Need advice, I'm thinking of changing careers. Should I get my cdla, b, or go back to construction?
Posted by BigDSimmons1@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 53 comments
I need to dig myself out of debt. I'm interested in driving a ready mix truck, dump/ water/ propane truck, crane truck something along those lines. Home daily so my wife can work evenings.
I'm currently a dog groomer for my family's business and have planned to take it over. But after getting buried in credit card debt and opening a new business, I have to make more money.
I have two questions. If I don't plan on doing otr work should I still get my class A, or just get my class B? There's a 3 day class b course near me that's only $1800 vs 7 weeks for a class a or $5-7K for shorter courses. I know I'll have a lot more opportunities with a class a, but is it actually worth it?
And how fast can you realistically work yourself into $60k+ a year at a job like this?
I currently make $40k a year, and could go back to steel framing for around $50k right now. But these are both without any pto or benefits so I'm trying to factor those in as well.
I'm kind of topped out in grooming, could reach $50k possibly but we've been slow for the last few months.
I have experience in steel framing. My old boss has work and will hire me back for $25/hr but there's not a lot of room for growth. Foreman are making around $30/hr.
I'm open to any advice/ job recommendations. I'm in utah and there seems to be a lot of cdl job opportunities. But I'll be coming in with 0 experience.
I'm also worried if I choose a construction related driving job how winter work will be since I would be starting out in winter.
ColonelAngus2000@reddit
class A is the gold standard but a B should suffice. I work in the waste industry and my pay is pretty good and I have job security. I’ve only been doing it for about 2 years but I’d say I’m way above $75k/year. I work a lot of overtime so won‘t know what I make this year until I do my taxes. I work with other drivers that do front load that easily make $120-130k/year. I think the waste industry is often overlooked because no one wants to do the work. It can be disgusting and it can get tedious depending on the line of work you’re doing. I work with quite a few drivers that have their A but opt to do B jobs. It’s not for everyone but a lot of waste companies will hire anyone regardless of experience or background simply because there’s a need. That said, your hourly wage will vary depending on where you live. Some states will pay higher wages while some will not.
BigDSimmons1@reddit (OP)
interesting, this is exactly what I was looking for. appreciate it.
so you drive a garbage truck or drive loads to a land fill? Just curious what I should be looking into.
ColonelAngus2000@reddit
Every driver in the waste industry does some sort of route, be it trash or recycling. And then you dump your load either at the landfill or recycle facility. I have a residential route which is servicing regular customers like homeowners or even HOA’s. Front load and roll off drivers work on the commercial end and will service businesses, apartments and the like.Front load drivers work early morning hours, typically 2am to finish and often work 10-12 hour days. They usually get paid the most, but their job is even harder imo. I have a large residential route so usually work 10 hours a day. Again, the company you work for makes a difference and the state you’re in makes a difference. Personally, getting a class b was the best decision I ever made.
BigDSimmons1@reddit (OP)
ok awesome. I'm in orem utah. waste management handles most things here, and I've seen that they're hiring in a few cities close to me. they have been high on my list actually. I would definitely be down to drive a garbage truck.
how does over time work? do you just pick up routes on your days off?
ColonelAngus2000@reddit
OT is typically time and a half after 40 hrs.
BigDSimmons1@reddit (OP)
I mean do you get over time from your regular route, come in on your off days, or help someone finish their route after yours?
ColonelAngus2000@reddit
I get OT from my route. The only off days I work are holiday weekends. So if we’re closed on Xmas day then I’d work the following Saturday, but my schedule is M-F. Typically route drivers do not help other drivers finish their routes, that’s what swing drivers usually do.
BigDSimmons1@reddit (OP)
good to know
ursisterstoy@reddit
If you’re getting either A or B and you don’t care which get the A. With that you can drive everything allowed with the B plus you can pull trailers that are rated for more than 10,000 lbs behind a powered vehicle when the entire combination is rated for 26,001 or more. You don’t have to get a job pulling trailers if you decide to drive dump truck but even then the class A opens more opportunities because of the end dump trailers and pintle hitch trailers you can pull behind a dump truck for a construction position.
Only limit yourself to a B if you’re never going to pull a trailer that big, not even behind a 1.5 ton or 2 ton truck. A smaller truck you might be able to get a truck rated for 8,000 pulling a trailer rated for 12,000 and no CDL needed unless hazardous materials get involved but used for business you will have to stop at DOT scales and follow HOS because you’re over 10,000 rated gross.
