The Adventure Begins

Good luck man!

 

good luck and thanks for your service

 

Welcome to the forum and thank you for your service!

Yes there will be recruiters that will come and speak at your school. Usually from the top 5 mega-carriers.

There are also many other good companies out there! I highly recommend you take the time to do your homework and check out some companies that are less known. Keep in mind those mega-carriers spend millions of dollars in advertising to get you to work for them.

There is nothing wrong or evil about them but they are what they are, large corporations that use cheap, inexperienced labor. The dispatchers are responsible for hundreds of drivers making you the driver just a number.

At the small to mid-size companies the dispatchers are responsible for a lot less drivers making it a more personal, one on one relationship. This is a very important key to your success. Your dispatcher is going to make you or break you and you are solely dependent on them for your income. If you have a personal relationship then that allows for some back scratching!

However, if you are interested in doing the team driving thing then I would recommend the opposite. The larger the company, the more trailers, the more trailers, the more drop and hook, the more drop and hook, the more miles and miles = $$$

Decide what field of trucking you think interests you the most. Flatbed, dryvan, reefer, heavy haul, tanker etc... Make yourself a list of your wants and needs and start doing your research. Once you have narrowed your choices down to a couple dozen or so companies then start making calls to their recruiters to get the finer details. Its good to have a list of questions already prepared to ask for the recruiter.

Hope fully home time isn't a big concern for you. Being in the military you should have some expertise in that field! If you can stay out there on the road for a couple months at a time you can make some pretty decent money. Plus your dispatcher will love you! The drivers that stay out longer tend to get the better miles.

When doing your research don't fall for the companies that offer the most cents per mile. This doesn't necessarily mean you will make more money than another company. It may mean that they don't run a lot of miles!

School should be a blast! Once you are done and go out with your trainer that can be a lot of fun too and usually goes by quicker than you hoped!

Take your time learning all you can before hand. This website by far is a very informative tool!

Good luck on your journey man! Feel free to ask us any questions!

 

I really found school to be enjoyable! Actually had a blast! Don't stress about how you are doing or how you are progressing, it just take a little time behind the wheel to get used to it. You said you drive fire trucks so this shouldn't be too far off! Wish I had a siren though in my truck!

While you are in school keep doing your company research. You really want to have something lined up before you are done with school. As soon as you graduate you want to be able go right to your chosen company. You really are limited as far as time spent out of school until the time you start. It really is to your own benefit though to get there asap while everything is still fresh in your mind. Once you get to orientation you will take a driving test and it is so much easier having just left school then to wait a few weeks.

Once you head out with your trainer is when the real world training starts! You will probably learn more on day one with your trainer than the whole time in school! This is provided your trainer knows what he/she is doing. If for any reason you do not get along with your trainer or you feel they are not training you properly, then you need to immediately let the safety dept know what is going on and request a new trainer. This is not a big deal and happens quite frequently. Keep in mind that this is your career and you do not want to do anything to jeopardize it. There is another thread on this site in which a driver for England was being trained improperly and wasn't filling out logs. Well he got fired and is now up "poo creek" without a paddle because he has absolutely no experience and now a bad DAC record! So be smart about what goes on out there! A trainer should never touch, influence, forge, sign etc... your logs!!!

As far as choosing your company there are more companies out there besides the top 5 mega-carriers that the school recommends (they get paid to do so!). Those companies spend millions of dollars in advertising to get YOU to work for THEM! Makes you think twice huh? The companies that don't have to advertise for drivers means their turn-over rate isn't as high and their drivers are happier. I highly recommend a good medium size carrier (maybe less than 300-400 trucks). These carriers will treat you like a human being instead of a number and this will greatly increase your chances of success! A dispatcher that is in charge of 10-30 drivers instead of 200 drivers is more apt to help you succeed. It is very important to have a good relationship with your dispatcher as this is the utmost key to your success!

Sorry for rambling, just giving you a little heads up as to what to expect out there!

Good luck man!

 

I had a cousin that was in the Air Force and stationed in Kadena for years on a fire crew . When he got out of the Air Force he got a Civil Service job as a fireman at Hanscom AFB as a fireman . You can combine military and civil service years toward retirement . Government jobs offer a lot better pay and opportunity than low paying OTR companies .
The sorry ### BFI starter companies will not consider your government driving time . They want trainees recently graduated or someone with recent OTR experience . They will tell you you have to pay for a refresher course .