Three Ways To Get Truck Driving Jobs With Minimal Experience

Posted on: 8 November 2021

According to the last U.S censors, more than three and a half million Americans work as truck drivers. Thus, trucking is one of the most common occupations that employ a significant percentage of the American population.

However, one of the critical factors you need to excel in this line of work is experience. Most trucking companies usually require truck drivers to have previous truck driving experience before they can consider employing you.  

Thus, finding a trucking job with no experience can be a challenge if you are fresh out of CDL training school. However, there are still various ways you get a truck driving job even if you have not met the minimum experience.

Thus, do not let a lack of experience become an excuse to give up on your dream of becoming a truck driver. With that said, here are three ways to land truck driving jobs with minimal experience.

Sponsored Truck Driving Schools

Sponsored truck driving schools are CDL training schools that are run and operated by a trucking company. One of the main benefits of attending a sponsored truck driving school is that you will not have to pay any tuition for the training. Instead, the sponsoring trucking company will cater to all your tuition fees. If you pass the training, the trucking company that sponsored you will offer you immediate employment as a truck driver.

However, it is essential to note that the trucking company still needs to recoup its investment in your CDL training fees. Thus, they are willing to hire you with almost no experience, but in return, they will be deducting your tuition fees from your salary in small installments over a given period. Thus, you will not earn as much as regular entry-level truck drivers make for some time until you fully reimburse the trucking company for the money they spent on your training.

However, you get to land a truck driving job with almost no experience immediately after completing your CDL training.

Apprenticeship Programs 

Suppose you already have a truck driving license, but your limited level of experience prevents you from landing a truck driving job. In that case, it is high time you consider enlisting for a truck driving apprenticeship program.

Truck driving apprenticeships are programs hosted by some of the most established truck companies where they take new truck drivers under their wing and provide additional training in their way of truck driving.

As an apprentice, you will get to earn a few hundred dollars a week throughout the apprenticeship. However, at the end of the apprentice program, the trucking company will select a few candidates who have portrayed the most potential during the apprenticeship program and offer them a truck driving job. Thus, if you get selected at the end of the apprenticeship program, you will land a truck driving job and earn a decent salary as a truck driver despite your limited level of experience. 

Thus, an apprenticeship program is one of the easiest ways to land a truck driving job with minimal experience.

Owner Operators 

Owner-operators are independent truck drivers who own the trucks they drive. Thus, they are not under any company and provide freight transport services independently.

Unlike most trucking companies, owner-operators are more flexible in terms of the level of experience they look for when hiring a truck driver for one of their trucks. Thus, in some instances, they are willing to hire truck drivers with little experience.  

Thus, if you can't find a truck driving apprentice program, your next best bet for landing a truck driving job with little experience is by approaching different owner-operators.

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