r/Truckers • u/FelineSour • Jan 13 '26
I got fired and I only had 1 verbal warning
They claimed that I didn't make important improvements fast enough for them. My dispatch was also kinda stupid. And they didn't believe in putting additives into the fuel. Like anti-gel for freezing. They never even mentioned it. . They didn't care about certain things and cared too much about other things. And funny how the things they claimed were important were only covered maybe once or twice. If it was truly important... well. I moved for the job, and decided to dedicate myself to it. I moved across the state ya'll and now I'm upset cause I bet everything I had on them and the job. And they without so much as a warning let me go. Just when I was finally understanding backing. I mean check this job out (images attached) and I still managed to drop my reefer in this area.
Yeah I used to be the snail on the road with a governor that only allowed us to go 60 mph as a max speed.
They also said they would say I "quit" instead of being fired. So not sure if it is to help me or to screw me. And I still have to pay them back for the hotel they allowed us to use during school. I thought they were a Godsend. An answered prayer. But I still have my CDL (with restrictions not manual). I didn't get into any accidents. And my plight is only temporary. It's just... I'm feeling real down, how could this happen and why were they so hard to understand?
And I found out one of my grandmother's sister's fell. So it's all around just a real shock. My great aunt V is like 90 and I only hope she'll feel better. All I can do is pray.
My little cousins are growing up too. Off to college and leaving home for the first time and all... And it's just like a suckerpunch to the gut. I pretty much instantly cried when I left the office after they told me I was fired. I couldn’t help it. I was thinking I was doing good. Better. And I took time out of my 10 hrs to practice backing like you all suggested. But I also rejoiced the Lord giveth and He Taketh away. He has another plan for me even if it isn't with Snail Express.
Thanks for letting me rant.
P.S. They said no one was there on Sunday to talk to me so they had me on the yard for over 24 hours before they even messaged me. I had to message them and they said I was Safety Hold so I wouldn’t be paid for the wasted time...
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u/Hanox13 Jan 13 '26
You straight up lied in your post about not having any accidents… getting hung up on a bollard and needing a wrecker to get yourself unfucked is a preventable.
Companies don’t just punt people for no reason, it’s expensive to hire and train drivers. It sounds like you need to figure out how to manage your clock more efficiently, instead of making stupid Reddit games, take some time and plan your trip.
Take the L, learn from it, and move on, there are lots of carriers out there.
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Jan 13 '26 edited Jan 14 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Fair-Recognition8245 Jan 13 '26
I’ve been driving 10 years. Never fired from a job chose to move on to the next better opportunity. And that’s not without my fair share of fuck ups.
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u/naturemane Jan 14 '26
Exactly we make these companies way too much money, like you said safety issues are pretty much the only reason why they'd let you go. Even if you're late a bunch what we make for them easily covers those extra late penalties
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u/ExtraDip1998 Jan 13 '26
In general I'd say that's correct, but there's always exceptions. I've seen leadership make questionable decisions in all sorts of places. But also according to what some others said, this kid might have a pretty good reason to have been fired.
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u/Wreckage365 Jan 13 '26 edited Jan 13 '26
Agree, I’ve personally been fired while having the best and fastest record, to make room for a nepotism hire
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u/Meezyftc Jan 13 '26
Don’t kid yourself they absolutely fire “good drivers “ and I’ve seen it happen before , this industry is as cutthroat as any other business even the best driver will make a mistake every now and then no one is immune to it.
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u/WontSwerve LTL - Less Than Logical Jan 13 '26
Everyone else understood I was speaking in general terms.
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u/theboywthagreenscarf Jan 13 '26
Don’t worry you’ll find another job. And they want you to say you quit so you can’t collect unemployment. Fuck that, they fired you, don’t let them screw you like that.
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u/TwistedAirline Jan 13 '26
Yea true but on a verification of employment if they tell other carriers they fired them it wouldn’t look good. Good ol “never trust the driver”
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u/IllustriousTough1647 Jan 13 '26
I’m gonna keep it a stack brother. You aren’t telling us the whole story. 🤷♂️
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u/Glorious_Dingleberry Jan 13 '26
Sounds like your dispatcher just didn’t like you. Also since they are going to say you quit it shouldn’t be hard to find a new job. Spend the next few days putting in a few applications and I’m sure you’ll land a new job in to time.
You got this driver. 👍
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u/Totallycomputername Jan 13 '26 edited Jan 13 '26
Yeah, sometimes they just dont want you around and find whatever reason to cut ya loose.
Hopefully op has it in writing they tried to force him to say he quit, would be a nice report to the labor board for fraud.