With a B you can do dump truck, cement truck, metro bus, garbage truck, and these sorts of things. With the A you can do all of that plus pull one or more trailers rated higher than a trailer you’d pull behind a half ton truck.
BigDSimmons1@reddit (OP)
appreciate the advice. I'm going to get into school for my a soon.
ursisterstoy@reddit
Sounds good. I just wish it wasn’t so stupid to go back and add a passengers endorsement. I hear conflicting information but apparently if you were to get your class A and take your test in a semi and you were to go through the hassle of getting your hazmats and you took the tests to also have tanker and trailer endorsements you’d still have to have access to a non-school bus if you wanted to add only the passenger endorsements and you’d need a school bus if you wanted to add both endorsements. Good luck having completing unrestricted bus endorsements. Take a test with a normal city bus you can’t drive the buses that articulate in the middle. Take the test with a school bus you might not be able to drive a bus with air brakes even if you can legally pull 3 gasoline tankers behind a semi truck.
Should be able to just go take a written test and be good. You can obviously drive a combination vehicle with a class A, you can obviously shift a bus if you can shift both a semi and a car, you can obviously understand all there is to know about air brakes if you drive a semi. And you can obviously maneuver a bus if you can maneuver something the size of a bus connected to your tractor. You have a couple extra mirrors in a city bus, you are hauling people, but the vehicle itself is something you’d think wouldn’t require additional schooling, more permit tests, more pretrip test, another control test, and another road test. The whole reason I went straight for unrestricted class A is because I didn’t want to take another road test. If I have access to the keys I want to be legally allowed to drive. I don’t want to have to deal with the road test I took 20+ years ago to legally drive a passenger vehicle, the road test from ~2 years ago to legally drive a semi, and yet another road test in the future if I decide to be “semi-retired” driving the city bus Saturday, Sunday, Monday plus a scattering of holidays. Stay home the rest of the time. I’m happy with the written test and showing a prospective employer that I can do the job and luckily MetroBus has its own training program after you go take the general knowledge, air brakes, and passengers endorsement tests, two of which you already took to get your class A. You’d have a valid class A CDL and a class B CLP for passenger vehicles. When you finish the ELDT training you’ll go back and do a pretrip, control, and road test like you did for the class A and then you’ll have Class A with a P endorsement but with a restriction that says you cannot drive articulated buses because you didn’t take your road test driving one.
BigDSimmons1@reddit (OP)
good to know. tune school I'm looking at offers a, b, passenger, and hazmat so I'll do as much as I can. and talk to them about this.
I've heard the schedule isn't great because everyone has split shifts, but there are a lot of city bits driver jobs open around me right now.
ursisterstoy@reddit
That’s an option. A lot of people have the license to drive any bus, any combination vehicle, any motorcycle, and anything less complex than those licenses allow such as a regular car or a dump truck or whatever. It’s just more of a hassle than it needs to be. I understand going from cargo carrying to passenger carrying they might want to do a criminal background check and whatnot but an entire additional 3 part DMV hands on test plus 3 permit tests, two of which they already passed, to go from hauling a bus sized trailer to just driving the bus seems ridiculous. Doable if you have the free time and you decide you want to stop driving semi for a couple years to drive the city bus. MetroBus has its own bus training course and in 2 months you’d have a class A with a P endorsement and I think it’s an N restriction (no class A buses) but that’s what you need unless you live in a place where they run the articulated city buses then you can test out in one of those so you don’t have the restriction. Then if you wish to return to driving semi your class A is still good. They don’t downgrade you because you can also drive a bus.
What they should do is for people who walk in with a class A is have them take the passengers endorsement and then show the guy at the DMV what is extra or different on the pre-trip. They can already back a 53 foot trailer. They can back up a 48 foot bus. They can make wide enough turns. They can open the door and stop before crossing the railroad tracks. A whole extra ELDT training, all 3 permit tests, all 3 license tests should be reserved for people who don’t have a class A or class B at all before getting their passengers endorsement on the specific license.
Eimar586@reddit
Go food service and make 100k a year. Why settle for 60k. Get the CDL A. B limits your opportunities.
BigDSimmons1@reddit (OP)
are you referring to driving fridge trucks? or what exactly should I be looking into?
