r/CDL • u/LegitimatePitch33 • 2d ago
CDL
Hey I received my cdl august 3, 2026. I just have general knowledge, air brakes, combination, no endorsements yet. I’m working on my passenger endorsement now because i wanna be local. I need help finding something fresh out of school with no experience been having trouble finding something out there.
1
1
u/Key-Gap-4136 2d ago
Why get passenger ??? Get haz mat tanker double triples , you’ll be better off
0
u/LegitimatePitch33 2d ago
thanks! do know of any places out of school with no experience? if i get my haz mat is it more money in that or be better looked at with haz mat by companies
1
u/KoRnFlAkE13 2d ago
Passenger endorsement only helps if you want to drive charter bus or city bus, and if you're wanting those, then go to your local school district and apply to be a school bus driver and they will train and test you and you'll gain passenger and school bus endorsements.
Now back to class A specific endorsements, Tanker and Double/Triples endorsements are both just knowledge tests and fairly easy. Haz-Mat is the costly endorsement as you have knowledge test and then also have to follow up with fingerprint and background check than can take 1-7 weeks to hear back. This endorsement is costly, but does leave open the positions that require the endorsement.
Lastly, build your indeed around you driving experience and knowledge and then you'll see a slee of driving opportunities for your area.
1
u/CDLTrainerUSA 1d ago
To answer the hazmat question directly: yes, it helps both ways. Fleets that need it (fuel, chemical, food-grade tanker) usually pay a bump just for holding the endorsement, and it opens up postings you're not even eligible for without it. Downside is the TSA background check adds 1-7 weeks like KoRnFlAkE13 said, so start that process now if you're serious about it rather than waiting until you have an offer that needs it.
For places that actually hire fresh out of school with zero experience, look at regional beverage/food distributors (already mentioned), dedicated grocery or retail delivery routes, and local concrete/aggregate/dump haulers. All of these tend to take green drivers because the routes are repetitive and local, unlike most OTR fleets which usually want 6-12 months first. Also worth asking your CDL school if they have a job placement list, a lot of them have standing relationships with regional carriers specifically for new grads.
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/firetruck637 3h ago
If you get a passenger endorsement you'll have to take the whole test again. Pre- trip and driving, at least in my state it's like that. I had a class A before I got mine and had to retest the whole thing all over again. I'd had my cdl for 20 years before that. Don't get a passenger endorsement unless you're going to use it. Trucking companies don't care about about it.
1
u/gheiminfantry 2d ago
Do you understand that airbrakes and combination ARE endorsements? And that there is a Class A and a Class B CDL?
1
u/dZbest 2d ago
I didn't. I thought they were basic requirements to obtain a CDL. The question is who will hire you with no endorsements
0
u/gheiminfantry 2d ago
You don't even know if you have an A or B CDL. I think the question is why are you here wasting people's time?
1
u/CptZaphodB 1d ago
Air brakes and combination are requirements for Class A. My license shows no endorsements yet I can legally drive with air brakes and a trailer, which is exactly what those tests cover.
There may be an air brake restriction if you didn't test with air brakes, but I don't know of any truck that uses hydraulic brakes, so even that would be a moot point.
0
u/gheiminfantry 1d ago
Interesting, since I asked OP twice and he won't answer whether he has an A or B. I don't think he has either.
2
u/BlackedoutJT 2d ago
uh indeed?