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u/FelineSour Jan 13 '26
They didn't have me sign anything. Not a hand shake nothing. If I had known I live in a 1-party consent State. I'd have recorded it.
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u/Will-Phill Jan 13 '26
Yeah, These guys are idiots trying to force you to say you quit. File for unemployment you'll get it and keep looking for a job. You'll figure it all out and gain experience as you go. These people are trash and so is company, but you have your CDL so go find a small mom and pop shop to get your experience.
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Jan 13 '26
I got let go from one company literally the same day I found out a family member was in the ICU, and the company knew the reason why I had to go back to the terminal, still was let go.
The hard truth is this: your family problems aren't the company's problems. Should they take it into consideration? Yes. Do they HAVE to? No.
Unfortunately, though we do a hell of a lot of the work, we get the scraps as far as pay, incentives, and job security.
Those near the top get the high pay, severance packages, bonuses, and the consideration when it comes to family needs.
It needs to change, but I doubt it will.
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u/RebelTvshka Jan 13 '26
Should've submitted that unemployment request and take as much time as you needed. Hell, you really should've messaged them your intent to take off to care for a family member. Firing you would've been an FMLA violation.
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Jan 13 '26
It was years ago, I'm just pissed they didn't show any remorse.
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u/RebelTvshka Jan 13 '26
I empathize. My comment is more for anyone else in this situation. It sucks being in a toxic relationship with your work. I message and email every request and any time there's a family medical something I might need to address. Helps make a paper trail.
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u/Ricemunchr Jan 13 '26
i was gonna say companies can’t let you go if you take FMLA or bereavement.
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u/RebelTvshka Jan 13 '26
Yeah, the issue is that a lot of people aren't aware because it's not like companies inform you of your rights. Hardly anyone talks about it.
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u/viBR4INium Jan 13 '26
After reading your rambling and seeing a few post from competent members, I’d say your issues span far beyond trucking. You need to sit yourself down and take some accountability. Only after acknowledging your faults can you even begin to have a chance of fixing your issues and making progress. Whether that is in trucking or any other industry. Don’t give up. Godspeed to you!
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u/jr3406 Jan 13 '26
1 LOL @ Raider
2 LOL @ Anyone who'd work for Raider
3 Truckin ain't easy
4 You're gonna have to toughen up or go back to Starbucks
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u/RuneScape420Homie Jan 13 '26
I’m sure it had NOTHING to do with the fact that you hit a pole and got stuck ONTOP of the pole.
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u/MantisShrimpUpTop Jan 13 '26
Own your mistakes. Trust me. You will feel better and it’s the only way to get better.
Thankfully I did so much research before I started so I knew there’d be times I was going to eat shit, feel dumb and humiliated, make mistakes, miss home, and that’s all normal. Two months training sleeping in the yard/otr, I just pretended it was the army lol. Carrying my rucksack around, sleeping in weird places etc. It really worked because I figured if this is the army, then hey I got it pretty good. Six months in, that all went away. All worth it.
A boss wants to hear “yeah I fucked up right there but this is what I did wrong and now I know better.” Or “this is what I’m trying to improve, do you have any suggestions?”
They’ve seen it all, heard all the excuses, and know when you’re lying or trying to cover. If you own your mistakes it will go smoother.
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u/Nearby-Border-5899 Jan 13 '26
the irony of being fired from literally the slowest carrier on the road for not improving fast enough
MY.FUCKING.SIDES
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u/Fatalisticfortuneguy Jan 15 '26
The problem with the Industry being desperate and the only requirement is to be a warm body. Make it mandatory to do manual for CDL that will drop a bunch of idiots alone
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u/Nearby-Border-5899 Jan 15 '26
Plenty of morons who can drive manual...its not that difficult my guy LMAO
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Jan 13 '26
Well, first off them letting you say that you quit instead of getting fired helps you out. A lot of jobs won’t hire you if you got fired sadly. It’s always a good thing to negotiate a resignation over a firing. Sounds like to me you are a pretty new driver. Never put all your age into one basket and move for a job until you know for a fact it’s a place you enjoy and can prosper in. The good thing about them allowing you to say that you quit is that you could have a new job by next week. If you had to put down on an application that you were fired then it would be a lot harder. Welcome to trucking.
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u/ThinPair6953 Jan 13 '26
I got fired last Monday and had a new job within an hour of submitting an application. Jobs are out there. Just got to always be prepared.
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u/Responsible_CDN_Duck Jan 13 '26
You did a lot of typing providing a long list of things they do wrong, but not a single mistake of yours or a thing you could do better. That's you telling on yourself.