Eimar586@reddit
Yeah but you unload by pallet or dolly. US Foods, Mclane, Sysco, Sygma, Dominios, CFA Supply, PFG just to name a few
BigDSimmons1@reddit (OP)
I just saw that sysco is hiring near me. I'll look into it for sure. thanks.
Eimar586@reddit
Its definitely not an easy job and not for the long term, however the money is great.
BigDSimmons1@reddit (OP)
honestly this isn't a long term plan. I just need to get out of debt (which I have everything in place to handle, that had just made me realize I have to make more money for a few years) and get some money in the bank so we can start investing better. We have everything else looking great, we just got buried during covid and my wife opening a new business showd us how deep we are. I still might take over my family business, I just can't for a few years now.
Eimar586@reddit
Hell yeah thats what im doing too. You got this bro!
BigDSimmons1@reddit (OP)
swire is also huge around me and seems to offer the best benefits.
BigDSimmons1@reddit (OP)
appreciate the advice.
ChelleSelkie@reddit
Get a CDL A, it covers class B and gives you a lot more options.
Most home daily guys drive class B. Were I you I would call up local companies and ask what they need in terms of drivers and if they either pay for or reimburse for training.
I have a class A and I drive for a waste management company. Local and I'm home daily. Most of our trucks are class B but a few are class A.
My only advice is to apply for everything regardless of how many state they want years of experience. Sometimes its an insurance thing and they can negotiate with their insurance company.
BigDSimmons1@reddit (OP)
A garbage truck has been high on my list also. seems like a good gig from everything I've looked into. waste management handles most of utah and they're currently hiring around me. I think I will go and get my class a. there's a lot of building materials, flat bed, and fuel companies around me, along ith beverage companies. seems like all of those are decent paths to look into.
ChelleSelkie@reddit
Be careful with WM, maybe talk to some of their drivers first. I hear they can really ramrod and micromanage you. Pays decently though so it might be worth it.
Late-County-4094@reddit
If you can swing it, go for the Class A. It'll let ya hop in just about any rig — mixers, dumps, cranes — and you can always fall back on a Class B gig if you decide big trucks ain't for you. Construction will still be there, but after a year behind the wheel you'll be makin' a lot more money.
BigDSimmons1@reddit (OP)
appreciate the advice. I'm going to talk to my local school next week.
FromundaDeez@reddit
In driving the pay is good but the hours are usually very long. My opinion if you have a current business that you plan on taking over would be try to get you a big van or rv and convert it into a mobile pet groomer if there’s a need for it in your area. If you get class A it might be hard to find a local job but it does open you up to a lot of potential
BigDSimmons1@reddit (OP)
appreciate the advice. Definitely something I've thought about but if been grinding to get my shop clients and it's hard right now. we do well, we're doing well, been in business since the 90s. but I think I need a steady, better paycheck for a while. Come back to the dog world in few years once we're out of the whole we're in.
8framemadness@reddit
To operate a combination vehicle with a donkey fork lift on the back of a flatbed trailer you would need a class A license. Call me a boor but class A gets you in the most doors. Here's the boorish part; I would never drive a straight truck of any kind for pay.
BigDSimmons1@reddit (OP)
appreciate the advice
Baconated-Coffee@reddit
If you're interested in crane work then you will need a Class A CDL. I would recommend contacting your local IUOE about their apprenticeship if you want to get into operating truck mounted cranes.
BigDSimmons1@reddit (OP)
appreciate it. I Saw a job posting looking for a driver willing to train for truck crane. I'll definitely have to talk to them.
Clean_Leader_8451@reddit
If construction is your world and you want to add a cdl into the mix there’s for sure money to be made. I would personally start asking around to people like your own boss asking about what need they have for a driver. You might be able to start getting some money in while you take the cdl class at a community college and pay for it with cash.
In terms of what’s out there without otr experience if you purely go for driving… man. Some people have great luck right out the gate getting something home daily or weekly but that’s not most peoples experiences.
This might be a wild goose chase but are there any building material suppliers around you? Places like L&W, Drywall Supply, etc? They usually have trucks running out to job sites all day long. Might be an interesting way to combine your knowledge of both worlds. You can do it for steel places too, like Alro if you’ve got those out there.
If you’re looking at job postings that say 6 mo to a year experience… put on a nice pair of jeans and a clean flannel and show up in person and introduce yourself to the hiring manager. Worst case scenario they get to know you and keep you in mind while you get some experience. Best case they see you’ve got some gumption and they like what they see enough to take you.
