, not far from me. It's a cooperative effort with Sage Truck Driving School. Any graduates out there? Also, is it feasable to drive part-time if I decide to work into something else?
Third- I have a felony cocaine possession charge from 1998 and two D.U.I's- the last of which was in 1989. I've been sober for nearly four years now & I'm very active in working to stay clean. My guess is that there are plenty of truckers in recovery (please know that I say this strictly because of the sheer size of the workforce)and I'm confident I can find resources to maintain my health in this respect. My question is: how detrimental is my past to my employment chances? I've heard that most national carriers want ten years with no felonies- is that accurate or has the job market changed? Are there still jobs to be had with my circumstances?
Fourth- I'd be interested in any general thoughts anyone might have with respect to the idea of getting into trucking at my age. I've thought about it for years, I have a good work ethic, I'm honest & I have a clean driving record for a long time now. Is it worth the long hours? Are things getting better or worse for truckers? What about the roads? What about the trucks? What's the lowdown? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
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Thanks, Steve.

Answer:
Not to sound rude, Steve, but most of the better trucking companies out there will have higher standards than those who will hire just anyone. It's best to see if you meet that criteria of whatever company you're interested in working for before giving up your job and going to driving school.
Once you have been driving for awhile, and have a good, safe driving record, then more doors will be open for you.
It's hard for me to say anything in regards to driving schools, as I taught myself how to drive a truck, but I believe Schneider National has one of the better company-paid training programs around. Whether you will be a safe driver will, in part, depend on the driving school you come from, but mostly on how well you learn the basics in school, as well as how well you learn while out on the road with a trainer- every person is different when it comes to their attitude towards safety. None of us want to be involved in an accident, but the habits that an individual driver utilizes will determine how safe he/she actually is (in all reality here, actions DO speak louder than words). Prior to becoming an Owner-Operator, I was a road trainer for U.S. Xpress in Chattanooga, TN. Some students did better than others, and I took pride in making them feel comfortable, but safety-conscious while driving the truck. If I didn't think they had it in them to learn, I got them off my truck at the company terminal closest to their home. Others did real well, and I became life-long friends with quite a few of them!
As far as income goes, the first year earnings will fall short of $30,000. Afterwards, you can make more. Just keep this in mind- in regards to trucking, theory & reality are two entirely different things! I've been in this industry for almost my whole life, and got my start turning wrenches on them while still in high school during the mid- 1980s. I still pride myself on learning something new every day- it keeps this job interesting, to say the least!Not liable for any information posted.

Answer:
I noticed you mentioned about perhaps taking courses while over the road.
If there is another field that interests you I'd suggest you stay with your current position and attend school part-time after work to achieve that goal.
For the first 6 months to 1 year you will be occupied and tired enough to not want to be hitting the books in the sleeper.
Your first year of trucking will be lean. It is possible you will end up making less than you are now during that time.

Answer:
Glad to have you aboard.
BTW....when making a long post, Please break up your post into Paragraphs.(it's a LOT Easier to read in smaller paragraphs.)

Answer:
Let's not beat around the bush here,with 2 DUI'S and a felony on your record you're probably not going to be approved for any school and if you do you more than likely won't be able to find a decent job.Best of luck to you and do find out for yourself because i don't claim to know everything.

