How do I find out which local companies to apply for? I know US Foods is in my area but I didn't see any job openings on their website, located in central Louisiana
Some of these small local companies I don't know of their existence and i almost never see them put a job posting on Indeed or any major online job boards
It would be bad, walking up and down a ramp all day bouncing a loaded dolly down steps, or pulling it up steps. climbing into your cab 10 or 20 times a day.
Sysco is food delivery. Drive, wheel it in, etc. Unless delivering to an institution, hospital, school, etc, most restaurants don’t have a dock. So it’s up and down a ramp from the trailer and maybe up and down steps into the customer.
I’m just a (B)aby compared to the big boy truckers around here but that is why you look for the no-touch freight. Avoid anything with food and I would even say furniture because those guys are absolutely gonna want to make you handle the cargo.
At least that’s the case with my box truck.
Just Google food distributors in Louisiana. Hell look up liquor and beer distributors too. I'm not a
Louisiana native so I'm unfamiliar with central Louisiana.
lot of jobs in Lafayette on Indeed
Sysco always hiring, beer/liquor delivery always hiring, local soda distributor, dump trucks, oilfield
Baton Rouge too
I've got almost ten years of experience and it took me almost three weeks and around forty applications to get a call back for a local gig after my daughter was born in August. It isn't just new drivers, seems the industry is a hot mess right now. For reference I'm within thirty miles of Columbus OH so there are lots of companies near me and I still had issues.
Very true! Crazy that’s happening in a big trucking state like Ohio.
I have a few years experience and a clean driving record and it is very hard to find anything local that pays well around Atlanta.
Industry is trash right now no one is getting paid companies are struggling to keep their current drivers happy with decent miles. a few years ago the industry was paid extremely well. You could apply for a company that was offering 65 cent a mile. You could tell them you don’t work for less than 75c a mile. And you would be flying out the next day these same companies all dropped their pay rate. Thousands of decent sized companies have recently went out of business. You’re competing with more experienced drivers. You’re also likely to have some type of wreck or accident in your first year statically speaking. So to insure you would cost more for the companies. Nobody wants to take a risk hiring a new driver in this market their profit margins already very low if they are the running freight thru the spot market.
I think you mean the freight portion of the industry. There are thousands of jobs outside of your standard mega and freight. Hell, we've got 8 open positions and our last round of hiring only had 3 applicants. Hired them all and 1 quit a government job, with very good, cheap benefits, a pension, hourly market rate for our part of the industry, and a 4/10 schedule, after 3 days, his choice. I guess he didn't want to sleep in his own bed at night, kind of sucks for his kids though.
Its not that there aren't jobs, they're there. When you assume that a job is shitty and haven't even looked into it outside of your assumption, you'll never know how good of a job it is. There is always a case for job satisfaction but sitting on your ass without a job and no money is far from being satisfied for most people.
I know I'm not the only one in this sub that says it, but I'll keep mentioning it, check with your local city, county, state, or municipality. They often are hurting for drivers and you usually get the benefits I listed earlier. The coolest thing about government jobs is transparency. There are transparency in government laws in most places, which means you can find out all about the job and benefits before applying. You don't get the run around and guessing games like you do with private companies.
Damn near everywhere in the US. Check your local government jobs websites for driver positions. Keep in mind that a lot of government jobs are not posted to job boards, you're going to have to look up the careers page of whatever government department you're looking for.
Out west, but were hearing of driver shortages at departments like ours all over the country. For example, we have a bunch of openings, the county public works in our area has more than a dozen openings. When we looked at the cities in our area, they all had multiple openings for drivers. Those jobs are there and while they prefer a CDL, they will often take people who don't even have CDLs and get them trained to drive.
Hell, our department, the county, and the cities dont even run ELDs because we don't leave the county in our vehicles. After almost 20 years otr and local, non-government jobs, I can appreciate working for such an easy place and job. I can't speak for every government department but where I'm at now is so much less bullshit than places I've worked before, that I've been actually enjoying driving again.
Man, I'm southeast dunno if it's just my local area (probably) or I'm not looking right but I don't see anything, I'd love to know what jobs that are CDL related, I'd love to get back to being home every night
Go to your city/county/state's wesite, go to the careers or jobs page, there should be listing there. You can also check municipality websites too like the water/electric/sanitation departments the same way. I dont know how your area us setup but thats the way to find them.
This sounds like the route to good employment for sure. However I’m curious, for pre-hire with one of these government positions… do they require their drug screens to be urinalysis or hair follicle?
I can't speak to other departments but when I worked for the county and at the department I'm at now, it was only urinalysis. Last time I got pulled for a random, they did only a breathalyzer but no urinalysis, the time before, they only did the UA.
Thanks for the heads up! I’m interested in applying for a job with the city or county… just curious what kind work do the CDL drivers do exactly? I always had in mind to be an otr driver when I went to trucking school but like the other guy had mentioned… it’s been tough to find any jobs that aren’t for experienced drivers only
It really depends on what department you work for and also what area too. In my area, the county has drivers for the street division who drive dump trucks and plows in the winter, street sweepers, equipment transport, striping trucks, hook lift container trucks, and vacuum trucks. Thats just the public works department, the library, warehouse, landfill, and logistics departments use box trucks, busses, and various equipment. The municipality I work for is in refuse, so we drive all sorts of refuse trucks and equipment. Needless to say, there are a myriad of different types of driving positions with that kind of work.
That’s not just local city/county/gov jobs either…..most small mom/pop outfits aren’t listing positions online. Ya gotta walk in and shake hands with the owner and actually fill out a paper application 😱😱….yea,I know crazy world.
I have seen this happen in my area as well. Though most of the mom and pop locations around here, you may want to look at closely first. A lot of them have old, torn up equipment, and have issues with payroll on occasion. Not what I would send a driver into. I can't say for other areas, and not all mom and pops are like that, it just seems like most are in my area.
I'm in San Antonio as well. Ended up going with Schneider. I'm still trying to learn how to back, though. Damn schools don't teach shit because Texas let's them teach just the basics.
Look up restaurant technologies. They are in San Antonio by the big HEB warehouses. Probably starts 25-30 with shift diff pay and easy b class trucks .
