Current student new to trucking, advice?

Discussion in 'The Welcome Wagon' started by Sir Bacon, Mar 29, 2011.

  1. Mar 29, 2011 #1
    Sir Bacon

    Sir Bacon Bobtail Member

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    Mar 29, 2011
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    Greetings,

    I'm a current truck driving school student about a week from getting my CDL, and have been considering my options as to where I'd like to start my truck driving career. I realize that it generally takes a year of two of experience to move on to most of the more highly sought after jobs, so if anyone could recommend a company that would present the best miles, pay, benefits, without completely sacrificing home time, I'd appreciate it.

    Incidentally, I have a clean background and driving record, which I know will directly affect an individual's ability to get hired, so hopefully that helps give me a slight advantage over the general public in terms of finding a good job in the trucking industry.

    Sadly I found this forum after Google'ing one of the companies that I've already applied with, and have found some mixed results. So I'd be more than glad to hear about some real world experiences from truck drivers so I can best weigh my options.

    Thanks in advance for the assistance.

    Cheers.
     
    Sir Bacon, Mar 29, 2011
    Sir Bacon, Mar 29, 2011
    #1
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  3. Mar 29, 2011 #2
    Gears

    Gears Trucker Forum STAFF - Gone, But Not Forgotten.

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    Hey Bacon... welcome to the forum.
    You'll find plenty a lot of mixed reviews here. Do your research and make your best educated decision and stick with it.
     
    Gears, Mar 29, 2011
    Gears, Mar 29, 2011
    #2
  4. Apr 3, 2011 #3
    Sir Bacon

    Sir Bacon Bobtail Member

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    4 days later, this thread has yielded a single greeting/general advice comment... so much for the warm welcome.
     
    Sir Bacon, Apr 3, 2011
    Sir Bacon, Apr 3, 2011
    #3
  5. Apr 3, 2011 #4
    DrFlush

    DrFlush Road Train Member

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    Don't worry about that, take the advice, I think this is a great place to get information, I know I feel alot better about the decisions I have made because of the posts on this site.
     
    DrFlush, Apr 3, 2011
    DrFlush, Apr 3, 2011
    #4
  7. Apr 3, 2011 #5
    xlsdraw

    xlsdraw Road Train Member

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    Since you're in Wisconsin, the obvious choice would be Roehl. They have probably the most hometime options of any starter company. They are on the high end of pay scale for students. Wel Companies also out of Wisconsin, is a pretty good company. I'm not cool with their new hold-back policy to cover some of their training expense in case you don't stay with them. Other than that they have a pretty good rep.
     
    xlsdraw, Apr 3, 2011
    xlsdraw, Apr 3, 2011
    #5
  8. Apr 3, 2011 #6
    Mastertech

    Mastertech Staff Leader / Admin Staff Member Administrator

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    3rd Rock From The Sun.
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    Welcome to the Truckers Report.
    Rather than asking questions in this forum I would suggest you post your questions in which ever forum fits your question and you will get much more help. There are allot of very knowledgeable and helpful people here....just don't get an attitude if you don't get answers immediately.
     
    Mastertech, Apr 3, 2011
    Mastertech, Apr 3, 2011
    #6
  9. Apr 5, 2011 #7
    Lilbit

    Lilbit Road Train Member

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    Welcome to the party!
     
    Lilbit, Apr 5, 2011
    Lilbit, Apr 5, 2011
    #7
  10. Apr 12, 2011 #8
    cruisecontrol

    cruisecontrol Medium Load Member

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    I believe that maybe this section gets less hits then some of the others. I know its a welcome page, but I would assume, most like myself, went into where all of the traffic was. Try the page with the DAC reports. Talk about alot of mixed reviews..lol
     
    cruisecontrol, Apr 12, 2011
    cruisecontrol, Apr 12, 2011
    #8
  11. Apr 12, 2011 #9
    ronin

    ronin Road Train Member

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    The first advice I can give is to lose the attitude... trust me, there are plenty of attitudes in trucking to go around.

    I don't surf the welcome wagon... I usually just watch things that I normally relate to.

    The biggest advice I can give you is to never assume you know everything, or since you've done it before everything is the same - that's how you wipe out the side of a trailer or truck, but having a false sense of security.

    And I don't care what the supertruckers on the CB say, I don't care if it takes you 20 minutes to get backed in correctly, take 20 minutes. If you rush it, there's going to be problems... I've seen more sideswipe and backing accidents because some guy wants to impress the other guys at the loading dock...

    It's just like I tell people when I DJ karaoke... go out and do your own thing, don't worry about anyone else - you'll never see those people again, most likely... and if you don't they won't remember you as "the guy who smacked their truck".
     
    ronin, Apr 12, 2011
    ronin, Apr 12, 2011
    #9
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