Answer:
Steve;
I have trained students that have felonys and DUI's on their records, you will be limited in your job opportunities because of this, your DUI's are the first problem, they need to be over five years old. Having said that your an extrem risk for carrier's on their insurance. One thing you could do about this is to get yourself an attorney like Opie on here, at the law form and have him see if he can get your Motor Vehicle Record cleaned up.
Now lets talk about your felony. You will need to see if you can petition the court and get this reduced out of a felony rating. Once again you will need an attorney to help with this and I would suggest Opie. Most carrier's will not hire with a felony due to the fact that they deliver to Canada and Canada does not allow felons into their country.
Now having said that you still might get hired by a carrier, but they are going to be the bottom of the barrel, in terms of how they operate and cooperate with drivers. Also you might consider local work like straight truck driving, like dump trucks, or in construction where a CDL might be needed .
Finally I see that your looking at the Sage Corporation to go to driving school at. I have had a long and educational experience with this driving school, I can only speak of the one that I have been involved with, but you need to find out from them if your going to receive one on one training. By this I mean are you going to be sharing a instructor with other student's on the Range and the Road, or are you going to have a one on one training session with the instructor? I know that students have been told that it is one on one training, but when you start on the range, they have you share an insturctor with another student. This is a problem in respect that, if your having backing skill range manuver problems, then you will be on your own for some of the session and If your unalbe to progress then you will fall behind and this could jepordize your range skills test with the state.
And you also need to ask Sage, how many times you will beable to take the state skills test. Most driving schools will let u test in their equipment five to seven times, as part of your school program. My experience with Sage is that you test once and if you can not pass then your on your own , and must furnish your own vehicle and pay the cost of the state skills test out of your own pocket. This is a position that is horriable due to the fact that you are paying several thousand dollars to them, and your being abondand.
So do your homework on your MVR and Felony and check out several other dirving schools before you make a final selection.
Good Luck! and If you have any questions please feel free to send me a message.
Catch you on the flip

Answer:

Hardly. More like $22K-$27K for 80-100+ hours per week for a rookie.
I would love to only work 60 hours a week...

Plenty of times like this, and you will not be paid for these times even though you are in the truck. Hence the 80-100 hrs/week at $25K/yr.

If you are running hard enough to make a decent wage, you will be driving and sleeping and that is it. Any time that you are not driving you will be sleeping because good sleep is nearly impossible to come by. So you take it when you can get it.

Depends. Some carrier schools are good, others are really crappy. Same goes for private schools. The only difference in job placement is that with a carrier school, you are almost guaranteed a job with that carrier, whereas with a private school, you have to find work on your own or through the school job placement service, and of course there are no guarantees there.

The felony and the fact that it is so recent will hurt big time. If it were older than 10 years, it wouldn't be so much of a big deal, but still a concern, because any company that regularly runs into Canada won't likely hire you, as Canada prohibits ex-felons from driving CDL vehicles.
1 DUI wouldn't be a big deal, 2 is another story. But they are old, so it may not hurt too much. Depends on the company, some may hire you, some definately won't. Alot of this decision depends on the insurance companies. If a carrier's insurance company won't insure you on their equipment, then nothing else matters.

As long as you can pass the D.O.T. Medical exam, age makes little difference.

I personally do not think so anymore. Others will of course disagree with me.

Some of both, but in my opinion, more things are getting worse than better. About the only thing better is the equipment.

Roads are in worse shape than ever, and traffic is increasing. Drivers (car and truck) are getting worse. Many headaches exist now that didn't even just 5 years ago.

Trucks are getting better! More powerful engines, bigger sleepers. About the only thing that is getting better.
Answer:
In regards to annual pay, IMO alot of what a new driver can expect out of the first year (and subsequent years) will have to do with how well they are dispatched, frequency and duration of hometime, their ability to effectively trip plan and manager their time and hours efficiently, keeping the left door closed as much as possible (with you inside).
I drive a for one of the large major companies, on a dedicated account, Monday-Friday, my option to drive weekends or go home. I can average 8000-11000 miles a month. My first complete year doing this my gross pay (on the W2) was $43,000. If you expect to get the low end 20-30k you will. if you expect to get 30k + it is possible.

Answer:
Everything posted above is good solid advice.
Age isn't a problem. I got into trucking at around the same age and I think it was to my advantage. Some maturity and life experience can be a big asset in this kind of work. Unless you've got health problems, there's no real physical consideration to age -- you use your brain more than your muscles.
One thing in your favor right now: It's a very tight driver market with wages bottoming out and the economy poised for growth. Carriers find it increasingly more difficult to atrract new drivers, and this will only get worse for them as the economy improves and displaced workes from other fields leave trucking and return to their their preferred career choices. You may be screwed from the get-go, probably more from the DUIs than the felony. You need some time distance from past bad behavior -- better proof that you've truly changed your ways....
Watch out for the schools! Do NOT take their word alone that you're necessarily employable with any particular carriers. Make them submit some "pre-hire" applications to a variety of companies for you. This is a routine way to impress future students with their placement muscle. If they don't want to don't want to help you get "pre-hired" BEFORE you sign-up for school, they're trying to get your money before you find-out you're not employable. Be VERY careful signing-up for ANY school before you've checked your criminal record against carriers' employment criteria. Lay it on the line with the schools: "Here's what I'm worried about and can we run some pre-hire applications to see if they'll hire me? " If they can't produce some conditional job offers IN WRITING (fax), do NOT give them a penny -- it's doubtful you're employable.

