If you’re stuck wondering how to find a job after college, don’t worry; you’re far from alone. Looking for a sustainable career path after graduating from college is a daunting experience for everyone, and the job hunt is rarely as simple as we want it to be.
This is why recently graduated young truckers are one of the most sought after truck driver demographics in the industry. With trucking and logistics companies eager to work with young and diverse truckers, it’s easier than ever for recent college graduates to find a job that will provide them valuable professional experience and compensate them well for their work.
Becoming a Truck Driver After College
With so many trucking companies looking for new drivers, many carriers will have their recruiters travel across multiple state lines to find truckers who are eager to get plugged into one of the country’s most vital industries. And their efforts seem to be working, as one truck driving training program saw its recruitment numbers swell “from roughly 140 per year in 2010 to nearly 500” in 2017, according to Transport Topics.
It also helps that truck driving has a relatively low barrier for entry, making it an accessible career for people from all walks of life. To get started on the path toward a lucrative career as a professional truck driver, you need to enroll in a truck driving education program. These programs can be taken at a private school or through a community college.
CDL Career Now says that truck driving school will teach you the “important aspects of trucking including how to drive a variety of different trucks on an even larger variety of landscapes such as mountainous roads, hills, highways, and extremely crowded streets.”
These courses typically last between 3-6 weeks, and require the following qualifications for entry:
- A high school diploma or GED
- Minimum age of 18 for in-state driving, and 21+ to drive cross-country
- Excellent hearing and vision
- A clean driving record
- No medical problems that would interfere with your ability to drive a truck
- A physical exam
After meeting these simple requirements, you can enroll in a truck driving school program and get well on your way toward a professional truck driving career. Roadmaster.com even says that the overwhelming majority of students who graduate from a truck driving school “are hired by Trucking carriers after graduation, and many of those students are even pre-hired within the first couple weeks of training.”
Finding Jobs for Young Truckers
Once you’ve graduated from truck driving school, the only thing you need is your CDL-certification. Earning your commercial driver’s license is a straightforward process, and can be started by asking your local DMV for a CDL manual. This manual will walk you through the information you’ll need for the CDL exam, and help ensure that you pass your skills test with flying colors.
After you are CDL-certified, finding a carrier—if you haven’t found one already—will be a breeze, as companies across the country are eager to work with you. In fact, as a result of the industry’s need for drivers, many “truck drivers have been seeing an 8-12% increase in starting pay while many other professions have remained stagnant.”
Figuring out how to find a job after college doesn’t have to be an uphill battle. If you’re a young trucker looking for an exciting, lucrative, and opportunity-rich career path, then reach out to Lily Transportation today! We offer a wide variety of scholarship programs, benefits, and perks for each of our drivers and would love to help you kickstart your truck driving career.