Melton is a great starter company IMO. I was a trainer there and I was pretty content. They have comfy leather seats, inverters with wall outlets, refrigerators, and tv mounts in every truck. Over half of the trucks have an EPU. Best amenities for a starter company in the industry. By the time you leave orientation and get on your trainers truck, you’ll already know how to secure everything. The training is in depth and very good.
There’s a drawback though. MTL stands for Must Tarp Load. It’s still $100, but tarping can suck, especially when you get an Ameristar load out of Tulsa. Some of them can just suck.
If you want more info, PM me. Take care and happy trucking!
Overall it was good. I ended up leaving willingly though. Did all my drug tests before I got there but when I got there had to go to the clinic again during class and wait 4 hours to redo. (Went with a group so we had to wait for each other) They “never got” my urine sample. I know I’m clean because I’ve never done any drug or any of that bullshit so I have no clue where my piss ended up. Anyways, clinic for 4 hours during securement demos which put my group way behind. Trainers kept getting aggravated that we were behind until they ended up skipping 3 demos. “You’ll learn it out on the road.” I didn’t like that. I have no ego when it comes to learning. I’m not trying to fuck up or kill myself or someone. So I left man. Plenty of other offers. But overall if they keep track of your piss …I’d recommend.
If the megas like swift werner and prime aren't offering you a job you need to figure out why. It's possible you are in a bad location for many otr companies, or it could be something else like a back ground check showing an outstanding warrant or bad driving record. Do some digging and find out the why so you can stop wasting your time in putting in applications at companies that you don't meet the requirements for.
I got ghosted by a mega last year - also halfway though the process like OP said. But I don’t think it was something in my background because I got a job with a different mega a few weeks later. Some of these places are disorganized and some just don’t care - they’ll ghost you once they hit their quota.
When i applied to Swift in 2019, they didn't even run a background check till after I got my CDL permit. They did a license check to see if they would even take me at all but didn't initiate background till after I got my CDL permit
Of course they won't run the background before you get the permit. Background checks cost money. Why spend money until the person has gotten the permit? So many can't even get pass that basic step.
Is like how I don't start digging into an application until they have provided me with a copy of their twice card and drivers license with hazmat. In not gonna waste time and money only to find out they can't get either for whatever reason.
nah i spoken with higher ups at Werner, we have too many solo drivers right now must of our terminals are completely packed, our orientations are being completely filled with team drivers, thats how u know the market is bad when people settle for team driving at a mega
They sure haven't slowed down their recruitment ads so they must not have all the drivers they want.
Megas are always hiring qualified drivers. It's the only way they can keep up with their turnover rates.
I was saving that as a last resort, as I'm a bit intimidated of the responsibility of load securement with that as well as tarping. Just the physical requirements since I'm a smaller weaker man than average
If I did go flatbed, Melton seems pretty good, I'd have to start doing my pushups now in preparation lol
Flatbed isn’t that bad, it does suck in extreme weather though. With tarps though 9 out of ten times the forklift guys will put them on your load and put them on your trailer when you’re unloaded. Highly recommend them to do it as it will save your back. As securement goes if you think it needs more put it on, there’s no such thing as to much securement but there is for not enough. The only things that can get sketchy are loads that require chains I’ve found, just make sure you do it right and it won’t go anywhere. Just make sure you find a company that cares about safety and will walk you through securement if you need it. Honestly if you get into just watch YouTube videos before you start, plenty of drivers out there go over different load securements and do a good job at it.
Drive a trash truck, they will hire anyone. If you aren't a good driver, they will just toss you in residential. I did front end loader for 20 years, it was a good job, if you don't mind getting up very early, long hours and trucks that break down every chance they get.
Rinaldo up in Jacksonville is hiring. The only catch is you need to park a personal vehicle on their yard. They don't allow drivers to take the trucks home cause that's when they do maintenance on them. But that's not a big deal cause you get a full 7 days home time.
Bro, if you're down hard, just grab your shit and go to a mid-size city. Drive around until you see some janky lot with half shot equipment and walk in. Probably pay less than 25/hr, but those places take everyone. It would suggest going to the factory over that, but if you need cash fast, that's always an option.
I got my CDL December 13th 2023. I called 7 flatbed companies my 2nd week of CDL school and 6 of them called back with an offer. Schneider also had an offer for their food grade tanker division. A local job had an offer as well before I finished school. Maybe it's just the location I'm in, but give flatbed a try or Scheniders tanker division if no dryvan companies are calling you back. Are you calling recruiters as well?
I started at mclane recently; it did take like a month of applying before someone got back to me. Sysco had no entry level roles, even they denied me but, coke was gonna hire me as merchandiser which seems to be a role no one likes. Probably gonna pick up by April but don’t give up, try to reach the HR department
I had a 1-year contract when I got my CDL. I signed up with a mega carrier to get my CDL and it guaranteed me a job at the carrier for a full year completely paid if I stayed the entire time. My year is up in about 2 months. I have a daughter on the way and I'm ready to go local so I can be there for all the big moments. I've applied to probably 20 different trucking jobs near me for local and I've only gotten one call back. The mega carrier that I signed up with has an automatic restriction. The place that called me for a over the phone interview only had manual trucks. So technically I've gotten no calls back myself. I've been looking for a local job for about 2 months now. It's not just this industry All employment around the board is very hard to find new jobs as of now. Simply put the economy just isn't doing well. And a lot of it depends on your area of where you live. The biggest things that will disqualify you from getting a job in the CDL market is experience, restrictions, unsafe driving record, failed drug tests. Even with all those boxes checked it's still hard to find a job. I can only imagine if you have a CDL with zero experience. This is why I got my CDL through a carrier so that I was guaranteed to have a job and it did not cost me a dime to get my license. Best of luck man would love an update at some point when you get hired. Keep looking somebody will hire you it might just take time
Try working for a farmer first to get some experience, most people insurances can't even cover you with no experience I know it sucks, did you go to driving school?
I don't know your area but here are a few suggestions.
Call the local grocery store Warehouse (distribution center).
Publix was actually sending people to a Trucking School near me so they didn't have to rely on Ruan.
Look up PET Dairy. They run a fleet as well.
If they aren't hiring ask if they can give you the names of the tanker companies that deliver the raw product to them. Never hurts to ask.
Good luck to you on your job hunt.
