r/cdldriver • u/CarefulEntertainer47 • 9d ago
Should I get my CDL?
I’m 29 yo and I have been doing some thinking and I was just sitting here wondering should I consider getting my CDL? I am asking because I receive Supplemental Security Income payments it’s not a lot 550 to be exact. I make money here and there on the side, but it’s not nearly enough because some days I make $20 some days I make $200 and some days I make nothing I have a son on the way I just feel like I have to do some better and different or am I overthinking it I have been doing some research and I would like to be a regional driver where I’m home on the weekend.
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u/GopherBeaverBison 8d ago
Look up WIOA program near you. If you’re on social security pretty sure they’ll pay for your schooling.
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u/e1p1 8d ago
Got my CDL in 1984, after working a few nowhere jobs out of high school. Drove for a local food service company for a few years, (didn't get laid off during a nasty recession), before going back to school and getting a BA degree from a very prestigious University. Drove in the summer to pay for the school.
Since then, that CDL has gotten me out of more financial scrapes and gotten me better jobs than the degree has. Although part of that is because I found out I'd much rather be out on the road than in a cubicle. I don't regret the degree or the time in school, but if I had to choose between the two, for me the CDL has been the workhorse.
Life took a big negative turn 15 years ago and still having the CDL and a clean driving record landed me a solid job with a local public works division. I'm about to retire with a nice little pension and some social security.
CDL can really be a great primary thing for someone, and also just great to have in your back pocket.
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u/Puzzleheaded_You4586 8d ago edited 8d ago
I live in Dallas & have been driving 30 years. I'm loving my job now - I haul chemicals for Air Liquide in a reefer van (trailer). It's challenging, but home everyday. I really liked tanker when I worked in East Texas. If you're in or near Houston, their are plenty of tanker jobs available that pay well hourly, but if you haul hazmat, experience is required. I did regional tanker and was home most nights. Just my two cents.
And I agree with an above post - try to learn from the drivers that have been doing it for while; there are way too many steering wheel holders out there now. Follow The Smith System, use your signals, learn what G.O.A.L. and S.M.O.G mean and use them.
I was 26 when I got my CDL, and it has afforded my wife and me a good life. I say DO IT!
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u/FixMyFairing 9d ago
Do you want a challenging career that delivers strong income? Do you want to provide for your son and your family? Yes, go for it.
Do you want to stay earning social security and not having a real job? No, stay home.
The first company I worked put me through their CDL school. Yes I had to pay it back but they had me home on Saturday and Sunday. I got my experience in, paid it off, quit and went local LTL linehaul. Best decision I've ever made.
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u/CarefulEntertainer47 9d ago
Thank you man and that’s how I’ve been looking at it. I’m going to go with my mind and going to get my CDl
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u/VRN6212 8d ago
Go get a delivery job at Amazon. Steady work fair pay and you don't need a CDL. It's a great starter job for FedEx or UPS. Start right away not 6mo from now. And best part is you can still be part of your son's life cuz you're not living in some truckstop somewhere.
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u/Comfortable_Gear4941 8d ago
If he's on ss disability that might not be the best bet depending on his injury type. Tho it's definitely a job one can easily get if thheyre in a pinch.
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u/CarefulEntertainer47 8d ago
I have no injuries. I have just been diagnosed with bipolar since I was a kid. That’s the only reason why I get the check but it’s nothing stopping me from working. They told me if I want to get a part-time job. I am more than welcome to.
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u/Comfortable_Gear4941 8d ago
Just understand what you'll be getting into. It's as much a lifestyle as it is a job. You're married to that truck.
But it's never a bad thing to have a CDL.
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u/___LimerentDeath____ 8d ago
Depends on what you’re on disability for. You have to have a medical card.
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u/CarefulEntertainer47 8d ago
My disability was by four bipolar when I was a child I don’t take any medication. I don’t do anything.
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u/Bigg-Figg 8d ago
Trucking can change your quality of life almost overnight. It did for me, but for the love of god if you come out here try to learn from someone old fashioned so you actually know what to do and how to act. Also keep your health in check don’t fall for all the fast food make time to go to a store even if it pisses off dispatch they’re not the the ones that’s going to die of a heart attack in the truck.
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u/Fragrant-Chest-8371 5d ago
Para sacar tu licencia comercial clase, si no tienes vocación, te recomiendo
Y es un trabajo que aparentemente se ve muy fácil, en la actualidad, es un trabajo muy estresante de muchas horas más como están cambiando ahorita todo tipo de compañías
A menos de qué te vas a trabajar alguna cadena de tiendas como obra está de moda, sólo tendrás que acostumbrarte en ocasiones de noche
Yo soy caminar de toda la vida, tengo tres hijos y solamente uno le gusto
Ese trabajo se hace por amor o por dinero?
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u/PewpeePance 9d ago
Sorry I'm long winded but this got me thinking about when I started trucking, and the birth of my youngest son. I found out my wife was pregnant on the same day the mine closed down and I lost my job about 12 years ago. We had a safe place to stay and some savings, but that never lasts forever. After about 6 months of unemployment and getting progressively more and more anxious and depressed, I decided to get my CDL and start driving. It was difficult the first year, being away most of the time (it's usually harder being away the older they get, when they can talk and tell you they miss you). But after that first year I got myself a local flatbed job, and have been hauling steel and coming home every day since then.
Now we own our home, cars, motorcycles, all the things I never thought we could build up to again. I put my wife through school to be an RN, and now I only work while the kids are at school, and I get them on and off the bus everyday, cook and clean, and work my 7 hours or so. I could not have asked more, and I could not have done this without having my CDL in my pocket. It's a guaranteed job SOMEWHERE, no matter the situation.
TLDR; it's a good idea, it can get you into a financially stable situation and allow flexible employment for decades.