Maybe Alberta?

First thing and most important welcome. Second and with all respect. KEEP YOUR HAPPY ### OUT OF ALBERTA. You won't get any work brand new unless you have 2 years experience running the 'rock' (Rocky mountians). If your going to consider moving, go no further than Winnipeg. Winnipeg is the place to be for North/South Freight.

Industry secret #1: big companies are driver mills. They only expect you to stay for around 3-6 months after your training then they don't care. They made their money back. It's sad but when you look at #1 the caliber of driver today, and #2 the rates, it's all you can expect. Since your newer to the industry there are some things I would consider, but before you leave Ontario have you looked at TransFrt McNamara? I started with them. Great company, they have some problems but overall spot on. They are small, friendly, and they get to know you by name, they have terminals in AB, BC, ON, and CA (Los Angeles area).

As for your question on what to ask recruiters here are some things I look for now, plus some things to ask being new.
• Do you have a driver finishing/training program?
• What do you offer in benefits. Do you direct bill?(dental/vision)
• Do you offer cell Tax Deductions ( it's a thing most companies offer a % claimable each year for work use)
• How often will I get home? ( this is a biggie trust me RN)
• What kind of miles will I look to make realistically?
• Do you have EzPass? Or any other Transponders (tolls, fares, borders blah blah)

Anything else I can think of Is all kind of owner operator geared, but some things to remember.
• Recruiters aren't dispatchers, they may say 3000 miles a week but your dispatcher controls that. Not the recruiter. (Plus freight availability)
• Dispatchers spoil new guys, for a period of time it's called the 'Honeymoon', you never know when it's gonna end but when it does you know it.
• Recruiters try and sell you the world. Doesn't mean they are bad people but that's just their job, to recruit, and if you knew every dirty secret the industry had you would run away screaming. Once your in though.... your in.
• Makes friends with some older drivers, stay away from people in their 20's-40's into early 50's. Look for late 50's on. Median age leaving driving schools is around 40-50 Right now. So they may be older but they don't know Jack.

As for cell phones. No company is gonna pay for one. You gotta cough up the dough first, then save your cell Bills because at the end of the year they give you a slip. That slip gives you permission to claim a % of your phone as a work expense. (Calling shippers, Dispatch, Safety ect.) Also for CB radios? Most companies stopped running/training guys on them. Cause of cell phones, you miss the odd thing not having one. Mostly guys playing music, saying stupid stuff over and over, bragging and threatening others, Annoying other people, and some guy is always talking about how he 'ain't got no panties on'. Other than that it's more of an old school thing now.

That's my .02 and for an extra penny I'll give you one more tip. Going back to that find an old school guy, you'll know them when you see them. Make that guy you're friend, it may happen naturally on it's own, either way. That old crusty ####### forgot more than most people ever knew. I surrounded myself with old school. Pill poppin', 4 log book runnin', 100mph through the middle of the night shutting their lights off to run scales old school. They don't do it any more obviously, but some fun nights lots of whiskey and Jager and they shared just about everything they could remember with me, and trust me they have tips that will make your experience in the industry 100% easier. Only problem is they may not tell you until after you make the mistake, that way you never forget it.

Only downside is I'm so young I get no respect from other truckers in truckstops. People who know me though... Oh well. Rather be the one wise man among fools, than the latter.

3 big rules.
1. Your always in a hurry, never in a rush.
2. Don't out drive your nerves, you'll end up dead or worse.
3. Never turn down the opportunity for a shower, bathroom, and a coffee. There will be days(2 or more) were you won't get any.

✌

***AVOID SLIP SEATING TOO . This means you don't get 'your own' truck but you change from day to day or week to week. This means you're never going to get comfy in one, and always dealing with someone else's mess, and trust me there are more pigs out here than I care to admit.***

 

I would think it is almost impossible to avoid slip seating unless you want to sit while truck is in shop. Trucks have so many gremlins these days and not unusual for them to be down frequently. I have a assigned truck on line haul but end up with other truck a few times a month.
When I did OTR 25 years ago the trucks were reliable, got my assigned truck every trip and never had to wait on truck for repairs/maintenance.

 

holy #### you sound needy

 

your avg phone plan will cover everything you need it to do...all of them are unlimited text and calling

do the job someone else doesnt want to do, where they dont want to do it...youll get in, get exp and go from there, youll still make 6figures your first year, so 'suffer' a bit.

 

Six figures? What kind of crackers are you smoking? I was an owner operator and only made six figures. No company driver unless it's special Commodities or some special conditions is going to make more than 70000 a year maximum.

 

Definitely is possible to make 100k a year as a company driver but you won't be running legal that's for sure... Know many Indians outta Brampton running 24 hours a day doing dump truck racking in $500+ a day.

 

Legal is the key word. I know guys who used to make 200k plus bed buggin' but if they ever made a mistake they would have lost it all and everything was so far from legal it was nuts.
The highest paid company rates I've seen so far are only 80k and that's in the us working for Wal-Mart and that's Union. Everywhere I've worked in Canada was always 50-70k depending on how hard/often you stopped.

 

Yep, my uncle ran the farthest thing from legal for a year running 24 hours a day. When CRA came around asking him how he made $160k after taxes if he's only allowed to work 14 hours a day. Being inquired as we speak...

When I was working at challenger it would be possible to do 55k after tax for a new solo drivers. So yeah I'd say 50-70k is a reasonable number.