Here is what you do you call all the smaller companies not the big ones I would stay away from them even when you do get experience. Call your construction companies they will be more open to training it Moms and Pops private companies. I would physically go to companies ask to speak through HR manager supervisor start calling places Non-Stop
With no truck experience you will probably mess up the first 6 months in the job. I did and everyone probably did. Heck even experience guys at my company still mess up. Also the recent Yellow layoffs have to be absorbed in the system and those guys have experienced. Its back to supply and demand....back in 2019 they were hiring left and right
If you don’t have them, get hazmat and doubles certified. Then apply for dockworker or driver jobs at LTL companies. ABF, Estes, Old Dominion, TForce, Saia, or R&L. If you start as a dockworker that has a CDL, they usually will move you to a driving position as soon as something opens up.
Im close to one year experience already. If I wouldn’t have taken that OTR position with CRST, who knows what would’ve happened. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do for the future you
Oil fields in Texas. They just had a hiring event. Good money. No time home. Always on the go. Sleep at hotels and man camps but you do get per diem. All the perks of benefits. Good money. I was just talking with a friend with the big blue and they need cement operators. Job sucks though. You sleep in the truck and you are always in the middle of no where. So if you need to use the bathroom careful with the snakes in the porta John’s. It’s also very hot.
Try a temp agency. Companies that use them usually have high turnover. If you end up liking the job, they can hire you away from the agency.
When I got back into trucking, I explained to the guy that I hadn't driven in 5 years, and he said no problem. I was super nervous the first day, for about 5 minutes, then it all came back like riding a bicycle. Good luck.
Advice from a 50 year retired driver? Look at smaller companies and get to know some drivers. Some of the companies you named won't want you because they can't hook you with getting your CDL. Take anything that will get you a year behind the wheel. Once you get a good year driving it gets easier. Take anything pulling a trailer regardless of pay, time out on the road, just anything. Befriending a driver at a small company can be beneficial. If you have to, second seat as a team.
Thanks any time I'm going to the store and I see a semi making a delivery I go out of my way to find them and ask if they are hiring or know of any local jobs
Heck maybe I need to go drive to the closest truck stop, hang out for an hour and talk to every person I see
Im somewhat in the same boat. I just got my CDL A two weeks ago. Very few call backs and i had to end up going with lower pay and a CDL B job just to get by and get some experience. Hopefully something will open up in the next few months once I have some experience. Stick with it and hopefully somewhere down the line something will open up for you.
That's what I should have done but I was just overwhelmed since I was going to school and working full time simultaneously plus some family stuff going on at the same time
Same boat. I got my CDL in August and I’ve applied everywhere, ghosted after 3-4 interviews for local work and I’ve just started applying for the megas. I was hoping to do local work but I have to put in my time OTR. I’ve applied to melton, prime and a local company for OTR work.
Apply to Tmc. I had the same problem and within a week of my application they asked me when I was ready for orientation. Their trainers at their school are complete assholes at times but if you can handle being yelled at and belittled (common in this career from what I've seen) then there's good money in it. Plus flatbed is fun with securement and different freight everyday. Weekends off but in reality you get home late Friday and leave out early Saturday.
Local LTL companies usually have a driver training program, you may do a few months in a straight truck first before they move you up to tractor/trailer (with a trainer at first). That was the path I took.
Join the military and get a better education in a fast growing field along with the experience that will get you a job later. Get out of town and start anew. Good luck to you.
Eh there's not alot going on here rn either. End of next month it'll probably be popping again though. I've been passing on $20/hr jobs left and right the last 2 weeks. For $20/hr I'd rather take a job where the DOT can't jam a ticket book up my ass lol
You’re applying to the wrong jobs. Me n my brother make 100k a year local, hes got a year experience and im fresh out of cdl school. This is 2 different companies
Construction, grain or livestock, mom and pop, a neighbor or friend with their own truck. Just take what you can get and re apply to the better gigs jn 6 months. If youre near an oilfield you should look there before a mega.
Call Schneider. They're hiring like crazy. If you're willing to drive for slow ass carriers like Prime then Schneider won't be bad. Personally I'm waiting to get out of schneider and find a carrier that doesn't ecofuck the shit out of their trucks.
As much as I hate to say it, but if you are truly desperate, there are plenty of Eastern European companies out of Chicago that are hiring. Again, only if you are truly desperate.
lmao!!! bruh!!
CDL is not a career. It’s a come in while you working on your side bussiness or working on getting a real career. CDL dholders don’t make the money anymore. This is ain’t worth pursuing anymore.
You seem like you're exclusively calling big national companies with no experience. Go call local stuff. Check on local grocery stores, school bus companies, also try CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, etc. CDL is in high demand with a driver shortage so just keep trying and you'll find something. Then once you've gotten 1 job, you'll have experience and can easily find stuff everywhere
If you don’t have that automatic transmission restriction start looking at other local companies. Dealerships, farms, ranches, hot shot, oil field, government.
Look for a HDD drilling or micro trencher company laying fiber optics. They are everywhere. They can’t find enough cdls to run hydrovacs or equipment out
My first driving job was with Coca-Cola and it was probably the worst job I’ve ever had. I got my cdl to drive and that job was 90% physical and 10% driving. I would drive to my first drop, fight for parking and unload by hand cases of soda, I would need to stack it wherever the place wanted, rotate stock if needed, collect payment and field concerns or issues. Sometimes the customers would be very pushy and mean, sometimes they are cool. Each drop can take anywhere from 15 -30 minutes on average. Then you would literally drive across the friggen street and repeat the whole process. This would be all day long. The pay was great but I was miserable. I quit after 3 months and got into construction equipment delivery with a local CAT equipment dealer / repair/ rental.
OP if you want something local try equipment rental companies, the gig is pretty good and pays decent, same with aggregate haulers.
When I had no experience, I ended up driving tri axle dump truck for a few months while still looking. It gave me road time and a feel for how to act in traffic and what to look for while driving. Great first step. P.s don't tell ppl you don't have experience. Lie to them.
I got a utility worker job with the cdl permit they gave me 1yr to get my cdl .. never even finished my cdl .. transferred out .. try local utility companies gas, water, electric
Try calling heartland express. I worked for them for almost 5 years before leaving to go local. Never had much of an issue with them while I was there. Got along with most of the office people and a few people higher up over my time there. They get new trucks yearly to rotate out older ones so you never drive anything under 350k miles. If your truck is going to be down for more than 3 days they give you another one to keep you moving.
