Exp. drivers if you were a new grad, who would you pick for a starter company?

Experience should be a sure indication of knowledge, etc., but it just isn't. Probably everyone knows someone who's been doing something for 20 years, maybe driving, maybe making a decent or great living, and isn't worth squat at it. We have a local home re-modeler here with 40 years who stays busy but shouldn't be permitted to patch a tent.

 

The one thing that hasn't changed in my 33 years is isn't easy to get into trucking without being screwed over .
That being said there is no need to be treated like trash because you have no experience !!
You might not get a local job right out of school but if you put in a little shoe leather and go to the local companies you will find one that will give you a chance if you work your cards right .

By local company I don't mean it has to be local trucking but that the company is a local owned company .
The mega company is just easier to get a job with but in 33 years I have never worked for and never will work for a mega company and I have never been out of work for a day that I didn't want to be.
It would have been easier at times to just roll over and go to a mega but I have more pride in myself than to sell myself that cheap and easy.

If you want a good job from day one you have to WORK at it !!
That means more than filling out online apps .

The thing to remember the man that owns most small to middle size companies is he is most likely old school and will give you a better chance to prove yourself if you look him in the eye and tell him want to work with him rather just fill out a online app and wait for them to call you .
Trucking is a job where you have to be a go getter to get the good jobs always has been always will be.
There are a million jobs for the millions of run of the mill wheel holders but there a allot of good jobs for the ones willing to step out of the heard and prove that they are not willing to just another run of the mill wheel holder !!!

I have said it before and i will say it again just because you just got a CDL is no reason to let yourself be used and abused for even a day just because that is what every says you need to do.
Just because they let themselves be treated that way doesn't mean you have to .

Again do the leg work and don't take the easy way out and you will be a better and happier driver for it .
Like your mother used to say ...just because everyone else is jumping off the bridge doesn't mean you have to !!!

OK my old crusty driver sermon ends for today so take care and good luck .

 

My wife & I started back in March with US Xpress. We did OTR Dry Van the first months. We were working hard but our paychecks were only $300 to $600 a week. What we've learned is that if you do OTR then that equates to being available for loads that need to be filled by the company. Your doing the company a favor & in return you hope at the end of the week to have a $1,000+ paycheck.

Forget working hard. Work smart. The drivers I talked to who were making money were the guys on dedicated accounts. The money is consistent, stress is low, intelligence of the people you deal with is higher, docks aren't complicated.

The Mega Carriers do have a lot of negatives but I think Dinomite is correct in that A LOT of people get into this industry with trucking not in their blood. They NEED a paycheck so they sign up with no career plan.

It's hard to find the perfect small company.

 

WOW....3 pages and not 1 answer to your question...truly amazing
1) Melton
2) Millis (they have their own school but see if they will recognize your school/training, I have no idea if they will)
3) Schneider tank division
In that order, all top shelf companies, with top shelf equipment. You will NOT start at the top of the pay scale, because you are a rookie not because of the name on the truck door, you have to work your way up to it. And your first assigned truck probably won't be brand new either, for the same reason you won't start at top pay. If you are willing to put a little effort into it, any one of those 3 can turn into a fairly lucrative career, and if your looking for stepping stones I'm sure they will accommodate you. Actually Schneider tank division would be #1 but most folks are afraid of tanks.

 

As much as this pains me being a former TMC driver, I'm gonna say Maverick. Why? Flats and reefer. Decent reputation last I heard. Equipment looks good. Drivers I've talked to seem to like it. Caveat: I don't actually know how much experience they require to start.

 

Maverick hires rookies

 

She shouldn't have any problems getting home living in Knoxville with I-75, I-40, I-81 right there. Especially I-40 running to the West Coast.

 

If I was a rookie, where would I go looking for my first gig...

Any flatbed company that I could get my foot in the door with.


1. How much do you pay starting out?
2. How much does your average driver make?
3. How much money did your top driver make?
4. What speed is your trucks governed to?
5. Can I take the truck home? (Slipseating joints don't allow this, and I don't slip seat).
6. When can I start?

and I would leave the house with everything I needed to stay out 6 months. "SIX MONTHS?"

Within a year, I will be near the top of the pile. With a new company, I need to learn their system and develop a rhythm. Get into the rhythm, stay in the rhythm and increase the speed of the rhythm. Experienced flatbed drivers have a rhythm they work that makes the securing and tarping look easy. It's sort of like carpenters and roofers driving nails. Don't think 'speed' or being in a hurry, think 'efficiency of movement'.

"So I have X amount of days to make X amount of money. They are paying me x per mile. What do I have to do to make the money that I want to make at this company? How many miles do I have to run per day, how many loads do I have to do per week?"

'But what about home time? You haven't said anything about home time! That once every 6 months stuff ain't going to work"

I am starting off as a rookie, remember? I will only be a rookie once. That first 6 month stint away from the house would be for me to establish a constant rhythm. Now when I leave the house, I would be interested to see if I can jump back to the exact same rhythm I was at before I went to the house.

After that year, I would go after the job I really wanted, be it car hauling, hazmat, munitions, whatever.

 

So True!
Same in every industry I'm sure.
:smt006

 

Good advise,
Thank you.
:smt006