Hello all, Im a recent grad of New England Tractor Trailer School, (NETTTS).

I was hoping to get a license and find a local driving job, but it looks like that will not be the case, no local company will touch me w/o a year OTR experience.

Ive applied to a bunch of companies and have been accepted by Werner, CR England and US Xpress. From what Ive read on truck forums, none of these training companies are all that good, but out of these 3 so far can some one here offer some insight on which may be the lesser of 3 evils. Im leaning towerds Werner.

I was also contacted by a recruiter from an ad on craigslist, he wants me to apply to Lisa Motor Lines Inc, I have never seen or heard of them before and not sure if I should ever waist my time with them. He said they are one of the better paying training companies and that they try to get u home evert 7-10 days. They are based in Tx, Im in NH, I cant see getting home to often with a co half way across the country. They haul refers.

Any help on this tough decision will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Any sugestions on companies that work local in So NH or New England, Im a family man and would like to be home as often as possible.

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Dan

Hey danvan welcome to the site, i my self am still in school, and i have been doing a lot of homework on the trucking industry, ill just put my thought out here for you, U.S Exp is an "OK" company, stay clear of CR England, they are no good, Werner is a nother ok company, the only bad thing is its harder to RUN with there electronic log's, cause they automaticly no your hours, and shut your down when your hours are up, but they are good for the newbies id imagine, based on what i hear, US exprs is an ok company, ill never go to them just based on the reqruit that came to our school, like the saying goes " first impression is everything " well, my first impression of them sucks!, the guy really was awful. but anyway, not sure how old you are, but if your 23 or older, and you have NO FELONIES, then you might want to check out TMC, its all flatbed work, and they pay good money for people that had just graduated from school, they say you start out at around 60K a year, but id imagine its closer to the mid 50's, read on the site, you'll find EVERYTHING you want about the company
best of luck, and keep us updated!

Check out ATS and CFI

Thanks guys, I will check all 3 of the companies u both mentioned.
Happy holidays, and good luck to both of u in your job search too.

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Dan

No local companies?

Did you try FedEx freight national? Old dominion? UPS freight (formerly overnite)?

Assuming they are looking for drivers right now, those places hire newly minted drivers.

Overnite hired me after only 1 month of OTR, and 2 months after getting my CDL.

I tried all 3 of those, all wanted a year exp.

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Dan

LTL freight demand is down right now,so driver openings might be slim.However there is a high turner over rate in LTL.Openings do come up.They have training programs,work the dock while you train,get some driving time in while training and still make a decent wage.Now once you do start on regular basis,you will be at the bottom of the ladder.You may work nights,run line haul or local and work the dock.Most LTL carriers have a senority list and a bid system on start times and whether you run line haul or local.This is true of both union and non-union companies.It's good money and benefits but you earn every penny.I worked for CCX for 12 years and did $50,000. per year running local.My friends running line haul were up around $65,000.Again it's all weather driving,all weather dock work and basic tractor,no-frills.It's always a trade off,OTR is where I started,then regional,then local.Each one has it's pros and con's.Do your research to find out what best suits you and your homelife.Good luck.

Did you try Crete or CFI?

I suggest looking into many more companys.
Checking out only 3 is cutting your options thin.
Lots of them are similar, but there are many that have Fleets that run Regional and National. You can take your pick.

If you do the research, you'll find a company that is tailer made for you.
You owe it to yourself to spend additional time on the phone, and / or online, exploring more options.

Good Luck, & Merry Christmas!

I did not try crete or CFI, they are both on my list tho. I have tried many many companies, I have a 3 page list in front of me, havent gotten to them all yet but I am working on it, those apps all take time. The 3 I mentioned in my 1st post are the ones who have accepted me so far.

If LTL has a high turn over rate, not sure if that is a good sign of a co I wanna work for?

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Dan

Turnover in LTL is do mainly to the dock work.It's great in the summer or an area of the country with a year round warm climate.Now most non-union companies require this.Union carriers,dont'.Most LTL companies have open air docks,meaning if it's 15 degrees outside ,it's 15 degrees on the dock.Docktime is for the most part 3 to 5 hours,plus driving time.They will keep you within your HOS,but it still can be a long day.Cold doesn't bother me,nor some physical labor.Some people love this line of work,others don't.You do get home every night and weekends.The money is good,along with the benefits.Some of my friends run dumps,others run containers off the piers,their home every night.It's up to you.Run OTR you can expect do be out for awhile,run regional,home more often.If you don't want local,try a company that does mostly drop and hook.You won't be tied up at a shipper or reciever.Just more miles if that is what you want.Good luck.