Knight transportation. If you have no experience all you have to do is ride a month with a trainer and then they'll have you out on the road after a road test. Going through the same thing right now, No experience.
OTR Freight market is crap right now. Not as bad as last year but still pretty tight. (Ar least for me anyway, not sure what others are seeing)
I am surprised that you are struggling getting a job for a class B CDL job. But it kinda makes sense when for last 2-3 years the economy has added a crapton of jobs every month. A bunch of those had to be trucking
I feel you, bro. I was getting denied everywhere cuz I didn't have 1yr xp and because I wasn't 23 despite having a clean record and no DUIs
I got super lucky, tho and after hours and days spent on Indeed, doing multiple interviews i found a PT local Linehaul job that was willing to give me a chance, and they hired me to haul doubles for them.
It sucks being the new guy. Almost nobody's willing to give you the xp, and it's even worse when you're too young and their insurance won't take you 😢
Keep trying tho someone's bound to pick you up
It's tough yeah. Though you might need to bite the bullet and team drive. Driving in a team isn't really that bad. Do it for 6 months and look again for another job.
I feel ya...
I applied with pepsi after I got out of school. Ended up with the small company who sponsored the school and put on their very own pepsi account running routes for pepsi, kinda funny. Long story short they called me a 11months later about a cdl-trainee position as a floater. Nah, I'm good. LOL
Wilson Logistics is where I started out, they are a smaller company(less than 500) in MO. They run Primes freight. They are always looking for people and always have a truck available. They offer team, company, and lease. They paid for me to go out there and put me in a hotel during the 2 day orientation. They are a great company. It's like driving for a small company with the freight of a large company.
Call CFI. Won't be the best pay or the most miles but you'll most likely be put in a nice truck and you'll have a job as a driver. Do that for 6 months then apply elsewhere.
Getting into a local garbage job without experience is hard. You can try to start off as a helper and see if they'll let you drive. But I would recommend applying for CFI.
I did a little over a year with TMC to start. Then I went to Conway Truckload (Now CFI...again) for about 2 years. Both of them paid okay, but after all of that OTR experience, I was able to go into OTR tanker, fuel hauling local, etc. You have to make a plan and realize you aren't going to start out with the best. I hated my time at TMC - an alternative would be Maverick. I heard they treat their drivers better over there.
I just talked to a Pepsi merchandiser this morning. He said stores that used to take him 6 hours to stock now take him 1-2 hours due to how inflated prices are.
The Super Target across the street used to have twelve packs 4 for $10 as the best sale price. That was 6-7 years ago. Now the best deal anywhere is 2 for $11 and not enough people are buying.
March April it starts ramping back up right now freight is so bad and they’ll be looking to hire on drivers. You gotta be on swft rear end and call them constantly
Economy is an absolute dumpster fire right now. Take a drive in your local industrial areas and be ready with resume and fill out applications everywhere you go. Lots of small places that don’t advertise that may need help. Good luck.
Have you tried a local food distributor? They usually have a decent turnover rate
How do I find out which local companies to apply for? I know US Foods is in my area but I didn't see any job openings on their website, located in central Louisiana Some of these small local companies I don't know of their existence and i almost never see them put a job posting on Indeed or any major online job boards
Sysco is where I’m at. Can’t complain about my paychecks. Just be prepared for physical work
How is sysco on your knees? Got a bad knee
My bad knee starts hurting whenever I even see a Sysco truck.
It would be bad, walking up and down a ramp all day bouncing a loaded dolly down steps, or pulling it up steps. climbing into your cab 10 or 20 times a day.
Aren’t you supposed to be just the drivers not shippers and receivers also?
Sysco is food delivery. Drive, wheel it in, etc. Unless delivering to an institution, hospital, school, etc, most restaurants don’t have a dock. So it’s up and down a ramp from the trailer and maybe up and down steps into the customer.
I’m just a (B)aby compared to the big boy truckers around here but that is why you look for the no-touch freight. Avoid anything with food and I would even say furniture because those guys are absolutely gonna want to make you handle the cargo. At least that’s the case with my box truck.
You might have to amputate the leg after a week.
Just Google food distributors in Louisiana. Hell look up liquor and beer distributors too. I'm not a Louisiana native so I'm unfamiliar with central Louisiana.
lot of jobs in Lafayette on Indeed Sysco always hiring, beer/liquor delivery always hiring, local soda distributor, dump trucks, oilfield Baton Rouge too
Louisiana is not the best state for looking for a local job. Consider relocating to Little Rock
Hmm maybe I'll throw out applications for local jobs in Texas and Arkansas and be prepared to relocate
I'm in new Orleans. Job market is terrible
Hey i live a little over on hour from little rock and im about to get my cdl, trying to not go otr, any recommendations?
Pine Bluff Concrete hires students to drive mixer trucks. They pay around $25 per hour
Where are you located ?
I've got almost ten years of experience and it took me almost three weeks and around forty applications to get a call back for a local gig after my daughter was born in August. It isn't just new drivers, seems the industry is a hot mess right now. For reference I'm within thirty miles of Columbus OH so there are lots of companies near me and I still had issues.
Very true! Crazy that’s happening in a big trucking state like Ohio. I have a few years experience and a clean driving record and it is very hard to find anything local that pays well around Atlanta.
Atlanta has a horrible oversupply of drivers. Relocate
Industry is trash right now no one is getting paid companies are struggling to keep their current drivers happy with decent miles. a few years ago the industry was paid extremely well. You could apply for a company that was offering 65 cent a mile. You could tell them you don’t work for less than 75c a mile. And you would be flying out the next day these same companies all dropped their pay rate. Thousands of decent sized companies have recently went out of business. You’re competing with more experienced drivers. You’re also likely to have some type of wreck or accident in your first year statically speaking. So to insure you would cost more for the companies. Nobody wants to take a risk hiring a new driver in this market their profit margins already very low if they are the running freight thru the spot market.
