I currently manage a construction yard and am looking for a long term exit strategy of leaving my hometown of Tampa Florida. I am sick of the housing issues, insurance, etc…it has become batshit expensive to live here. I own property in rural northern Florida and have been casually looking for trucking jobs in the area, where most are working for logging/sawmills.
I have a Florida Class A CDL that has an automatic transmission restriction, with tankers+HAZMAT. Since I only occasionally drive our dump trucks, flatbed, lowboy, rock hauler, etc. to cover labor shortages – driving is definitely not my full-time job. I drive mostly in an urban area moving heavy equipment and material to various job sites or running debris to our landfill as needed.
My question is will companies just see me as a brand-new driver with a CDL? If that is the reality and I’d have to start at the bottom, it will determine how much I need to keep saving before I consider leaving.
If they would count experience -do any of you have suggestions on how I can document it?
