Thinking about trucking

Blueeyes

I always take any complaint about a company with more than a grain of salt. Much of it can be attributed to ignorance, or simply personality (the company and driver just don't fit together).

However, when there are large numbers of complaints about a given company, .. well, the salt adds up.

When there are complaints about a company from outsiders, the salt adds up faster.

I just got my CDL. Before I even started the process, I did research - just like you are doing. I also went to local truck stops and talked to drivers. If Driver A says "This company stinks" and also says "I've been with this company for 10 years".. it rather destroys the 'it stinks' scenario, ne?

For my money, try to stay away from the big companies. See if something medium sized (1000 drivers or so) will hire out of school. I know some do

Alternatively, if you don't have your heart set on OTR, you can look at local. Right out of school I got a call from a local belly-dump operation. And I got the word about a local tanker operation (that,I'm interested in - lots of mountain driving! Telephone call with HR and application already sent back to them,)

Local isn't usually paid by miles - it's by the load, by the hour, or salaried. The belly-dump operation offered by the hour or salaried. You got to decide which you like. Higher hourly pay if you get paid by the hour, but a paycheck every week if you went salaried... Short trailers too... 32ft


Let's see... ah. Recruiters. Keep in mind their job. They make their money based on how many bodies they put behind the wheel. They don't care if you quit after 2 weeks. It's absolutely in their best interest to make their company sound like Grandma's cooking (unless you knew my grandmother.. TERRIBLE cook). While I doubt most of them actively lie, they can, and do lie by omission, and provide distorted facts.

"Average Pay" is a good one. If 4 drivers are making $300/week, and one is making $1500 a week, average pay is $540. Ask, instead, about 'typical' pay - and make sure their answer isn't "average pay". A number of recruiters I talked to couldn't - or wouldn't - differentiate. I may be missing a sweet job, but I'm not working for those companies.

You get the idea. Talk to real employees, and ignore 99% of what the recruiters tell you.

Oh - and safety. Yeah. I don't know of a company that doesn't claim "log it as you drive it", but I honestly don't know how many actually abide by that in dispatch. There, you HAVE to talk to drivers. Take a look at the company's safety record. Read boards and blogs... Eventually, just take that step and work for them. If they constantly want you to break the law, document the heck out of it - and leave. There is ALWAYS another job in this industry.

 

This is a bad time to ask about trucking pay. The economy is so bad and the fuel prices so high that even the trucking industry is suffering right now. Where good miles and stable paychecks were the norm this time last year, everything has changed. The normal first of the year slow down has not picked up and companies are downsizing and looking for any way possible to save money and try to ride out the storm so to speak. What I'm saying is right now there are a lot of folks really upset about getting bad miles and pay accordingly. Now this country is fully dependent on the trucking industry for everything and the industry will rebound when supply and demand come back into balance. However, you need to understand that this is a bad time in the industry (heck its hard getting a job period), a lot of folks are hanging on for dear life, but things are bound to get better. I for one look forward to a long driving career but I am singing the low miles blues at the moment.