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I recently got my cdl and looking for a good company to go with. I prefer either northeast regional or long-haul. I am also looking for either flatbed or tanker with the later as precedent. Although am finding a few obstacles being that I am female any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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Tankers are good for small women that can not lift very much. I'm not trying to insult anyone but with a tanker after you get your hoses out and connected you watch the product run off. There's no real heavy lifting. The problem is that most tanker companies want experienced drivers and the better companies demand it.
If you can get in the door then there is a path you can follow to make good money and have great benefits. That means you'll have to set goals and better your driving skills so after a couple of years you can move over to the better companies. No matter how bad that first company may be you're there to gain experience. Then if you have a spotless record and a good name built up for yourself you can knock the door down to the major oil companies for a job. If you get there I guarantee you paradise.
Where did you get your cdl from? I'm from Rhode Island and I had 2 choices NETTS or Teamsters Training Academy. I chose Teamsters over NETTS because I was told the training is better.Welcome Aboard.
NETTTS in Somers it is closer to where I live but even still it was over an hour away, but worth it in my opinion. Now just have to find a place to go. Thanks for the comment.
If you went to NETTS call Superior Carriers and talk with the terminal manager.They have the power to hire whomever they choose.They also mainly hire Newbies from NETTS. Best Of Luck
I don't recommend flatbed because of the labor involved, unless you're a strong & muscular woman. I use 2B in construction, & I once met a woman who could handle a 100-pound jackhammer just as good (or better) as the men. Course, she was muscular for a woman; I suspect she was into weight lifting. If you fit this description, then flatbed is OK in your case. The part that requires strength is lifting and handling the 100-pound vinyl tarps. These can weigh even more if you're forced to have to fold it in the rain, and water gets caught inside as you're folding the tarp. If you do start off flatbed, & want 2 avoid tarping, try to get into a dedicated acct where you're only handling products that don't require tarping at all.
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After you've established your 1+ year of verifiable driving experience, I strongly recommend you settle down to an hourly-paying local job. You not only come home every night, but you only work 60 hrs a week average, & earn just as much (or more) as an OTR driver who has to put in 100+ hrs a week, and be gone for weeks at a time. The discrepancy in pay & working conditions is why OTR drivers can't hang on to their newbie drivers. Soon as newbies establish their 1+ year of driving experience, they leave for an hourly-paying local job.
To address the driver shortage (turnover) issue, the government is fully aware that improving pay & working conditions will practically double the freight bill that clients pay for trucking service. The government instituted NAFTA to bring in more drivers without having to raise shipping cost. We're also bringing drivers from 3rd-world nations to come to America on a working visa. I spoke to a driver from Lithuania, and he said he's sworn to secrecy not to reveal his compensation package to anyone. At the time I spoke to him, I noticed he was having biscuit & gravy (cheapest on the menu) and a glass of water. When he left to pay the cashier, he never bothered to leave a tip. His spending habit was a good clue as to how much he was earning as an immigrant driver with a working visa.
In conclusion, just concentrate on establishing your verifiable driving experience, doing the job safely and properly, and keeping your driving record clean. Don't quit to go with another OTR company to see if the grass is greener; you'll find that the next OTR company is just as bad, or worse than your last company. Pay & working condition will not improve until you settle down to an hourly-paying local driving position.
Being a female driver, when U start driving solo, I recommend you carry in your sleeper berth a snub-nose 38 revolver for protection. Don't tell anyone U have this. If U ever have to cross the border to go into Mexico or Canada, stop and leave the gun and ammo with a trusted friend or relative, until you swing by on your return trip. If this is not feasible, get a box, some bubble plastic wrap, and package the gun (unloaded) & ammo for shipment to your residence. U cannot use the US Postal Service to send firearm, but its OK to send via private parcel carrier like UPS, Fedex, or DHL. Canada & Mexico doesn't require a search warrant, so they can search your truck against your will. They know that some American truckers will carry guns, so they do random searches of trucks at the border. In Mexico, having 1 cartridge ammo is just as bad as getting caught with a gun, which is why I recommend to package your gun and all your ammo to send home. The hassle of packing and shipping your gun (& ammo) home is a lot cheaper than having to call someone to come over and bail you out of a Canadian or Mexican jail.
It was funny not even an hour before I started my original post I had applied to Maverick.. for the second time. The first timeI was not in their hiring area, but now that they acquired their specialized dept from schneider I am in their hiring area. I just found out today that they accepted my application and I will be headed to Laurenberg, NC in about a month for my training. Thanks. I know that there is no "perfect" company and I am not intimidated or naive about what my new job would entail... believe me anything is better than the hell I worked in for the last 14yrs. Thanks to all for your suggestions and advice, it really was appreciated.
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01.01.2008
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