The best jobs for a nebie?

if you like flatbeds... try maverick ....

 

Well two things, did you attend a school to get your CDL, or did you work on it your own? That alone will determine how you are going to have to proceed if you want to get into OTR.

If you went to a school, and it is a recognized one then you can look at several companies out there that hire students:

• Maverick
• Crete
• Prime
• Schneider (sometimes but not always)
• The newbie companies (Swift, CR England, etc.)

You really just have to do research. However, even though you have your CDL just about every company is going to require you to do trainer time because you have no OTR experience at all. From my understanding, local experience doesn't count for anything with any OTR company.

BOL and keep us posted.

 

That's just not true. It all depends on what kind of local work you're doing. Some local is harder than OTR. We required tanker experience and wanted local driving since you gain hardly any experience with traffic OTR. If you're driving a straight truck around town then sure your experience is limited but if you're pulling two 40' belly dumps or a gasoline tanker around then I would say you could handle any OTR situation. If the company will not sit down and go over what you've done then that would raise a red flag with me.

If I were in that situation I'd look at companies that have drivers that retire and the hiring is done by a person that knows trucks and not someone just going by what his company says to do. I'd go out and hit the bricks and not just be suckered by the larger driver mills. If you have any tractor trailer experience then use that because it puts you above the student that has none. Look in the phone book for trucking companies then go see them. Get out and drive around and find the terminals. Sure you can go to the bad 5 and most likely get hired but how long would you stay there?

 

I just qurried "trucking companies in Dallas TX" and came up with a huge list. If I were you and you had a day off during the week I'd take that list and go see some of those companies. I believe you'd have a much better career in looking that way than just going to the companies that have recruiters. You have a job so why not take your time and find a company where you might have a future with?

 

I find that hard to believe. So the fact that I have been driving local for 23 years, doubles and triples twice a week, 28' single 3 days a week, no accidents or tickets means I have no experience? Their loss!

 

It is the truth. My friend, who drives for KAG, told me some prefer it as you know how to drive the truck in city areas than over the road. My dads old company, Designers Choice, wants local driving too as some drivers are assigned to local runs and once again, know how to run in the city limits where traffic can be pain.

King

 

Sejod..........

My understanding is, it is more of an insurance issue. The policies of the " smaller " companies insist on drivers with 2 years otr experience.


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My thoughts exactly. We had some drivers up in Portland OR that had over 30 years driving in the city with no accidents, spills, tickets, or contaminations and most of us consider them legends. Driving a 85' 110,000lbs, 12,450 gallon truck and trailer all over the city with 5 to 6 loads a day is a 100 times harder than driving any OTR. I've done both.