How to become a Long Haul Trucker

Get together a list of all the places you have worked for the past ten years. You will need contact info for all of your employers for the past three years, as well as the names and contact info of anyone who can vouch for what you were doing during any periods of unemployment (school, periods of a month or more without a job, etc...). Make a list of all of the states where you have held a driver's license (if you know the DL number that's a bonus).You will need this when you start filling out applications.

Do a little homework . You have four options for learning how to drive a truck. Option one is to know someone, a friend or relative, who owns a truck and is willing to teach you. Option two is your local community college or VoTech. Often they will offer a truck driving course, and these courses are usually better quality and less expensive than the CDL mills offer. Your third option, and this one should be last resort, is a CDL school. The usually range from $3,000 to $6,000 for three weeks of training, and they only teach you the bare minimum you need to get your CDL. Some of these CDL schools will guarantee you a job once you finish the course, and they will help place you with a trucking company. The fourth option is a company school. You sign on with a company and they will send you through school at their expense, and in return you will sign a contract to drive for them – usually for a period of two years. If you leave that company before the contract is up, you will be responsible for paying the balance of the tuition amount. The benefit or this route, though, is that you are guaranteed to have a job once you have your CDL. Once you have chosen how you will learn the basics, it's time to move to step three.

Get your provisional CDL (CDL learner's permit). To do this you will need to study your CDL manual. Most states have two or three different written tests you will need to take – the base CDL test, combination vehicles, and air brakes. Check with your state DMV to find out where you can take these written tests, and what the fees are. Study, Study, Study.

Once you have your provisional CDL, (and your financing if you chose option 3), it's time to go to school. Some schools will offer weekend courses. These take much longer to complete, but will allow you to stay at your current job while you learn. If you take the weekday courses, you will need to have enough money in the bank to cover your bills for up to 6 weeks (3 weeks for school, 2 weeks for orientation and 1st paycheck delay at whatever company you hire on with, and an extra week just to be safe.) At the end of the course, you will take your driving test for the state, and will earn your CDL. The fees for a CDL are higher than for a regular driver's license, so make sure you have enough to cover them. At this point you can also take the written tests for other CDL endorsements such as HazMat, Tanker, Doubles, Triples, etc.

Now that you have your CDL you can start looking for a company to drive for. If your school guarantees a job, then you have probably already filled out several applications and had them submitted, and you've listened to the sales pitches of the recruiters. GET ONLINE NOW! Go to sites like “The Trucker's Report” and any others you can find and see what the drivers have to say about the companies. There are several big trucking outfits out here that have a very bad reputation among drivers for treating their drivers badly. Remember that the recruiter is like a salesman, he or she is trying to sell you on his or her company. They aren't allowed to lie, but that doesn't keep them from exaggerating, stretching the truth, or leaving out the details. The things you want to look at when comparing companies: pay per mile, how many miles do their drivers run per week on average, what are their hometime, rider and pet policies? Do they have benefits – health insurance, 401k with matching? And most important, do they offer training, and is it paid? You have finished school and have your CDL, but you still have a lot to learn.

On the job training is important. Make sure your company will send you out with an experienced driver for at least three to four weeks before you go solo. Nothing can prepare you for what it's like out here like hands on experience. Make sure your trainer will get you to both the East Coast, and the West Coast, and take you over a couple of major mountain grades. Your pay will be a little lower while you are in training, but it pays for itself in experience and safety.
Pack light, but pack smart. Your new company should send you a list of things you will need to bring. Keep in mind that you will be all over the country in all kinds of climates and weather. Most companies will pay your travel expenses to their home terminal in the form of sending you a bus ticket. If the company is busing you to them, you will need to check the baggage limits before you go. You will need to make sure you can pay your bills while you are on the road if you don't have a spouse staying home who can handle it, so make sure you bring a list with the addresses you will need to mail off bills, or set them up to pay online. I highly recommend investing an a lightweight, rugged laptop. There is software you can use to plan your trip , keep track of your pay, and it's easier to stay in touch with e-mail. Most truck stops have wi-fi hot spots so you can get online.
Out the door. Your first week at your new company will most likely be orientation courses to get you acquainted with the way they do things. They throw a lot of info at you very fast, so make sure you bring a notebook and take good notes. Don't think that just because you are in orientation that you've got the job. One of the first things that will happen when you arrive will be drug testing and a DOT physical. This is where you will need your list of prescription drugs, because they will have to verify that none of them will interfere with you safely pushing 80,000 lbs down the interstate. If you pass your drug screen and your physical, get all the paperwork filled out with no blanks or red flags, congratulations, you are hired. Your trainer will take over from there. Good luck and stay safe out there, and enjoy your new career. (And try to keep that rig shiny side up!)