Quesetions for potential employers

I am getting into trucking after over 20 years in a totally different field (IT). The questions I'd ask a potential employer as a programmer aren't going to apply here. I'm so new to this that I don't know enough to know what I don't know. What questions should I ask a trucking company I'm considering to find out if it's a good company to drive for? Please feel free to elaborate on your answers. It can only help. I'd appreciate all serious input. Thanks in advance!

 

How often will you get home, average weekly miles, benefits/vacation, assigned trucks, detention pay, stop pay, layover pay, loading/unloading, training/trainer, where will you be running, how new are the trucks/trailers, maintenance, where to fuel, who pays tolls, who pays lumper fees, who pays scale tickets, direct deposit, bonuses, endorsements required, passenger policy, pet policy, trailer locks, king pin locks, emergency phone numbers/breakdown hotline, where are their terminals and do they have showers/food/24 hours, fuel cards, when is pay period ,.....etc

 

Also inverter and pet policies. Deadhead pay.

 

He's new. He is not going to ask all those questions because his options are limited at first.

To the OP, all of the companies who hire student drivers are going to be basically the same.

You're only real power to help yourself gain experience without being too abused is to stay with a smaller company IMO.

If they are big enough to be recruiting on a national level, they are bad news.

Go with the smallest company you can find in your area that hires trainees. That simple.

 

From a former software project manager for GE, welcome to the forum and the new reality. After being out of work for more than a year, finally decided to take any job I was able to do that provided a paycheck. Have been driving for a year now. The industry is pretty much the same no matter which company you start with as a new driver. Now making less than 1/3 of what I used to make, but it is a job and a pretty steady paycheck which has saved us financially. You can plan on being home three days every three weeks if you are lucky. Will probably start in the poorest piece of equipment the company has until you get some experience.
You are smart so listen to the experience on this forum and be careful on the road. Always remember you are pulling a 53 foot trailer and not "driving a truck".
The drivers on this forum have been great and you can get the answer to almost any question here.
Good luck and have patience, it is a hard adjustment from sitting at a desk in front of a computer screen.

 

Thanks to all for the good input. Keep it coming! This will be very helpful.

What does "To the OP" mean?

Rebound, what is it about a smaller company that makes it better, and why do you say to stay with a smaller company?

What is it about a company that is big enough to be recruiting on a national level that makes it bad news?

How do large and small companies compare when it comes to things like pay, perdiem, quality of equipment, miles, quality of management and dispatchers, and the things that the others have mentioned?

 

op = original poster= you.

 

No offense, but why in the world would you want to be a trucker?

 

I have an IT work history and I am done with it. most people don't know how much time and dedication it takes to be up and ready to handle IT demands of today.

take your time and read the forums, as there are many similar questions I have read that ask the same question. I believe someone made available a link to ask employers. sorry for not being any help: here is the link:
http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...evaluating-a-motor-carrier-the-interview.html

the reason why I say take your time, after spending some time on here you notice the issues that concern those who are into it. Sometimes it helps but other times it just gets foggy.

 

In the case of companies who hire trainees, the term 'small' is going to be relative...as in May Trucking, Watkins Sheppard, etc., 600 trucks verses 16,000 trucks.

The best trucking companies never need to advertise for drivers, so you don't even hear of most of them unless they are in your area. But, they use experienced drivers.

The big bottom feeders are bad to work for because they are publicly traded companies governed by shareholder's rights...they must maximize profits, even at the cost of abusing people.

They say it ain't so, their lobbyists say it ain't so, and their fancy PR says it ain't so, but it is true.

If you are smart, you will never again read another trucking company advertisement.