Answer:
With your record I am afraid you would not be hired by any one who would pay 30k ever stay in retail for 10 years and try later I do not think Crete or any other good company would hire you.
I wish you well

Answer:
From the insurance standpoint, the felony presents a problem. If the DUI's are more than 5 years old, we could probably get past that. But we're still stuck with a felony and I know of no way to get past that. My underwriters, won't even discuss it, unless it's 15 - 20 years old.

Answer:
You can forget about driving for any company that has forced dispatch into Canada, which is a large percentage of the training companies out there, due to your felony drug conviction. Also being that it is only 5 or 6 years old you most likely could not even get a Canadian Ministers permit to run in Canada.
Before going any farther with this I suggest you contact some companies and talk with them and see what they have to say. Swift and Central Refridgerated (when it was Dick Simon) takes or used to take at least people with felonies.
I wouldnt hold your breath though. Your record may say to them, as it says to me, that you are a drug using, alcohol abusing loser. Yes maybe you have FINALLY gotten your act together, but maybe not, and I for one wouldnt want to trust you with $150,000 worth of equipment hauling potentially a million dollars worth of cargo.
Ok fine. People make mistakes, and I certainly have made my fair share of them, but 2 DUI's plus a felony drug conviction. Seems to me even if you have learned from your errors that you are a bit slow on the learning curve there.
Answer:
You have to remember insurance companies run the trucking industry so you can understand them looking at your record and getting a little nervous.
Without insurance you can't go anywhere
Good luck

Answer:

He can forget about running into Canada, but most large carriers MAY employ a felony convicted driver if the felony (when, what, etc) wouldn't disqualify them from running in the US. Werner, for example, keeps track of which drivers are "Canada eligible" when assigning loads. We've got many drivers with old felonys. DUI's are also cinsidered a felony in Canada and permanently make you ineligible to travel there without posting a hefty bond with the Canadian authorities -- something the US carriers don't want to hassle with. Felons CAN drive a truck into Canada. It's the very expensive bond and admistrative hassle required at the border that makes it impractical.
The driver market is just too tight to disqualify ALL felony or DUI convicted drivers from carriers running some freight into Canada. Most will employ you once you meet their criteria for domestic employment, then make sure you aren't assigned to run past the border -- which gets easier and easier with better assignment technology and drop/swap load distribution.
Again -- both of this guy's legal disqualifiers are probably too recent to get any decent driving job. But with the passage of time, he could eventually qualify to drive domestic loads for a major carrier -- even one that sends SOME drivers into Canada.

Answer:
Thanks to everybody who has responded here! I got just what I was hoping for- the real scoop on what I need to be concerned with if I'm to pursue trucking as a career, and what the real conditions are.
You folks have been gracious enough to be straight forward with the truth. I knew full well that my past would be an obstacle, but before moving forward with the time and energy needed to actually find out how much so -via filling out applications, talking to employers and attourneys, etc. -I wanted to know more about the reality of driving; the conditions, problems, rewards, and outlook.
My expectations as to what it's like to drive were pretty close to what I've heard from you with the exception that pay is somewhat lower upon entrance to the profession. In my case, the question is how much lower due to certain problems. I'm still encouraged enough to want to find out more, however.
So my next move will be to visit the Isothermal Community College truck school (run in conjunction with Sage) and, at the suggestion of the director and some of you, do some "before I put my money down" employment screening. It'll probably be a few weeks before I can get the time to do this, but I'm cautiously optomistic. I've heard more than once that six years elapsed time from my legal troubles may just be enough to have some options. It's mostly a liability issue and until I actually go forward and officially file applications, I just wont know for sure, though.
By way of the sum total of your feedback I've gotten a good feel for all the factors involved and as I go forward I can now make more informed decisions. I'm grateful for all of your time...
Steve.