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How To Get A Job As A Long Haul Truck Driver

Have you ever dreamed of a job without walls or one with a constantly changing view? The job of a long haul truck driver is challenging yet can offer many rewards, including financial ones. Long haul truck drivers can consistently earn over $60,000 a year with the right company.

Kinds Of Long Haul Truck Driving Jobs

Long haul truckers transport much of the freight and food that keeps the country running. Since trains cannot get things like produce to market fast enough, trucks will always be needed. The kinds of truck driving jobs include moving van drivers, who transport the entire contents of homes across country, livestock haulers, produce haulers, auto haulers, heavy equipment and wide load haulers and many more.
To find your  own niche in the trucking industry takes time. Many drivers have held a variety of hauling jobs before settling on one kind or another of trucking.

What You Need To Get A Job As A Long Haul Truck Driver

Long haul truck drivers must have a fairly clean driving record. You may lose your CDL or commercial drivers license if you have too many tickets. Getting a CDL is your first step. You need a CDL with air brake endorsement. Some states offer conditional commercial drivers licenses which allow you to train on the open road with an experienced driver on board. You will want to try to hire on at a company that will offer training or attend a truck driving school. You can expect to pay as much as $10,000 or more for truck driving school. Some truck driving schools offer placement assistance and may accept a payment plan once you graduate.

Special Endorsements and Licenses

Depending on what kind of truck driver job you find, you may need special endorsements such as HAZMAT certifications. Often you can take training for these endorsements in a truck driving school and widen your job opportunities.

What The Truck Driving Life Is Like

Truckers today are mostly professionals. The job requires intelligence, mechanical aptitude and dedication. Reliable drivers are rewarded with good loads, routes and pay. You may work as a single driver, driving your truck alone, or as a team driver. Team drivers operate trucks that have a sleeper compartment and keep the load moving by trading out between sleeping and driving. This can be hard to get used to for some and requires that you fully trust your team driver.

You will probably start off working for one of the larger trucking companies since becoming an owner - operator of your own semi is very expensive. If you can manage to save up several thousand dollars, companies will often contract with owner operators at a fixed rate per mile for a certain number of months. Contracts like these allow owner - operators to secure financing for expensive rigs.

 A good company will provide drivers with routes and back hauls that get the driver home on a regular basis. Still, being away from home can be the hardest part of being a long haul truck driver. Your dispatcher may call you when you are headed home and have you divert your course to pick up another load. Having an understanding spouse is important to being a long haul truck driver.
For more information about truck driver training courses look in your local yellow pages under Truck Driving Schools and search the web using the terms "truck driving schools".
 

Cheers.