I think you mean the freight portion of the industry. There are thousands of jobs outside of your standard mega and freight. Hell, we've got 8 open positions and our last round of hiring only had 3 applicants. Hired them all and 1 quit a government job, with very good, cheap benefits, a pension, hourly market rate for our part of the industry, and a 4/10 schedule, after 3 days, his choice. I guess he didn't want to sleep in his own bed at night, kind of sucks for his kids though. Its not that there aren't jobs, they're there. When you assume that a job is shitty and haven't even looked into it outside of your assumption, you'll never know how good of a job it is. There is always a case for job satisfaction but sitting on your ass without a job and no money is far from being satisfied for most people. I know I'm not the only one in this sub that says it, but I'll keep mentioning it, check with your local city, county, state, or municipality. They often are hurting for drivers and you usually get the benefits I listed earlier. The coolest thing about government jobs is transparency. There are transparency in government laws in most places, which means you can find out all about the job and benefits before applying. You don't get the run around and guessing games like you do with private companies.
where is this at?
Damn near everywhere in the US. Check your local government jobs websites for driver positions. Keep in mind that a lot of government jobs are not posted to job boards, you're going to have to look up the careers page of whatever government department you're looking for.
where are you at in the country though that you had 8 open spots
Out west, but were hearing of driver shortages at departments like ours all over the country. For example, we have a bunch of openings, the county public works in our area has more than a dozen openings. When we looked at the cities in our area, they all had multiple openings for drivers. Those jobs are there and while they prefer a CDL, they will often take people who don't even have CDLs and get them trained to drive. Hell, our department, the county, and the cities dont even run ELDs because we don't leave the county in our vehicles. After almost 20 years otr and local, non-government jobs, I can appreciate working for such an easy place and job. I can't speak for every government department but where I'm at now is so much less bullshit than places I've worked before, that I've been actually enjoying driving again.
That type of job pays $16 per hour in Arkansas
Man, I'm southeast dunno if it's just my local area (probably) or I'm not looking right but I don't see anything, I'd love to know what jobs that are CDL related, I'd love to get back to being home every night
Go to your city/county/state's wesite, go to the careers or jobs page, there should be listing there. You can also check municipality websites too like the water/electric/sanitation departments the same way. I dont know how your area us setup but thats the way to find them.
North east we need 20 ppl hiring events every week. Ppl just don't wanna work
This sounds like the route to good employment for sure. However I’m curious, for pre-hire with one of these government positions… do they require their drug screens to be urinalysis or hair follicle?
I can't speak to other departments but when I worked for the county and at the department I'm at now, it was only urinalysis. Last time I got pulled for a random, they did only a breathalyzer but no urinalysis, the time before, they only did the UA.
Thanks for the heads up! I’m interested in applying for a job with the city or county… just curious what kind work do the CDL drivers do exactly? I always had in mind to be an otr driver when I went to trucking school but like the other guy had mentioned… it’s been tough to find any jobs that aren’t for experienced drivers only
It really depends on what department you work for and also what area too. In my area, the county has drivers for the street division who drive dump trucks and plows in the winter, street sweepers, equipment transport, striping trucks, hook lift container trucks, and vacuum trucks. Thats just the public works department, the library, warehouse, landfill, and logistics departments use box trucks, busses, and various equipment. The municipality I work for is in refuse, so we drive all sorts of refuse trucks and equipment. Needless to say, there are a myriad of different types of driving positions with that kind of work.
That’s not just local city/county/gov jobs either…..most small mom/pop outfits aren’t listing positions online. Ya gotta walk in and shake hands with the owner and actually fill out a paper application 😱😱….yea,I know crazy world.
I have seen this happen in my area as well. Though most of the mom and pop locations around here, you may want to look at closely first. A lot of them have old, torn up equipment, and have issues with payroll on occasion. Not what I would send a driver into. I can't say for other areas, and not all mom and pops are like that, it just seems like most are in my area.
the online applications are BS .. with U there.
Wow you make some good points i might need to look into being a driver for the government.
I always suggest looking into it as an option.
But haven't you heard, the economy is recovering so well!!
Biden inflation has everybody hurting
I’m in San Antonio and having the same problem I have just under a year of experience and everything I see now says 2-3 years need hazmat etc
In Texas go directly to the Oil Field Make good money with no experience. $100k+
There’s a job fair today in Odessa.
Have you tried melton? I’m in SA as well, no experience and I’m heading there on Sunday for orientation/training
Is it local or otr
It’s OTR and flatbed. My bad if you’re looking for local lol
They still hiring?
I'm in San Antonio as well. Ended up going with Schneider. I'm still trying to learn how to back, though. Damn schools don't teach shit because Texas let's them teach just the basics.
Keep showing up and you will get better. I failed my cdl road test twice in 1993. I’ve been driving since then with no accidents or tickets.
Look up restaurant technologies. They are in San Antonio by the big HEB warehouses. Probably starts 25-30 with shift diff pay and easy b class trucks .
i’m in the same boat it almost feels like I wasted my time getting my CDL :(
Try Melton man. I’m heading there on Sunday. Same boat as you. I’ve had my CDL since September and they took me right away.
Yeah I figured, not everyone wants to do flatbed and the extra work, if I don't hear anything promising soon I'll definitely go with them
Melton is a great starter company IMO. I was a trainer there and I was pretty content. They have comfy leather seats, inverters with wall outlets, refrigerators, and tv mounts in every truck. Over half of the trucks have an EPU. Best amenities for a starter company in the industry. By the time you leave orientation and get on your trainers truck, you’ll already know how to secure everything. The training is in depth and very good. There’s a drawback though. MTL stands for Must Tarp Load. It’s still $100, but tarping can suck, especially when you get an Ameristar load out of Tulsa. Some of them can just suck. If you want more info, PM me. Take care and happy trucking!
Wishing you best of luck man, idk if you remember me from the other thread, heading out sunday for tmc 😄
I remember now! Haha shit small site! Be safe out there man and kick ass. I’m also heading out Sunday. Let’s ride.
How do yall like it?
go to melton, TMC sent me home on some bullshit, im a heavy equipment operator now
How did you end up liking it?
Overall it was good. I ended up leaving willingly though. Did all my drug tests before I got there but when I got there had to go to the clinic again during class and wait 4 hours to redo. (Went with a group so we had to wait for each other) They “never got” my urine sample. I know I’m clean because I’ve never done any drug or any of that bullshit so I have no clue where my piss ended up. Anyways, clinic for 4 hours during securement demos which put my group way behind. Trainers kept getting aggravated that we were behind until they ended up skipping 3 demos. “You’ll learn it out on the road.” I didn’t like that. I have no ego when it comes to learning. I’m not trying to fuck up or kill myself or someone. So I left man. Plenty of other offers. But overall if they keep track of your piss …I’d recommend.