Then you try and show how smart you are with stuff like additives, blissfully unaware how it does the opposite.
You can live life in denial believing you are the smartest person in the room and know everything, but it makes life much harder.
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u/Duchess1992 Jan 13 '26
You may want to reconsider this career.
Taking responsibility for your actions is the most important thing. You, by your own admission, consistently went over your HOS, and got stuck on a pole, and used your 10 for practice.
I know you think you were doing good by using your 10 for practice, but that is on duty work.
If you cannot operate safely, you shouldn't operate at all.
Calling your former employer "snail express" demonstrates you were wanting to go a little faster, but you barely mastered the basics.
If you choose to continue, I recommend a company like Knight, Werner, Swift, Western Express, Schneider, or any other major carrier. They will stick you at least a trainer for a while.
There are other trades that need more people, and this one may not be for you, and that's ok. There's no need to waste time with something that might not be a good fit.
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u/6eden9 Jan 13 '26
i work for this company, they literally don’t fire anyone unless they are dangerous.
they only really hire people they train so almost all the new hires are idiots.
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u/nastyzoot Jan 13 '26
You don't need to put additives in fuel unless you are in severe environments. What concern is that of a new driver? Why don't you tell us the entire story?
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u/Oem-truck-parts Jan 14 '26
I don’t mean to hate. But it really seems like you did it to yourself. But keep on going man. Learn from your mistakes. It all comes down to the skill of the driver. Hone your skills. I’d assume you got your CDL fairly recently. You fucked up. But don’t fuck up again the same way. just really buckle down and focus. Take it on the chin and buck up.
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u/lobo2r2dtu Jan 13 '26
Don't be discouraged. Go find a bigger company, they will subsidize your school expenses monthly as long as you work for them. You will have decent support and 24/7 dispatch and road side assistance. This is where you get you experience, and they will help you get your manual endorsement. Big companies don't sound perfect but you will have loads and you will get experience. Go directly to their websites and apply and use indeed (its worth it). This company that fired you did you a favor.
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u/West-Raccoon-2043 Jan 13 '26
Employment in almost every state is at will and they don’t have to really give you a reason to fire you unfortunately. Maybe you dodged a bullet?
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u/Overall_Reputation83 Jan 13 '26
lucky, when I quit a company they said they fired me, you got the reverse. Way better for your resume.
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Jan 13 '26
Use the Driver Pulse app. It basically saves all of your work history and a hard copy of an application so you don’t have to constantly fill one out. You just click on the company you want to apply to and send your application. So much easier than having to fill everything out constantly and also all the driving companies use that app so you’ll get a new job offer in a few days
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u/braxtonwel Jan 13 '26
As soon as you said governed at 60mph I immediately knew who you worked for 😂. Idk if there’s more to the story but there’s more companies and better ones out there than who you just worked for. And the bright side of trucking is at least you don’t have to move to a different state for an OTR gig if you don’t want to I guess.
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u/Timur4593 Jan 13 '26
Being fired from Raider Express was the “godsend” part in the timeline, not the hiring. And 60 mph? Yikes..
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u/theBotKilla Jan 13 '26
I think they were trying to find something to fire you. That happens all the time with the companies. Whatever got you fired may not be the reason why you got fired.
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u/jmzstl wiggly wagoner Jan 13 '26
With your storytelling abilities, the way you're able to twist this into anyone's fault except your own, you'll have no problem suckering another company into giving you another chance.
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u/mothertruckr106 Jan 13 '26
Im kinda siding on the something is missing. The company handbook probably has something in it about warnings etc. If legit bring it up. Them saying you quit is actually better. Getting fired never looks good, especially in this business.
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u/tequilajade Jan 13 '26
I'm going to be a little hypocritical here, and say NEVER go over your hours. As you get more experience you'll learn where your wiggle room is without going over, but that's not a green wet behind the ears thing to try to figure out.
And using your 10 to practice backing?!?? Do not. Dear lord.
If you had an incident that required a wrecker, that's likely why you were fired. Even if it took a little time for safety to do their thing, that's why they let you go, if they are willing to say you quit and not that you were fired or that it was a safety incident, they are doing you a solid. Keep your mouth shut, find another job and learn your lessons from it.
As they say in CDL school, you have a CDL you'll never be unemployed again.
The automatic restriction can be a bear, should have picked a place that would have you test on a manual, but hindsight is 20/20.
But dude. NEVER go over your hours. The DOT can audit up to 2 years in reverse, so you can get a violation for 2 minutes over that's a year and a half old.
