Introduction
Julian Dean, 00:00:01: Hey, this is Julian with Trucker Job USA. And what we’re going to talk about today is the application rates of people trying to enter truck driving school, to obtain their CDL class a and due to the pandemic, people are realizing that, “Hey, if I want to maximize my earning potential and have a short school certification turnaround time, then the trucking industry is the industry to go into.”
And I’ve been preaching this for years because, you know, there are not that many places in America’s industries where you can attain a license, a CDL class, a license in this case, and earn a decent amount of money, you know? Cause when you look at the cost of tuition with college, I mean it’s outpaced the cost.
The cost of college tuition has outpaced the inflation. I think it’s up 200% increase in college tuition and they’re teaching college the exact same way that they taught it, you know, 50, a hundred years ago.
A Very Unique Industry
Julian Dean, 00:01:13: So you know what? The trucking industry is a very unique industry because it crosses so many markets from retailers to frag sanding. I mean that the markets are endless that are inside of the trucking industry. It’s a recession-proof industry as well. You know, not to say that the industry can not be impacted because it can be.
But what I’m saying is that America runs on trucking.
America runs on trucking.
If everything that you have in your home comes in on a truck, essentially everything. Amazon would not be the company that it is now if it was not for CDL class A tractor-trailer company trucks. The same thing with Walmart. Walmart, Target, I mean, you name all these big companies, Apple, all of these companies will not be who they presently are if it was not for the trucking industry, shipping everything around. Logistics.
Robots Won’t Replace Drivers
Julian Dean, 00:02:16: So now, you know, back to the point. It’s a very smart move for people to go into the trucking industry because demand is only going to keep going up because more people are ordering from the internet.
And what does that mean? That means more truck deliveries. That’s exactly what it means. So, the trucking industry is changing. You know, you hear the talks of people say, “we’re going to have robots controlling the truck” and it’s, yeah. And I’m looking at it like, hey, it doesn’t matter if they have a robot controlling a truck or driving a truck, there’s always going to be a human inside of that truck. Cause, cause you can only imagine that would expose a company to, if, let’s say this computer is malfunctioning and you know, causes a lot of damage to somebody or property.
Automation Is a Liability
Julian Dean, 00:03:13: I mean the liability would be, uh, these companies would expose themselves to so much liability that it wouldn’t even be funny. So when you hear about the industry changing to that point, it’s, I think there’s a lot of unfounded fear that people are experiencing. Um, the other thing too, when you look at the application rates that people are in, the schools can’t even take the demand. Like it’s just too many applications coming in right now because people are saying, hey, I need a skill and I need to make a decent amount of money because hey, I have a family. Definitely understood.
And the trucking industry is one of those time battle-tested industries that is not going anywhere. You cannot outsource truckers to China. You can outsource truckers with robots. The other thing is when you think about people talking about the robots and everything, well guess what – if a driver of a load needs to go to Family Dollar or Dollar Tree or whatever, who’s going to unload that load? Because presently, the truck drivers are unloading those loads. And there are loads that, you know, the driver is going to assist or is going to take a person involved to deliver that load.
The Great Expectations of New Drivers
Julian Dean, 00:04:39: So again, you know, the trucking industry is not going anywhere. Robots are not replacing humans at all. This is not going to happen in the trucking industry. But the application rates are at an all-time high because people are out of work, and they’re really, really saying, you know, “How can I make money as quickly as possible?” And trucking gives the best turnaround time for that.
And you know, there are plenty of companies out there that will take new student drivers or people who just obtained their CDL. Now, most of the time, those drivers will have to go over the road, meaning they’re out at least three weeks at a time. But, you know, one expectation of drivers is that they’re going to get this CDL and they will be able to be home Monday through Friday. You know, bankers hours.
Nine to Five with a Fresh CDL A? Hardly..
Julian Dean, 00:05:35: I remember this one phone conversation I had with this lady. And, at that present time, she was a helicopter… um, made, known that she was, uh, I cannot remember exactly. She was a helicopter… She was a helicopter mechanic, actually. She was a helicopter mechanic up in New Jersey and she had zero experience. And she says, “I’m looking for something, Monday through Friday nine to five bankers hours.” And, I’m looking at the phone like “what, you have zero experience and you want to know… and you just got your license. You, you obtained your CDL class A a license to work banker’s hours with zero experience? And she was dead serious.
And you know, I was trying to break the news as softly as I can, but, unless she knows somebody, somebody would have a mom and pop operation and is willing to give her a chance and they have that type of schedule then, you know, more power to her.
Julian Dean, 00:06:47: But obviously, she did not know somebody like that because she was on the phone with me trying to find a job. But again, the expectations of a new driver, the expectations you have to really understand of a new driver with a Class A CDL.. you know, you’re going to be out on the road for three weeks. You’re not going to see your family… or hey, you may be single.
I know a lot of single guys and ladies out on the road, and it’s just like, “Hey, I don’t have anything holding me back and I need to earn money.”
So that’s the expectation. I mean.. You know… that’s how the industry works. You pretty much, when you’re new, go out on the road three weeks at a time, maybe more than that. And then, as you gain experience, you can look for more dedicated or local routes, regional or local routes, meaning that you’re home either weekly or biweekly or you are home daily. Or semi-local, where you’re home three to four times a week, you’re home often. So, you know, there’s plenty of scenarios out there.