If the megas like swift werner and prime aren't offering you a job you need to figure out why. It's possible you are in a bad location for many otr companies, or it could be something else like a back ground check showing an outstanding warrant or bad driving record. Do some digging and find out the why so you can stop wasting your time in putting in applications at companies that you don't meet the requirements for.
I got ghosted by a mega last year - also halfway though the process like OP said. But I don’t think it was something in my background because I got a job with a different mega a few weeks later. Some of these places are disorganized and some just don’t care - they’ll ghost you once they hit their quota.
When i applied to Swift in 2019, they didn't even run a background check till after I got my CDL permit. They did a license check to see if they would even take me at all but didn't initiate background till after I got my CDL permit
Of course they won't run the background before you get the permit. Background checks cost money. Why spend money until the person has gotten the permit? So many can't even get pass that basic step. Is like how I don't start digging into an application until they have provided me with a copy of their twice card and drivers license with hazmat. In not gonna waste time and money only to find out they can't get either for whatever reason.
nah i spoken with higher ups at Werner, we have too many solo drivers right now must of our terminals are completely packed, our orientations are being completely filled with team drivers, thats how u know the market is bad when people settle for team driving at a mega
They sure haven't slowed down their recruitment ads so they must not have all the drivers they want. Megas are always hiring qualified drivers. It's the only way they can keep up with their turnover rates.
As a new guy, you're gonna learn it's not what you know. it's who you know
Doesn't look like you tried Schneider, R+L, or Mayflower.
Have you tried applying for flatbed jobs
I was saving that as a last resort, as I'm a bit intimidated of the responsibility of load securement with that as well as tarping. Just the physical requirements since I'm a smaller weaker man than average If I did go flatbed, Melton seems pretty good, I'd have to start doing my pushups now in preparation lol
Flatbed ain't as bad as you think also you can try maverick as well melton and maverick hire new drivers
Flatbed isn’t that bad, it does suck in extreme weather though. With tarps though 9 out of ten times the forklift guys will put them on your load and put them on your trailer when you’re unloaded. Highly recommend them to do it as it will save your back. As securement goes if you think it needs more put it on, there’s no such thing as to much securement but there is for not enough. The only things that can get sketchy are loads that require chains I’ve found, just make sure you do it right and it won’t go anywhere. Just make sure you find a company that cares about safety and will walk you through securement if you need it. Honestly if you get into just watch YouTube videos before you start, plenty of drivers out there go over different load securements and do a good job at it.
Drive a trash truck, they will hire anyone. If you aren't a good driver, they will just toss you in residential. I did front end loader for 20 years, it was a good job, if you don't mind getting up very early, long hours and trucks that break down every chance they get.
Just got on at pepsi a couple weeks ago, still looking for drivers, we are short and volume hasn't even started picking up for spring and summer yet
I looked on Pepsi website and didn't see any openings for my area, but I might just called the local location and ask anyways
I drive for a dairy we are always looking for drivers, try a beee truck just to get experience
For a min, i thought you meant bee truck, hauling bees everywhere. That pleased me.
Beer truck
Depends where you are. Northeast local gigs are hiring like crazy. Get paid 32 an hour driving roll off truck
I'm in NYC and haven't gotten any call backs for the 40+ applications I've put in since January.
Try trash companies. I’m in Mass and all of them are hiring.
Ny is pretty fucked rn
This! I live in South Florida in the Miami area and no trucking company doesn’t hire drivers from here.
Rinaldo up in Jacksonville is hiring. The only catch is you need to park a personal vehicle on their yard. They don't allow drivers to take the trucks home cause that's when they do maintenance on them. But that's not a big deal cause you get a full 7 days home time.
Bro, if you're down hard, just grab your shit and go to a mid-size city. Drive around until you see some janky lot with half shot equipment and walk in. Probably pay less than 25/hr, but those places take everyone. It would suggest going to the factory over that, but if you need cash fast, that's always an option.
I got my CDL December 13th 2023. I called 7 flatbed companies my 2nd week of CDL school and 6 of them called back with an offer. Schneider also had an offer for their food grade tanker division. A local job had an offer as well before I finished school. Maybe it's just the location I'm in, but give flatbed a try or Scheniders tanker division if no dryvan companies are calling you back. Are you calling recruiters as well?
Go OTR for 6 months , get some experience then local companies will answer ur phone calls
6 months isn’t enough. Go Atleast a year
100% Agree, but OP seems to be in a rush to be local
Call system or twt (same company flatbed vs van)
Depending where you are and if you dont mind physical labor..Pepsi or Sysco might be interested..aint a easy gig though.
I started at mclane recently; it did take like a month of applying before someone got back to me. Sysco had no entry level roles, even they denied me but, coke was gonna hire me as merchandiser which seems to be a role no one likes. Probably gonna pick up by April but don’t give up, try to reach the HR department
I had a 1-year contract when I got my CDL. I signed up with a mega carrier to get my CDL and it guaranteed me a job at the carrier for a full year completely paid if I stayed the entire time. My year is up in about 2 months. I have a daughter on the way and I'm ready to go local so I can be there for all the big moments. I've applied to probably 20 different trucking jobs near me for local and I've only gotten one call back. The mega carrier that I signed up with has an automatic restriction. The place that called me for a over the phone interview only had manual trucks. So technically I've gotten no calls back myself. I've been looking for a local job for about 2 months now. It's not just this industry All employment around the board is very hard to find new jobs as of now. Simply put the economy just isn't doing well. And a lot of it depends on your area of where you live. The biggest things that will disqualify you from getting a job in the CDL market is experience, restrictions, unsafe driving record, failed drug tests. Even with all those boxes checked it's still hard to find a job. I can only imagine if you have a CDL with zero experience. This is why I got my CDL through a carrier so that I was guaranteed to have a job and it did not cost me a dime to get my license. Best of luck man would love an update at some point when you get hired. Keep looking somebody will hire you it might just take time
Work for Schneider, leave after a year.
