highly annoyed with job market (employment, CDL, bankrupt, unemployment)

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I was fired from my job back In july. I really worked for some unfair people fired with no warning verbal NOR written. I was actually fired for vaping outside. I worked for a company that changed their policy 3 times and I couldn't even vape in my car anymore. they harassed me about it, suggested I seek nicotine addiction consoling. they general manager (jerk) harassed me several times about what I was drinking, apparently he did not like the sugar in my lipton iced tea. they left me at this facility by myself every afternoon no one around but myself. I got caught vaping outside. no warning, the day I returned from vacation they allowed me to drive the 35 miles each way to work, met me in the parking lot and told me I was done. the very worst employment experience I have ever had. it was not effecting my job performance, I was not going off break, no one informed me of the policy intentions when I took the job. the very worst experience of my life, and the biggest buffoons I ever worked for. no opportunity was given to keep the job. employers should be happy that people like me no longer smoke (not good enough, they want FULL CONTROL), they no longer have to put up with the smell, cigarette buts, ect. I'm still reeling emotionally, frantically, and career wise from what they did to me. I was also told to seek "nicotine addiction treatment" after they repeatedly changed the policy. well that's that. I made $19.45/hour in a milk plant. I was otherwise a good employee, I was treated like toilet paper. the policy was never issued in writing, it took 7 weeks to get my unemployment, but unemployment law states that while you can fire someone for anything at anytime if no displinary action is given, UI must be paid.

back In November I decided that the job market is so bad I needed to pursue something else. I went and got my Class A CDL. I was hoping and expecting to find some local company, somewhere that would take on a new graduate. no such luck. after sitting around for 3 weeks with a CDL and finding nothing, I ended up taking employment with one of the "mega" carriers WERNER. I took the job in December before Christmas. I was told I would go through two days of orientation, get a trainer and get a week of driving in before Christmas. I would be allowed to return home for Christmas, no such thing happened. I went through orientation and sat in a hotel for two weeks. I got paid but I was away from my family and not driving. I returned after Christmas and sat in a hotel yet again for 2 weeks. I finally got picked up by a trainer. I got 1-1/2 weeks driving with him and he informed me he was going home for a week and I would have to live in a hotel for a week. I hadn't seen my wife or child in 3+ weeks so I told I'm I was going home as well. I returned after spending 4 days at home and ended up going and waiting for yet another trainer. I waited another 1-1/2 weeks and got that trainer. they kept me away from home this time for a total of 8 weeks. I decided that OTR was not a good fit for someone with a family. being gone 2-3 weeks or more is not what I had in mind. I looked for another job with what limited experience I gained. I left after training with a 30 day leave of absence which is company approved. returning here is still an option.

I found a company that gets their drivers home EVERY weekend and they were willing to hire me. great I though, finally something decent. I went with their trainer for a full week, and went home for the weekend. this week I was promptly picked up by another trainer. they never give you the same trainer twice with this company. I thought everything was going fairly well. yesterday I got a phone call from the manager. apparently I was making turns that were too "squared off" and they decided not to invest anymore money into me. they let me go without any chance to improve. oh well back to the drawing board.

I don't know what to do anymore. I'm not interested in returning to werner, the lifestyle is a terrible fit. you don't see your family for multiple weeks at a time, you live in a truck, you don't get proper showers and hygiene forget about it. I tried it and hated it.

the local job market is a flood of temp services, and they almost all pay crap. your lucky to get $14, minimum wage is $9.70. so if you are making $4 more then minimum wage apparently you are doing well. there are so many of these "services" too many to list. coastal staffing, rememdy, Randstad, durham, snelling, addeco, xpress, selective, affinity, HR partners staffing, Parallel, superior, Spherion, manpower. do we really needed almost 30 of these morally bankrupt thieves that steal a % of your paycheck. man do I hate them.

I have two choices and neither has a positive outcome. either I go back to werner in the next couple of days OR I take a job that is going to make me starve, literally. what is wrong with the job market, its very sick. I have 12 years of manufacturing experience running all different types of food manufacturing equipment. I'm a grown 35 year old man, not a teenager with no experience. I propose a federal law getting rid of these organizations. they are blood suckers.

[High Altitude]

Truck driving is horrid to get started in and then you need to put in at least a year or three OTR to get the better jobs.

If you can stick it out it can turn into a pretty good gig, but make no mistake, only the few end up with the better jobs.