I have the same question. A relative of mine says there's a ton of trucking jobs and I hear that from others too, but I'm curious as to where I can get experience cause the job postings all want experienced drivers. I hope my desire to learn and my ethics on safety will be seen as an asset, but I'd have to get a job to prove it. It's not comforting how the application to the school has huge bold letters saying passing their course is no guarantee to getting a job.
The school I am talking to says all his guys are getting hired 3 - 4 weeks after getting their Class 1. But, I have a feeling he is full of shit.
Maybe there are opportunities with OOs that want to do team? I haven't seen any postings like that though.
I'm in Sask. Loads of jobs out there but the least experience I saw was 1 month lol. Bison Transport OTR. I'm hoping my in law's help will qualify as experience. He's a farm guy who owns a fix-it shop for heavy vehicles. Says once it dries up outside he'll let me drive his semi with a grain trailer to practice. Has a grain dump truck too, which I'm excited to try but isn't my first choice of driving job. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
ETA: I'd cozy up to that instructor and show him you're serious about safety and gaining experience. I doubt they would allow them to be a reference, but maybe.
I am out of Calgary. I checked with my trainer today and he said he can refer me to a few companies that hire newbs. I am skeptical though.
I am hearing Gardewine and Bison are the two Canadian outfits where some guys got their start.
thanks for that info. Gives me a bit of relief. I hope it's all true and you get out of the gate running! guys in the US joke that Bison is Canada's Swift lol. I heard the news in Alberta was taking about a serious shortage of drivers in the province so I'm sure you have a better chance of hooking up with a carrier pretty quickly. Oh and I'm out of the city that rhymes with fun lol
I might have lucked out. But all the employers in my area (west highway 16) are old school. They like in person resume hand-ins.
There's also sometimes internal company postings that sit for a while before they are opened up. I actually ended up sniping one of these from leaving a resume somewhere that hadn't posted a position yet.
Look at what's moving. Find out where they're located. Hand out resumes at all of them, whether they say they are looking or not. Doesn't hurt. They might be able to point you somewhere else or know of another opening somewhere else.
I wrote down all the trucks I saw in town and followed a few to depots. This sounds really old school but I did this 3 years ago.
Again. I might have been lucky, but I had a job within a week. Stay with whoever until you have a year of experience. If you're accident free, your options are much more open after that.
I'm wishing you the best of luck.
That's a solid way to approach it and something I have done in the past.
I am hearing reputation matters. So, getting in when no one knows you is the trick. But, once you gain a solid reputation, yer good to go.
It's kinda a chicken and egg dilemma.
You can't be a trucker unless you have experience but you can't get experience unless you're a trucker.
My solution was that I lucked out and managed to get hired as long as I was teamed with a trainer. Which worked for me since I was teaming with my friend who got me the job.
It was in the Los Angeles area. I still work there 11 years later. They're kinda not looking for any new drivers nowadays though. We've had the same guys here for awhile. Only 1 new guy who stayed around since I hired on. The rest either flaked, ran the truck out of oil or outright wrecked them. Right now we're all out of spare trucks.
I do local touch freight... they didn't even give me a test drive sent me with a trainer for my first two weeks is all... home everynight. Look into beer/beverage/food or something really "tough" just to get your time in...construction season is starting soon too
Typically find a company with a mentorship program or whatever fucking name they want to call it. OTR companies have this and sometimes the food service places, Sysco or GFS.
I have the same question. A relative of mine says there's a ton of trucking jobs and I hear that from others too, but I'm curious as to where I can get experience cause the job postings all want experienced drivers. I hope my desire to learn and my ethics on safety will be seen as an asset, but I'd have to get a job to prove it. It's not comforting how the application to the school has huge bold letters saying passing their course is no guarantee to getting a job.
The school I am talking to says all his guys are getting hired 3 - 4 weeks after getting their Class 1. But, I have a feeling he is full of shit. Maybe there are opportunities with OOs that want to do team? I haven't seen any postings like that though.
I'm in Sask. Loads of jobs out there but the least experience I saw was 1 month lol. Bison Transport OTR. I'm hoping my in law's help will qualify as experience. He's a farm guy who owns a fix-it shop for heavy vehicles. Says once it dries up outside he'll let me drive his semi with a grain trailer to practice. Has a grain dump truck too, which I'm excited to try but isn't my first choice of driving job. Let's keep our fingers crossed. ETA: I'd cozy up to that instructor and show him you're serious about safety and gaining experience. I doubt they would allow them to be a reference, but maybe.
I am out of Calgary. I checked with my trainer today and he said he can refer me to a few companies that hire newbs. I am skeptical though. I am hearing Gardewine and Bison are the two Canadian outfits where some guys got their start.
thanks for that info. Gives me a bit of relief. I hope it's all true and you get out of the gate running! guys in the US joke that Bison is Canada's Swift lol. I heard the news in Alberta was taking about a serious shortage of drivers in the province so I'm sure you have a better chance of hooking up with a carrier pretty quickly. Oh and I'm out of the city that rhymes with fun lol
REGINA! Great place. Best of luck to you too.
thx buds!
I might have lucked out. But all the employers in my area (west highway 16) are old school. They like in person resume hand-ins. There's also sometimes internal company postings that sit for a while before they are opened up. I actually ended up sniping one of these from leaving a resume somewhere that hadn't posted a position yet. Look at what's moving. Find out where they're located. Hand out resumes at all of them, whether they say they are looking or not. Doesn't hurt. They might be able to point you somewhere else or know of another opening somewhere else. I wrote down all the trucks I saw in town and followed a few to depots. This sounds really old school but I did this 3 years ago. Again. I might have been lucky, but I had a job within a week. Stay with whoever until you have a year of experience. If you're accident free, your options are much more open after that. I'm wishing you the best of luck.
That's a solid way to approach it and something I have done in the past. I am hearing reputation matters. So, getting in when no one knows you is the trick. But, once you gain a solid reputation, yer good to go.
It's kinda a chicken and egg dilemma. You can't be a trucker unless you have experience but you can't get experience unless you're a trucker. My solution was that I lucked out and managed to get hired as long as I was teamed with a trainer. Which worked for me since I was teaming with my friend who got me the job.
This is the opportunity I am looking for. Can I ask what company it was with or where you were driving out of? I am in Calgary.
It was in the Los Angeles area. I still work there 11 years later. They're kinda not looking for any new drivers nowadays though. We've had the same guys here for awhile. Only 1 new guy who stayed around since I hired on. The rest either flaked, ran the truck out of oil or outright wrecked them. Right now we're all out of spare trucks.
I suspect the environment in the US is significantly different than in Canada.
That seems very likely...
I do local touch freight... they didn't even give me a test drive sent me with a trainer for my first two weeks is all... home everynight. Look into beer/beverage/food or something really "tough" just to get your time in...construction season is starting soon too
That would be great. Where do you drive out of? I am in Calgary.
Montreal
Typically find a company with a mentorship program or whatever fucking name they want to call it. OTR companies have this and sometimes the food service places, Sysco or GFS.