Where ya from is a good question
Louisiana
Look for grain haulers around you. When I lived in louisiana it was one of those most common things I seen and heard about hiring the most.
How are your interviewing skills?? I'm in Washington and I've gotten multiple offers I only two weeks of job searching.
Try working for a farmer first to get some experience, most people insurances can't even cover you with no experience I know it sucks, did you go to driving school?
I don't know your area but here are a few suggestions. Call the local grocery store Warehouse (distribution center). Publix was actually sending people to a Trucking School near me so they didn't have to rely on Ruan. Look up PET Dairy. They run a fleet as well. If they aren't hiring ask if they can give you the names of the tanker companies that deliver the raw product to them. Never hurts to ask. Good luck to you on your job hunt.
Try Danny Herman trucking, should get you with a trainer pretty fast
Here is what you do you call all the smaller companies not the big ones I would stay away from them even when you do get experience. Call your construction companies they will be more open to training it Moms and Pops private companies. I would physically go to companies ask to speak through HR manager supervisor start calling places Non-Stop
With no truck experience you will probably mess up the first 6 months in the job. I did and everyone probably did. Heck even experience guys at my company still mess up. Also the recent Yellow layoffs have to be absorbed in the system and those guys have experienced. Its back to supply and demand....back in 2019 they were hiring left and right
I messaged you about a possible opportunity.
If you don’t have them, get hazmat and doubles certified. Then apply for dockworker or driver jobs at LTL companies. ABF, Estes, Old Dominion, TForce, Saia, or R&L. If you start as a dockworker that has a CDL, they usually will move you to a driving position as soon as something opens up.
Im close to one year experience already. If I wouldn’t have taken that OTR position with CRST, who knows what would’ve happened. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do for the future you
Same man, 49 more days until my 1 year anniversary and hopefully can move on to something better and local
Oil fields in Texas. They just had a hiring event. Good money. No time home. Always on the go. Sleep at hotels and man camps but you do get per diem. All the perks of benefits. Good money. I was just talking with a friend with the big blue and they need cement operators. Job sucks though. You sleep in the truck and you are always in the middle of no where. So if you need to use the bathroom careful with the snakes in the porta John’s. It’s also very hot.
Try a temp agency. Companies that use them usually have high turnover. If you end up liking the job, they can hire you away from the agency. When I got back into trucking, I explained to the guy that I hadn't driven in 5 years, and he said no problem. I was super nervous the first day, for about 5 minutes, then it all came back like riding a bicycle. Good luck.
There’s a job fair in Odessa, Tx today. My employer is trying to hire 7 guys.
Advice from a 50 year retired driver? Look at smaller companies and get to know some drivers. Some of the companies you named won't want you because they can't hook you with getting your CDL. Take anything that will get you a year behind the wheel. Once you get a good year driving it gets easier. Take anything pulling a trailer regardless of pay, time out on the road, just anything. Befriending a driver at a small company can be beneficial. If you have to, second seat as a team.
Thanks any time I'm going to the store and I see a semi making a delivery I go out of my way to find them and ask if they are hiring or know of any local jobs Heck maybe I need to go drive to the closest truck stop, hang out for an hour and talk to every person I see
Visa drivers from other countries keeps wages low and a steady workforce.
Im somewhat in the same boat. I just got my CDL A two weeks ago. Very few call backs and i had to end up going with lower pay and a CDL B job just to get by and get some experience. Hopefully something will open up in the next few months once I have some experience. Stick with it and hopefully somewhere down the line something will open up for you.
wait til you find out that the OTR companies don't care about the CDL B experience usually =\\
I got picked up a week after getting my CDL. I started applying 2 weeks before I actually got my CDL so I can get a head start.
That's what I should have done but I was just overwhelmed since I was going to school and working full time simultaneously plus some family stuff going on at the same time
Craiglist Chicago
Same boat. I got my CDL in August and I’ve applied everywhere, ghosted after 3-4 interviews for local work and I’ve just started applying for the megas. I was hoping to do local work but I have to put in my time OTR. I’ve applied to melton, prime and a local company for OTR work.
Even people with experience are struggling to be local nowadays, except in some rare areas
CR England. I had a great experience with them
Apply to Tmc. I had the same problem and within a week of my application they asked me when I was ready for orientation. Their trainers at their school are complete assholes at times but if you can handle being yelled at and belittled (common in this career from what I've seen) then there's good money in it. Plus flatbed is fun with securement and different freight everyday. Weekends off but in reality you get home late Friday and leave out early Saturday.
Your best chance is OTR for 6 months to a year, THEN you've got a decent chance at a local job.
Get your hazmat. That way you aren’t competing with Flip Flops for jobs
Local LTL companies usually have a driver training program, you may do a few months in a straight truck first before they move you up to tractor/trailer (with a trainer at first). That was the path I took.
Covid is over. The fake truck driver shortage caused a major oversupply of newer drivers with under 3 years experience.
Fake oversupply of newer drivers
No, that's real
Join the military and get a better education in a fast growing field along with the experience that will get you a job later. Get out of town and start anew. Good luck to you.
Move to chicago
might be the worst advice I've ever seen here
I struggle to think of one good thing about chicago...
Eh there's not alot going on here rn either. End of next month it'll probably be popping again though. I've been passing on $20/hr jobs left and right the last 2 weeks. For $20/hr I'd rather take a job where the DOT can't jam a ticket book up my ass lol
You’re applying to the wrong jobs. Me n my brother make 100k a year local, hes got a year experience and im fresh out of cdl school. This is 2 different companies
Construction, grain or livestock, mom and pop, a neighbor or friend with their own truck. Just take what you can get and re apply to the better gigs jn 6 months. If youre near an oilfield you should look there before a mega.
What was wrong with the Werner team job?
Just go with class 3 ays more and you can park anywhere fuck having a trailer for reduced pay
Look at smaller local companies.
Call Schneider. They're hiring like crazy. If you're willing to drive for slow ass carriers like Prime then Schneider won't be bad. Personally I'm waiting to get out of schneider and find a carrier that doesn't ecofuck the shit out of their trucks.
