Someone I know just lost her job at the naval station in Kingsland, GA. There was a death there so they shut down whatever civilian job she had there. She does have a CDL and is interviewing with a garbage company next week. Do you happen to know anything about the job situation around there? I did suggest she look on the indeed.com website. Thanks.
Nope, I seldom get North of I-4. I know our local waste haulers are always looking for drivers. These days just about anyone with a CDL should be able to find work.
In this short article I didnt' see how the death would relate to civilian jobs.
Looked at the month, not the year, and it's 4 years ago. But I don't like to delete things so I kept it in the post.
The trash company we use if offering $500 to any customer who refers a driver who stays at least 6 months. They are short-staffed and need drivers badly- often picking up a day or two late with raggedy-ass crews.
The government may have severed ties with that contractor and maybe others depending on how the OSHA investigation went. They may have simply been bankrupted. When OSHA sends a strike team in, they ticket everything they see, whether it has anything to do with the original incident or not. Fines are usually 5 figures.
Same here and across the river it is worse. They sometimes simply skip a weekly pickup for a significant number of customers. The news is running stories regularly about trash piled on the curb and not being collected. They are offering top wages, union benefits and signing bonuses.
This article is rather chilling, especially the next to last paragraph.
Around here in NC almost every place has signs out wanting help. A couple of restrants have closed because they could not get enough help. One was my favorite sea food place.
I do not see why there is a 4+ % unemployment rate if jobs are that easy to get in other parts of the country.
Guess that some just do not want to work.
She has been working as a commercial painter. She had some spare time one day waiting for crews to pull turbines from a nuclear power generating plant. I think that was in northern Alabama. I remember thinking about the TVA when she mentioned it.
I keep hearing about this, and I keep wondering, How long would it take me to get a CDL and how long to learn how to drive a semi. Part of me wants to finally become a long-haul driver, for 3 or 6 months -- this might be my last chance -- and part of me says, What! Why would you do that?
So, how long does it take and how much does it cost to get a CDL and learn to drive a semi?
You can take one of those courses they advertise on TV and get your license. Actually learning how to drive a semi takes a while. Some folks never really get the hang of it. Other guys can back down a 200' curved alley and "jack" it into the dock on the first try. I think some of that is inate ability, not learned skill
The cost varies but plan on about $5k or so. Some trucking companies are offering reimbursement and sign on bonuses to offset the cost.
I think it would be fun for a single person for a while but it can be a tough job. Also depends on what you do. Easy to stay between the lines on the interstate, not so good around the big cities.
We had a driver with a local carrier that came in every day for small pickups. He drove more miles in reverse than most people drive forward in a year. The OTR drivers would come in and could not hack up to the dock if it was the least bit tight.
It was back in the '90s but iirc the cost was $1000 with the understanding you would stay with the company for two years. There was a week of the basics of driving around the yard with the tractor, hooking up the trailer, and doing the paperwork. Then I went on the road with a trainer for a week, another one for another week, took the road test and I was a truck driver.
I'd taken the written test including doubles/triples certification but had never pulled doubles. When I was in the LA terminal I looked at the load board and saw two trailers listed. A couple of the other drivers gave me a crash course in hooking them up and I was off in LA traffic.
I was amazed when talking to a person in a barber college to find they needed a 1000 hours to get a license.
It was fun until it wasn't. I was usually out for three or four weeks at a time. I carried a bicycle on the tractor so I could explore while waiting for a load, which sometimes took a few days. You don't get paid when you're not rolling but that didn't bother me. I'd work Christmas so some other driver could get home for the holidays. When you're driving OTR family gatherings, birthdays, and so forth are iffy.
After a while city driving is no big deal. We mostly had 53' trailers and I've negotiated Brooklyn with one. Downtown Pittsburg was tight but I wasn't supposed to be there anyway. The cops took one look and decided they had other priorities.
You get better at it after a while. Some of the local driver could back up a set of doubles but I never managed more than a few feet. I delivered a load of peanuts to South Central and you had to wind up with the tractor perpendicular to the trailer. I pulled it off like I knew what I was doing but probably never could do it again.
One time I had to back into a lot from the street. It was in Chicago and there was no way people were going to stop so they called the cops to stop traffic. I made it in one pass and everyone, including me, was relieved.
You see a lot of the country, including shitholes like South Central at
3 AM. You also get to experience sleep deprivation since the DOT regulations haven't been updated since the '30s. For OTR drivers on a tight schedule you're essentially on a 19 hour day, 10 hours behind the wheel, 8 hours off, 15 minutes to inspect the vehicle, a 30 minute break, and another 15 minute break. That was the theory. I ran at least two logbooks, one of which was science fiction to turn in with my load papers, and another fictional one to explain how I happened to be where I was. For example, getting from LA to Dalton GA, about 2200 miles, in 48 hours took some creativity. I'd get about 5 hours of sleep in Amarillo.That was before computers, satellite tracking, DHS certification, and all the other bullshit. JB Hunt was one of the first companies to go electronic and the joke was 'What are those dual skid marks from? A Hunt driver whose 10 hours were up.'
Take the inconveniences of the job, stir in massive amounts of regulation, and it's no wonder why older drivers are parking their rigs and younger people don't want to get into a truck.
I was talking to a barber the other day that had moved to NC from Florida. He still had to have in so much training in NC to get his license in the state.
Well it makes sense. A truck driver can crash an 80,000 pound rig into a line of cars and do some damage. Aside from some deaths, it can be fixed.
A barber can slip with the clippers and make you look terrible for a couple of weeks until it grows back. That would be embarrassing.
It does amaze me some of the things the government requires licenses for. Maybe it is just a way to go after people who cut hair for cash in their home.
LOL
A couple years ago all I had to do was back my car 70 feet up a driveway, with walls on each side and one 90^ turn.
That took me a long while... no trailer.
A rental car, maybe it would have gone a little faster in my own car.
Yes, it might be inate ability, and this reminds me of what I'd said about "natural immunity" to covid. I think many people think natural means innate, even without getting sick first. After all, it's been months and they havent' gotten sick yet.
$15+ an hour plus a bonus for a job worth $7 is not peanuts.
I saw Yahoo news is carrying a poll that says
22% say they have enough money not to work 21% say they are living off of support from their family 9% say they get enough public support to get along.Excuses for not looking for work
30% Covid concerns 21% taking care of family members 15% health or mental health concerns 10% don't want to commute12% have given up on finding a job they want (one where they don't have to leave the house I suppose)
When the money runs out, their parents get tired of paying their bills and they have to start paying rent again, they will be back. It was hard enough getting them off their parent's couch the first time tho.
some just won't work for peanuts or less.
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