Trucking is a great career. While it does come with a few downsides—such as difficulty sleeping or spending periods of time away from home—what job doesn’t? It’s a lucrative profession, and one that allows endless opportunity for domestic travel. If it sounds like something you’d enjoy, it could easily be the right career for you. Today, we’ll explain where to start a trucking career.
Are you interested in trucking, but not sure where to start? Here’s a brief guide on how to get started.
Meet the Qualifications
In order to become eligible for a career in trucking, you need to meet a few basic qualifications. You can’t become the president of the United States until you’re 35 years of age; by the same token, you can’t become an interstate truck driver until you’re at least 21. While you can technically begin trucking at the age of 18, you will be limited to doing so within your state. You are not permitted to cross state lines until the age of 21.
Also, you should keep in mind that it would be undeniably difficult to become a truck driver without a decent driving record. A majority of trucking companies carry out background checks on prospective hires. During this process, it’s likely they’ll take a look at your driving record. A poor one would be a definite red flag.
Get Your CDL
If you’ve done even some cursory searches around the web for where to start a trucking career, you’ve probably heard of the CDL. This is an acronym for ‘commercial driver’s license.’ It permits you to operate heavy duty machinery in a professional capacity.
If you want to start trucking, there is really no way around the CDL. A full overview of the certification process is beyond the scope of this blog post, but here are a few requirements to be aware of:
- Application fees
- Vision tests
- Written exam
- Driving inspection in your own vehicle
Depending on a wide variety of factors, you can get your CDL in a few weeks to half a year. But once you get it, it’s good for five years.
Apply, Apply, Apply!
Once you’ve acquired your CDL, congrats! The hardest (or most obnoxious) part is out of the way, and now a practically limitless array of truck driving positions are available to you. Now, it’s time to polish up your resume and send it out.
If you don’t hear back from a number of prospective employers, don’t take it personally. In the internet age, this just comes with the territory of job hunting. In many cases, recruiters will glance over hundreds of resumes and only a few will land an interview. Just keep going, and send out as many applications as you can.
With this information at your disposal, we hope you know where to start trucking.
Baltimore Freightliner-Western for all Your Trucking Needs!
Whether you are looking to upgrade your fleet to tow trucks or simply interested in the latest trucking technology, you can rely on Baltimore Freightliner-Western Star. We have provided top-notch service for the trucking industry for 30 years and would love to assist you in buying a new top-of-the-line truck, finding the specialty parts you need, or repairing your truck. Give us a call toll-free at 800-832-7278 or locally at 410-685-4474, or contact us online. To find out more about what we are up to, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Tags: truck driving, trucking, trucking basics