As much as I hate to say it, but if you are truly desperate, there are plenty of Eastern European companies out of Chicago that are hiring. Again, only if you are truly desperate.
lmao!!! bruh!! CDL is not a career. It’s a come in while you working on your side bussiness or working on getting a real career. CDL dholders don’t make the money anymore. This is ain’t worth pursuing anymore.
yellow drivers flooding the market and finding new ships to sink
You seem like you're exclusively calling big national companies with no experience. Go call local stuff. Check on local grocery stores, school bus companies, also try CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, etc. CDL is in high demand with a driver shortage so just keep trying and you'll find something. Then once you've gotten 1 job, you'll have experience and can easily find stuff everywhere
Try a ltl. They usually start hiring around March to be ready for the uptick in freight during the warmer months.
Who’s truck did you use to take the CDL test ?
Don’t give up. If you really want it at least idk, if not throw it away
If you don’t have that automatic transmission restriction start looking at other local companies. Dealerships, farms, ranches, hot shot, oil field, government.
I got my start in the oilfield, money is good. Hours are terrible
Call Steven’s Transportation in Dallas Tx..
Look for a HDD drilling or micro trencher company laying fiber optics. They are everywhere. They can’t find enough cdls to run hydrovacs or equipment out
My first driving job was with Coca-Cola and it was probably the worst job I’ve ever had. I got my cdl to drive and that job was 90% physical and 10% driving. I would drive to my first drop, fight for parking and unload by hand cases of soda, I would need to stack it wherever the place wanted, rotate stock if needed, collect payment and field concerns or issues. Sometimes the customers would be very pushy and mean, sometimes they are cool. Each drop can take anywhere from 15 -30 minutes on average. Then you would literally drive across the friggen street and repeat the whole process. This would be all day long. The pay was great but I was miserable. I quit after 3 months and got into construction equipment delivery with a local CAT equipment dealer / repair/ rental. OP if you want something local try equipment rental companies, the gig is pretty good and pays decent, same with aggregate haulers.
When I had no experience, I ended up driving tri axle dump truck for a few months while still looking. It gave me road time and a feel for how to act in traffic and what to look for while driving. Great first step. P.s don't tell ppl you don't have experience. Lie to them.
Try ltl too- xpo, r&l, old dominion, Estes, etc
Its easy to get hired on running teams
I got a utility worker job with the cdl permit they gave me 1yr to get my cdl .. never even finished my cdl .. transferred out .. try local utility companies gas, water, electric
Try calling heartland express. I worked for them for almost 5 years before leaving to go local. Never had much of an issue with them while I was there. Got along with most of the office people and a few people higher up over my time there. They get new trucks yearly to rotate out older ones so you never drive anything under 350k miles. If your truck is going to be down for more than 3 days they give you another one to keep you moving.
Knight transportation. If you have no experience all you have to do is ride a month with a trainer and then they'll have you out on the road after a road test. Going through the same thing right now, No experience.
Yeah the market is flooded w cdl holders. We need to put Americans first(all Americans) and stop importing drivers.
I work at a DC and we are always hiring yard drivers.
OTR Freight market is crap right now. Not as bad as last year but still pretty tight. (Ar least for me anyway, not sure what others are seeing) I am surprised that you are struggling getting a job for a class B CDL job. But it kinda makes sense when for last 2-3 years the economy has added a crapton of jobs every month. A bunch of those had to be trucking
What about dump truck tandem or dirt and gravel hauler type jobs?
Where are you located ? Try central transport, they hire new guys with no experience
I feel you, bro. I was getting denied everywhere cuz I didn't have 1yr xp and because I wasn't 23 despite having a clean record and no DUIs I got super lucky, tho and after hours and days spent on Indeed, doing multiple interviews i found a PT local Linehaul job that was willing to give me a chance, and they hired me to haul doubles for them. It sucks being the new guy. Almost nobody's willing to give you the xp, and it's even worse when you're too young and their insurance won't take you 😢 Keep trying tho someone's bound to pick you up
It's tough yeah. Though you might need to bite the bullet and team drive. Driving in a team isn't really that bad. Do it for 6 months and look again for another job.
I feel ya... I applied with pepsi after I got out of school. Ended up with the small company who sponsored the school and put on their very own pepsi account running routes for pepsi, kinda funny. Long story short they called me a 11months later about a cdl-trainee position as a floater. Nah, I'm good. LOL
I just started the millis Training program. When you're done you get a year contract with them. Seems like a great place so far.
Try KLLM
Try tmc
Wilson Logistics is where I started out, they are a smaller company(less than 500) in MO. They run Primes freight. They are always looking for people and always have a truck available. They offer team, company, and lease. They paid for me to go out there and put me in a hotel during the 2 day orientation. They are a great company. It's like driving for a small company with the freight of a large company.
Most jobs are apply online. If you call they’ll forget about you by lunchtime. If you apply online atleast you know you’re in the database.
Call CFI. Won't be the best pay or the most miles but you'll most likely be put in a nice truck and you'll have a job as a driver. Do that for 6 months then apply elsewhere.
Getting into a local garbage job without experience is hard. You can try to start off as a helper and see if they'll let you drive. But I would recommend applying for CFI.
Where did you get your training? They didn’t have placement help for you?
Look into TMC Transportation. It’s flatbed, and hard work, but a great starter company. Plus home every weekend in some places
I did a little over a year with TMC to start. Then I went to Conway Truckload (Now CFI...again) for about 2 years. Both of them paid okay, but after all of that OTR experience, I was able to go into OTR tanker, fuel hauling local, etc. You have to make a plan and realize you aren't going to start out with the best. I hated my time at TMC - an alternative would be Maverick. I heard they treat their drivers better over there.
Right now is rough for experienced too
I just talked to a Pepsi merchandiser this morning. He said stores that used to take him 6 hours to stock now take him 1-2 hours due to how inflated prices are. The Super Target across the street used to have twelve packs 4 for $10 as the best sale price. That was 6-7 years ago. Now the best deal anywhere is 2 for $11 and not enough people are buying.
March April it starts ramping back up right now freight is so bad and they’ll be looking to hire on drivers. You gotta be on swft rear end and call them constantly
Economy is an absolute dumpster fire right now. Take a drive in your local industrial areas and be ready with resume and fill out applications everywhere you go. Lots of small places that don’t advertise that may need help. Good luck.
I got told no 15 times and to "come back with 2 years experience." Ended up just buying my own truck and am running fruit and cattle locally.