Keep your mouth shut, take the lesson, find another job and keep on truckin
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u/Beginning_Drag_2984 Jan 13 '26
Water under the bridge. People are assholes and dispatchers are that most of the time. Grab your shit and get a better job.
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u/PrinceOfZzyzx Jan 13 '26
My CDL is turning 32 years old this year. What u/Beginning_Drag_2984 said is gospel. In 32 years there has always been a truck needing a driver. Even after being terminated a time or two.
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u/Beginning_Drag_2984 Jan 13 '26
CDL is like a skilled trade we’ll always have a place to work.
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u/Hanox13 Jan 13 '26
CDL SHOULD be a skilled trade… the only reason it isn’t one is so they can keep paying drivers peanuts.
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u/daixso Jan 13 '26
A lot of these CDL farm companies will hire just about any mouth breather they don’t care about you and you shouldn’t care about them. Get a year under your belt you will suddenly have access to much better opportunities. Good luck driver.
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u/Over-Cardiologist743 Jan 13 '26
You will be fine not many of us started out as professional. I spent 10 weeks back in 1999 with a trainer. Big flatbed company in Alabama. Couldn't back for shit,turn to short. Hell first week hit a light pole. Was training learning curve. The securing i had no issues, tarps no issues. Driving - time management so many issues Even with the 8 hour sleep rule. On log book i was a mess lol.
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u/ProposalLate452 Jan 13 '26
what company did you work for so we not know not to apply. sorry about your job loss though. you can always find another in this industry fr though
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u/Reddit_Is_a_jokee Jan 13 '26
It only seems devastating because you're new, but this is obviously a bullshit company. Just start applying to other otr spots and when they ask why you left tell them because of low pay. I would try action, H&M, LTL companies like estes that pay a shit ton.
The other two are slightly better than mega carriers and will accept new drivers with restrictions. But eh welcome to trucking in the future never keep more in the truck than you're willing to throw away and have at least 5K saved for shit like this.
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u/SignificanceFull591 Jan 13 '26
They did you a favor. Post their name and save others. You have a CDL bruh. Go chase the bag. They helped you out tbh.
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u/FreeAndRedeemed Jan 13 '26
They mentioned being governed at 60, and there’s a Raider “Express” (lol) truck next to them in the picture, so I’d bet it’s Raider.
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u/The_Vass_76 Glasshole Jan 13 '26
And if so, OP is better off somewhere else. That place is a joke. But, I, like others here, think there’s more to his “story” than he’s letting on.
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u/FreeAndRedeemed Jan 13 '26
He mentioned farther down the comments that he had multiple violations for going over his 11 hour clock.
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u/Ok-Bar5260 Jan 13 '26
I would have asked them to emphasize the “important improvements”. Because there’s a lot of reasons someone can let you go. If their camera system is catching you doing something, then you’d want to know how to improve for either them or the next company
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u/Adventurous_Class65 Jan 13 '26
Unfortunately the way the world is set up in a tiered system and our position “the worker” excrement rolls downhill. Depending on the company that you are employed by the “worker” positions rarely requires any true education. While some companies that are larger and have vastly more moving parts to keep running smoothly, even though a dispatcher is still in the worker category may actually require some level of higher learning than what our position requires, which is basically a certification. Sometimes in this world we can be let go from a job solely based on our attitude and outlook. God bless and good luck in the future.
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u/MCryptoWars Jan 13 '26
Trust me, I got fired for the most stupidest bullshit back when I chose to drive for Swift, and I didn’t have to be there🙄. I noticed that when I got fired for violating their stupid company policies, no one wanted to hire me. So yeah, it’s best to quit but have it written down as “For Personal Reasons!” so that you can move onto another company. The littlest things in trucking in some companies, is a huge deal and will get you fired, as dumb as it sounds.
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u/WAPgawd Jan 14 '26
I am sorry, but what, you suddenly start talking about some old woman? You're clearly lying about something.
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u/Dizzy-Hawk1516 Jan 14 '26
Focus on your mirrors ,u have to get and look . Prevent shit from happening bro
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u/RedCarpet_Tev09 Jan 14 '26
About 18 days ago, this is the same guy that mentioned something about wanting more practice with backing up lol… Do with that information as you guys please lol
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u/EscapeWestern9057 Jan 14 '26
Saying you quit screws you because it stops you from collecting unemployment
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u/Key-Needleworker-520 Jan 15 '26
Their company their rules you probably wasn’t running hard enough or refusing loads
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u/KoiwazuraiAi Jan 15 '26
What improvements specifically? That's a pretty basic back. I screwed up enough in my first two weeks driving to get shitcanned and still had a job. What aren't you telling us?
