A Midwest Truck Driving School Podcast

YOU WANT A STABLE CAREER THAT PAYS WELL.
BUT YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START.

Built in the Midwest sits down with the people behind the trades — truck drivers, linemen, heavy equipment operators, and the employers who hire them. Real conversations about what the work is actually like.

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Every conversation, every story — from the people who build, move, and power the Midwest.

http://Eemum%20|%20He%20Got%20His%20CDL%20at%2018%20Instead%20of%20a%20Degree

E{emum} | He Got His CDL at 18 Instead of a Degree

He turned 18 a few weeks before the course started, then drove three hours to a school he’d only ever seen in videos. An hour before we recorded this, he passed his final test. But the part that stuck with us happened years earlier — back when most of his classmates hadn’t worked a day...
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E{emum} | CDL Endorsements Explained: Hazmat, Tanker, Doubles & Triples, Passenger, School Bus

Most CDL endorsements come down to a written test at the Secretary of State. Thirty questions, a small fee, and a new letter on your license. This episode breaks down how that little letter actually changes what the job looks like. Josh sits down with Bill Oglesby to walk through all six endorsements — what...
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http://Eemum%20|%20Getting%20Hired%20As%20A%20Truck%20Driver%20With%20Multiple%20Felonies

E{emum} | Getting Hired As A Truck Driver With Multiple Felonies

If you have a record and you’ve wondered whether a CDL is worth trying for, watch this one. Matt carries a long list of felony convictions. He says so around forty minutes in, and he says it so you don’t decide your own situation puts you out of reach. He earned the CDL. Then roughly...
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http://Eemum%20|%20The%20Trucking%20Career%20Questions%20That%20Nobody’s%20Asking

E{emum} | The Trucking Career Questions That Nobody’s Asking

This is a Q&A episode about the questions people getting into trucking don’t think to ask. Not what it pays or how long training takes, but the ones that actually decide whether this works out over a full career: what automation is really doing, which kinds of trucking are most exposed, and who to trust...
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http://Eemum%20|%20The%20Only%20Woman%20in%20Her%20CDL%20Class.%20Now%20She%20Teaches%20It.

E{emum} | The Only Woman in Her CDL Class. Now She Teaches It.

Penny had vacation days to burn and a husband who drove truck, so she climbed into the passenger seat for a week just to see what it was like. Eleven states later she was doing math she did not like the answer to — she was wearing herself out as a CNA while he was...
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http://Eemum%20|%20Taking%20A%20Huge%20Pay%20Cut%20To%20Become%20A%20Lineman

E{emum} | Taking A Huge Pay Cut To Become A Lineman

If you’re trying to get into a trade right now, you’ve probably gotten the same advice everyone gets. Be patient. Take what you can get. Get some adjacent experience first, stay close to home, wait for the right opening. It sounds like the responsible thing to do. Cole Martinsen took that advice for four years....
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http://Eemum%20|%20Why%20Most%20Tradespeople%20Stay%20Broke%20Despite%20Earning%20Big

E{emum} | Why Most Tradespeople Stay Broke Despite Earning Big

WHY THIS ONE MATTERS Something happens when the paycheck gets bigger. A lineman finishes his apprenticeship. A driver moves up to a better lane. A operator finally hits the top of the scale. And for the first time in their life, there’s money left over at the end of the month. Most people know exactly...
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http://Eemum%20|%20First%20Year%20Trucking%20and%20the%20“Driver%20Shortage”

E{emum} | First Year Trucking and the “Driver Shortage”

Thinking about a truck driving career? This is part two of our Q&A with Josh Barron, director at Midwest Truck Driving School. We cover what your first year on the road is like, how to choose a CDL school, and whether the driver shortage is real. RJ asks the questions. Josh answers. We cover three...
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http://Eemum%20|%20Your%20Truck%20Driving%20School%20May%20Be%20Setting%20You%20Up%20to%20Fail

E{emum} | Your Truck Driving School May Be Setting You Up to Fail

A guy with twenty years on the road climbs into the cab for a road test, asks if he can float the gears, and proceeds to grind metal on metal the whole way down the block. That moment is the whole point of this episode. Experience isn’t the same as doing it right, and a...
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About the Show
WHAT DO THE PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY DO THE WORK WISH THEY KNEW BEFORE THEY STARTED?

Built in the Midwest is where we have real conversations about careers in the skilled trades — with the people who do the work and the people who hire for it.

We talk about how people got started. What the work is actually like. What employers are looking for. The hard days, the turning points, and the things nobody told them before they got started.

Hosted from Escanaba, Michigan by Midwest Truck Driving School.

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