Best Company For a New Driver

I like redheads but I'm married to a blonde!

 

Any ltl company. Start on bottom and work your way up.

 

I recently graduated CDL school. I listened to the recruiters that came through and studied these forums religiously. I didn't want to get caught up in the mill. From what I've heard it's easy to fail in this industry. Driving a big rig can be overwhelming. It still is for me but things are starting to calm down a bit. I delivered my first load today so that was a major notch in my belt I suppose.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I spent a lot of time looking for the best opportunity I could find for a rookie. I hear all the time about how you have to pay your dues, but I felt that didn't mean I had to suffer financially during my first few years. I decided to get into tanker driving because it promised more money on a weekly basis than a lot of seasoned drivers make over the road.

The oilfields are booming all over the US it seems and Schneider is getting into it hard and heavy. I found one position guaranteeing 1,100 bucks weekly in salary and I jumped on it. Most other oilfield companies require at least two years experience. It's a starter company I know, but it's not a starter wage. The way I see it is it's an opportunity.

So anyway that's one more thing to consider while you are in school. It's a lot of work to be sure, but at least you can have confidence knowing what is at the end of the rainbow. Have a look at the tanker opportunities on the Schneider website, and if you do decide to go that route list me as a reference. : )

 

Congrats Grendavik! Good point and way to think outside the box! I try to tell the newbies that they don't have to follow the rest of the herd and work for the top 5 mega-carriers that their schools push on them. I can understand though since they are being paid to do so. There are so many other opportunities out there you just need to take the time to check them out.

 

Amen. pick one, pay your dues for 6-12 months, then if you are not happy you can go most anywhere.

 

I am currently attending AIT in Las Vegas and they have had the Werner recruiter in three times so far. Swift stopped by briefly but did not even come in the classroom. Covenant has been in twice. Of these three I would chose none of them based upon my personal research. Take some time and do some research and you will find a lot of companies willing to hire new graduates. The biggest decision will be what fits you as far as pay, equipment, hometime etc. I am also working full time while attending school part time and I am married with four little ones at home. So it can be difficult to find the time to do the research I know. However I think if you take the time, and this thread is a good start you will find what you are looking for. Best of luck to you and keep those grades up!

 

The biggest challenge will be wrestling hoses. A lot of the work is mental because you have to haul HazMat. You have to learn how to handle various chemicals and how to calculate what you have in the tank and the amount of space remaining in the customer tank so you don't overfill it. As long as you are comfortable with being on a catwalk at the height of a tanker top (in not so fun weather sometimes) then the rest is fairly easy.

You'll want to have a tanker endorsement and a HazMat endorsement. Takes 2 to 3 weeks right now to get HazMat in Texas. Prolly about the same in other states. They have to do a background check and digital fingerprinting. Costs around $80 - $85. Tanker is pretty easy. You can probably take it when you take the other tests you need for your CDL.

Here is a link to a site with practice tests: http://www.cristcdl.com/otc/

I did those and was able to pass first try.