Best Company of 5 to Start with?

In my humble opinion, not being too many years out of the student status......all of those companies you have listed are about the same. There might be a few perks here and there, and maybe something about a terminal location, that might help for home time and such....but when the rubber meets the road, they pretty much will all be the same, and they will get you some experience to move on to bigger and better things, and heck you might even like the company you choose and stay longer then a year. There is a guy that graduated with me 3 years ago that went to Werner and is still there 3 years later and loves it there!! He was a professional burger flipper at micky dees for 6 years before getting into the trucking business, and felt he got a huge raise. He is in a better situation to take care of his wife and baby.....and thats all that counts. He did have an open mind and did struggle with school. In fact we all clapped and gave him an ataboy when he passed his skills test, he was so nervous.....and all he could think of was he wanted to make his life better for his family! The last I talked with him he was making $50k a year on a dedicated account, and thats a long way from $24k a year job at Micky Dees.

I think Earl Nightingale said it best when he said " A Positive Attitude is the great equalizer of men" If you ever get a chance, get the tape set or book of "Lead The Field" by Earl Nightingale. It changed my whole outlook on life when I read 20+ years ago.

 

They all rank the same. You have to get your year in some where. Pick the closest one to your house for home time purposes. Listen to what "Allow Me" say's

 

So what Im hearing, (And Ive done a lot of reading here) Theres a lot of negitive posts on a lot of large, and not so large carriers, if you want to work, and have the right attitude, most of these companies aren't so bad, it depends on how dedicated you are to the profession, and willing to put up with the BS, (Which you have in any job) everybody has a bad week. Just realize you can make 2K one week and $500.00 the next. (Truckin' is like a box of chocolates... neva know what your gonna get)

 

Rum Runner: I dont want to come off sounding like some trucking guru, because the simple fact is I learn something new everyday and I often stumble out here on the road, its a learning process, I was a automotive general manager in another life, and left to pursue self employment in a related field, and it slowed down with the ecomony....to the point where I needed to reivent myself. Trucking is just plain hard exhausting work and the first few years the pay sucks and the companies jerk you around.......so understand it will be a shock comming from a white collar / black & white world. These companies will tell you do things you may not be able to do based on hours of service, weight of vehicle when loaded at a dock, etc.......and realize its all on you make the right choice and suffer the consequences, such as starving you out or just plain asking you to park the truck and find your own way home. It sounds like a silly way to run a company, but even the well run companies seem to do it........as I have heard all the sob stories sitting at the truck stops. Many people can not see the long term reward, or even know what it is.........after you get some time behind the wheel (2-3 years) lots of opportunities will come your way, specialized freight, dedicated freight, etc that only hire people in the 2-3 year range. I have a part time deal right now, which is working very well with another business I own, and I would never gotten a job like this when I first got out of school......because most of these better places want 2-3 years of accident free driving. Its going to suck at first, and if your going to any of the big boys, plan to sit some as a newbe and base your income on 2000 miles a week, not like the old days of 3000.....you may get lucky, but with winter coming on be very conservitive. If all this looks like a hassle, it is! So if you dont think you can hang out for those typical newbe pay rates, dont frustate yourself.......look else where, cause there is no reason to choose a career path that puts you in debt.

P.S. Schneider is not taking any newbes at this point, with or without CDL. They are reporting their school will stay closed until sometime in late 2010
P.P.S Ike $500 might be a stretch after training with some of these companies, my friends at Werner & PTL told me about many $300 weeks their first year....and that was when freight was still avaiable!