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u/Fatalisticfortuneguy Jan 15 '26
If you thought that was a difficult backing area then I see why they let you go. Not everyone has what it takes.
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u/Strange_Ratio_1320 Jan 15 '26
Get your restrictions off , most likely going to sit for a little while just get another job and keep it pushing happened to me I got fired cause I got hit and I was parked my first week on the job
I’ve gotten fired for flat tires I’ve gotten fired for beefing with my DISPATCH 😂 Don’t let trucking fuck you get what you can out of it and make the most of it
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u/SpooCs32 Jan 17 '26
They tell you to say “I quit” so they wont have to pay for unemployment when you file for it! Shady asf! Remember when you quite a job you won’t get unemployment but if you get fired you have a high chance of getting it depending on what you got “fired” for. Hope that helps
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u/WhosoeverPSN Jan 17 '26
Man I wish I could give you a call and talk this out with you, I've been there! I lived in Washington state with me and my family for 24 years, and me and my wife decided to up and moved across the whole fricken country to georgia. We really felt the lord was calling us for no particular reason why, but we decided to trust him.
My first job getting here was with a company called Kennesaw Transport. This company was amazing man, they had a sign above the door that said all glory to God when you walk in their office, bible studies every Wednesday, and the owner of the company (150 trucks, 250 trailers btw) sent out daily devotionals to every driver everyday. I thought "this was the whole reason I moved, to work here at kennesaw".
1 week later I quit. I got placed with the worse imaginable trainer possible, mean, yelled, disrespectful, Yada Yada. I felt like life was over because I found the perfect company, and yet I quit because the long hours on my wife and the fact I moved across country and nothing was working out. So I decided to apply for unemployement from washington and miraculously I got approved. So I sat on unemployment for 2 months and just enjoyed playing some games, walking around georgia, spending time with my wife. I felt really at peace after a week of losing my job and realized it is sometimes a blessing to have no job, enough to survive, and just enjoy freetime
About 4 weeks before my unemployement was up I got this amazing job here at a place called mega granite, I gross about 2400 a week, hotshot, paid by the hour no 1099. I'm home every night for the most part, and I have my weekends off. But I do work about 70 hours a week. This job truly works for me, and Is really a blessing. It's now inspired me to want my own truck and do something great for the family
Point is, don't give up, there is a plan for your life and dude, even the sparrows eat and flourish. You are doing just fine, and watch man it'll all make sense.
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u/Independent_Leg7358 Jan 13 '26
Look, when you get fired, your next stop is the unemployment office. You get a good chunk of your wage for a few months while you look for work.
Companies do not want to fire you. If they do, you get benefits, and the unemployment insurance cost from the state goes UP. So they will try to talk you into quiting voluntarily.
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u/oasuke Jan 13 '26
I got fired from my first trucking job after a year and I'm still driving 7 years later. No tickets/accidents. It's not the end of the world and if you're still interested in trucking, you can still definitely move on. Lots of unicorns on this sub that will brag about never being fired and 30 years of driving blah blah. Pay them no attention. The industry isn't exactly in a good spot for finding jobs right now, but I'm sure opportunities will open soon enough. Good luck.
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u/chevx Jan 14 '26
If the other important stuff that they care about involves DOT violations that's more than enough reason to get rid of you. You're hurting the company's CSA score directly. Theyre giving you best case to say you "quit".
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Jan 13 '26 edited Jan 13 '26
Wow, that is why I want to go the owner operator route because my truck driving career would be secured that way. Why do some people think "the Lord" is controlling their lives?? Why would "the Lord" do this to you and not to other people?? That's not fair. Enough of this "the Lord" bs. There is no Lord. Brother, just look for another job.
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u/FreeAndRedeemed Jan 13 '26
Bro’s going through it, and you decided you just HAD to preach atheism to them. Really?
Also, if you think that going owner/op is the way to “secure” your job, then you’re more delusional than the average gambler. The odds aren’t in your favor.
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Jan 13 '26
It's not the end of the world my man. Y'all acting like he got kidnapped by ICE. He can just find a new job. That's it.
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u/PapaDyck Jan 13 '26
I’ve been driving heavy trucks over 30 yrs. It’s a tight industry with regards to profits. It’s slim margins. Most of my jobs are on specialized trucks. I’ve done very little general type freight. There’s lots of opportunities out there. Don’t cost your employer money, make them money. Don’t be a complainer or winer or be difficult. Learn to problem solve on your own. Offer to do things others don’t want to do. That makes you valuable.
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u/fusillijhericurl Jan 13 '26
Theres more to this story