Selecting a Good Starter Company

Great advice GhostDriver but my suggestion would be to avoid those companies all together! Too many really good smaller companies out there. Why sacrifice yourself to a mega-carrier who spends millions of dollars in advertising to try and get YOU to work for THEM?!

There are over 450,000 trucking companies in the US. Do you have the ambition to do your homework. Do you have that spark in you that ignites you into doing better for yourself and propel you past the others? Are you a leader, do you take hold of your future and aim high with your outlooks and goals?

I believe a lot of newbies just choose the route of these mega-carriers because it is the most easiest path with no obstacles and everything is pretty much done for them. Is it worth though?

Check out this site. It has a bunch of companies out there that are a little smaller and don't do a lot of advertising for drivers. With smaller companies you reap better rewards. They also allow you to do what you want and you have much more freedom than the mega-carriers.

http://www.truckdrivercentral.com/truckingcompanies.html

Good luck....

 

Just some observations I'd like to make on Big Carrier vs. Little Carrier:

Little Carriers generally have nicer trucks. That by itself is my #1 reason to avoid going small. There's a good chance a rookie is going to screw up. You want them to screw up in a top of the line truck or a beater? I dunno, I think my teenager would be driving a beater car to get a feel for driving, not a Porche.

Big Carriers have terminals everywhere. That's a big plus for newbies. It's an oasis from being out in a new lifestyle, safer area for them to fuel up and get used to it...less embarrassing when they screw up a park job, there's employees in every one of them that can give them some help if they have questions face-to-face...there's a lot of advantages to it for a newcomer to this career.

Little Carriers tend to be run by old school owner-ops. Nothing against them, but they generally love to have their people run hard. Not exactly the best way for a newbie to learn. Big Carriers have dispatchers that are trained to get a feel for the newbies as they go, how they handle pressure, etc. They learn what the person can and cannot handle better than the newbie understands it before they're ever handed over to a regular dispatcher. That can also be a plus for the newbie and it can be a disadvantage - both of them can be a problem for newbies who don't know where to draw the line and know their limitations, just for different reasons.

Little Carriers do tend to pay more - there is no two ways about that. A fatter paycheck is definitely something to consider, but my personal opinion is - pay your dues first, reap your rewards when you're a little more experienced.

Most drivers are going to company hop, the majority don't stay with the company they sign on with, small or large. Small companies only have a slightly lower turnover rate. So, personally, I'd want to get my feet wet with a big company that's not going to hurt so much when I leave than with a small company that could really feel the pinch if I leave.

That's just my opinion, your mileage may vary, depends on if you hammer down or not, I reckon.

 

I will admit Ghostdrvr you have some good points and a different perspective. Maybe you are correct and have me somewhat convinced. I sometimes look at company choices through my eyes and what I would want out of a good ol' outfit. You are right though in that it maybe too much for a newbie to run for a mom and pop outfit.

When I look at the smaller companies I see a better advantage to making money. A more personal relationship with a dispatcher in which they aren't going to baby sit you. Longevity. People in the office that have actually been truckers and or pulled for the same company in previous years before retiring to the office, instead preppy college kids who look cool with a headset on and are eager to move up the corporate ladder while stepping on drivers heads and sometimes sacrificing a few to please the planner gods.

Good points man. From now on I will be a little more specific and maybe urge the newbies to just less than mega-carrier or large. By large or less than mega-carrier I'm talking companies like Central, Wel, Armellini, Davis, Shaw, Star, May, Cargill, you get the point. Companies with an average of less than 3-5 terminals. Sound about right?

Thanks man...

 

I too was a firm believer in smaller = better. Took awhile before I realized that the big carriers have a purpose too. Believe it or not, there's some drivers who just don't want to be bothered with the whole, "Hey, how's the wife and kids" routine you get from a smaller carrier's dispatch. Some just want to get the load and get gone.

Well, all of that is definitely true, except in the companies where it's not. I've worked for large and small (My "driving experience" isn't accurate because it was many moons ago, so I don't really count it - the companies out there hiring don't, so why should I?) and I've even been a dispacther at a smaller company - some of my fellow dispatchers were college newbies (a couple were fresh outta high school) and there were one or two of us who were former/current drivers.

I can tell you that the few of us that were drivers were the company drivers' favorites and some drivers would wait until they knew one of us was on before calling. Sounds great until you realize that it put 75% of the workload out of 10 people on the shoulders of about 3 of us. Not so fun.

There's nothing wrong with those companies you mentioned, but my point is, the mega-carriers have their place too for drivers and driving careers. Just depends on the driver's personal tastes.

Brother, I'm glad my advice helped in any way shape or form possible - it's nice to know when my rambling motor-mouth actually says something intelligent.