Make a Sacrifice to Gain Experience
Julian Dean, 00:07:49: So, to make a sacrifice for three months, six months, a year, I mean… When I look at it, it’s a smaller sacrifice when you compare, down the road, let’s say if you’re 28 years old and you have obtained your CDL class A license – if you sacrifice six months a year or something to OTR, then at that point in time, you definitely should be able to find something where you’re home weekly, semi-local, home often, home every day – you should be.
But I do see a lot of false expectations and the reality when it comes to truck drivers coming out of graduating school and looking for a local nine to five. I’ve heard drivers say, “Hey, I have kids. I need to be home every day.” And I’m looking at it like, man, I definitely understand that, I have children too.
Julian Dean, 00:08:49: However, there’s been sacrifices that I made to be in a different place because I wasn’t able to be around my kids 24 hours or something. And if I had the mindset of being a truck driver, then I will already know the expectations could, well, not the expectations, but the worst-case scenario could be that I would be on the road for three to four weeks at a time. And I think some people come into the industry with a false expectation.
So, you know, that’s my word to new drivers that are coming into the industry with these high application rates, because what had happened most of the time as a recruiter, you will get on the phone with these new newly obtained CDL class A holders and they will say, “Hey, do you train? Do you train?” And you know, the advertisement clearly will say, “Hey, we need three, six, 12 months, two years of experience.”
And they’re kind of a little heartbroken cause you have to break down the industry to them and tell them like, “Hey, it doesn’t work like that. You have to gain experience on the road to be home weekly or local.”
But again, if you know somebody who owns a company or you have, you know, enough money when you’re buying your own truck and you’re about to broker your loads where you’re home every night, it can happen. I’m not trying to say it can not happen, but on the average, the average Joe that’s coming out of CDL class a school, they’re going over the road and they don’t even know it. They don’t even know it. Because we’re on the phone with a lot of them.
Companies Welcome New Drivers and Train Them!
Julian Dean, 00:10:47: And there are many companies out there that will take you to gain experience. That’s all you’re doing is gaining experience. That’s all you’re doing. You’re just gaining experience. And at that time, you become more valuable as a driver as well.
So it should be welcome because you can look back on your life and see the places that you have traveled to. You know, when you talk to drivers, one thing they love to do is brag about the States. They’re all, “Man, I’ve been here. I’ve been, Oh yeah, I’ve been, you know, here, here, here,” they love talking about it, “Hey man, I’ve seen this, you know, there’s not too many places I’ve not seen.” And then, you know, you’ll talk to some veteran drivers whose only thing they want to do is drive over the road. That’s it, that’s all they want.
Many Truckers Live in Their Truck
Julian Dean, 00:11:32: So I’ve talked to drivers who don’t even own a home. They don’t own a house. They don’t, they do not even own a home. You know, the truck – that’s their life that they’re saving up money for. Some did it temporarily, some do it, you know, infinite. They said, that they’ll never gonna own a home again. You know, they live in a truck. That’s just what it is for them.
And then, some do it temporarily and say, “Hey, you know what? I can bank up and save a lot of money. And then towards the future, I can buy a home” or whatever they’re planning on doing.
But I’ve seen in a couple of different ways. But yeah, there are definitely drivers out there that, what I realized is, they really like being their own boss and really come up with some type of curriculum or outline of how you want your driving career to look like. Because you literally can’t… If you’re a driver with no tickets, no points, no incidents, no accidents. Your record is spotless. Your criminal background spotless, drug history spotless – you can pretty much determine it. You can determine where you want to work and how you want to work. But you really can’t.
Clean, Spotless Record Makes You in High Demand
It just depends on market availability now, because of course, if you’re in Florida, it is harder to come by certain trucking opportunities – they are harder to come by in Florida, but you know, it’s almost like this: I compare us to being like LeBron James and free agents. If you’re a truck driver with a completely clean record, you are like LeBron and you have plenty of options. You’re like LeBron James and free agency. You are like a Russell Westbrook and free agency. You’re in high demand. You are in high demand because what company does not want a driver with a clean record, clean criminal background, what company wouldn’t want that?
No Company Wants a Liability
Julian Dean, 00:13:28: Because you, you’re not a liability. And a company is looking at this: Is this guy a liability or not?
That’s the biggest thing that they’re looking at is: is this guy or this girl a liability, because again, female drivers, every time I’m on the road, and I look up, I’m seeing so many lady drivers out there that it’s shocking. And you know, the studies have shown that female drivers are looking like they’re better drivers than the males.
And why do you say that?
Because they take less risks. And that’s what the company, all companies are risk-averse, all companies. All companies want safe drivers. And the studies have shown that females are safer drivers than men. So again, you know, applications are at an all-time high for drivers wanting to obtain their CDL class A, which is a great thing for the industry.
The Truck Driver Shortage
You know, as they say, it’s a shortage of truck drivers in the industry, which can be debated whether it is or whether it’s not. But you know, there’s a number out there where there’s a deficit.
And then you have your normal turnover rate at locations anyway. So, you know, you have an attrition rate where drivers are leaving out in the industry or retiring, or just looking for another job. And then you just have a deficit of jobs out there. It’s just not enough drivers.
And you’ll know if you’ve been a recruiter, that when you try to look for talent drivers in certain States, man, it’s hard to come by. And you, you start to wonder like, man, what does everybody live at? Or does anybody live in Omaha, Nebraska? Which you know they do, but it’s not easy to find a driver out in certain States. So again, the application rates are at an all-time high.
This is great for the industry.
Truck drivers keep America moving. Which is, I don’t think is a little known fact, but we know that the backbone of America when it comes to making America go around, it is the truck drivers.
So again, this is Julian with Trucker Job USA. Hope everybody’s safe out there.