Speaking from personal experience, building materials does slow down in the winter, but Salt Lake is a bit of a construction boom town right now—at least from what I can see as a flatbedder. We can’t get enough drywall out there fast enough lol.
BigDSimmons1@reddit (OP)
appreciate it. I'm in orem, 40 min south of Salt. there's a lot a material company's around here, I'll definitely have to check them out.
YaTuSave@reddit
i used to work in construction driving heavy equipment got bored got my class b started driving mixer concrete truck its ez crazy hours tho last year almost made 80k i would not do this job if i had a family
bananataskforce@reddit
Class A is definitely better. At the very least it will make you less likely to experience accidents and violations. 3 days isn't enough to drive a large truck, IMO.
Specific-Aide9475@reddit
Loads are slowing down right now. Pay can be very good but not at first.
Milk_MAN1963@reddit
Depends on what you haul. Everything isn't dume and glume
Chemical_Frame_8163@reddit
Dumb and glum.
Atruckerguy@reddit
"Doom" and "gloom" lol
bananataskforce@reddit
Having your Class A will make it easier to get your foot in the door at Class B jobs, so I'd say go for Class A.
Aromatic_Addition204@reddit
You won’t get a construction type dump truck driving job without experience apparently… it’s ridiculous. You shouldn’t have to do six months to two years of OTR just to drive a local dump truck. I’d look into another career.
CampIndividual783@reddit
For someone juggling family business and debt, a Class A CDL opens far more doors than a straight truck (Class B) license. Mixers and dump trucks usually fall under B; ready-mix operations often pay hourly and keep you local, but the pay ceiling is lower. Class A unlocks regional and long-haul jobs, LTL line haul, oversize and specialized work, and you can still run dump trailers or lowboys on the side.
With the current driver shortage, companies will hire you right out of school if your record's clean; some will even sponsor tuition. The $5–7K for a reputable 160‑hour program is an investment — you’ll gross that back in your first few months on A‑side work.
Construction tends to be feast or famine; if you enjoy the work and have a job waiting, taking a winter layoff to get your CDL and bank some money isn't a bad plan. Talk to local ready‑mix and crane outfits about what they pay and whether they’ll train you; that will help you decide.
Lentezdelvalley@reddit
There was never a “driver shortage”
POWERISMOMMY@reddit
Here is what I did. Use FASFA and Pell grants to go through a community college for their class A course.
Did concrete mixers for a while, than moved into hauling motor oil for a local fuel oil company doing regional work in the DMV area.
After 3 years I’m making 60k
Thepopethroway@reddit
Go into LTL linehaul. If you can stomach driving at night the pay is phenomenal and the hours are reasonable.
crudeshag@reddit
Get any other trade besides trucking Pick one. Any one. It is infinitely better than trucking.
TruckerBiscuit@reddit
Still an overabundance of drivers right now. If you have a very good gig lined up it might be worth it. Big risk if not.
justdan76@reddit
I would hit up your connections from construction to see if you could line something up haulling locally, before just getting a CDL. There are lots of jobs in and around construction that need a CDL, the question is would they take you on with no experience.
Cfwydirk@reddit
A class B license will qualify you to drive….
Redi-Mix, roll off dumpster, refuse, LP Gas (with Haz-Mat endorsement), construction delivery,
For local driving jobs, Teamster jobs have thr best wage/fringe benefit package.
GiantEnemaCrab@reddit
A is better in almost every way. I drove B for a while and I can't imagine being locked into doing that. Worse pay, same bullshit. Might as well just get A and have more options.
A-class home daily jobs are okay. Soda, food, and milk sometimes will hire with no experience so you don't need to do OTR. In fact do not do OTR, it's a nearly strict pay downgrade compared to what you're doing. Local home daily should pay 30+ per hour and have full benefits. Just don't work for a small garbage company.
Trucking sucks though, don't do it unless you have no better option. People living in Afghanistan have a higher life expectancy than a US truck driver. I'm not joking, that's how abysmal the job can be. Stay away if possible.
StonedTrucker@reddit
I would go for the class A if youre getting a CDL. There are a lot of options wherever you look. You could pretty reliably make $60k your second year of trucking. Many people do it their first year.
You could also get your CDL and go look at construction jobs again. Having experience there and a CDL makes you more valuable than you are now. Class A means you can pull the skid steer behind the dump truck. Class B means you get a hefty fine if youre caught