Starter Company

seriously? Theres a #### in every thread

 

Gordon, (Albany); May (Brooks); Schneider, Knight, and Swift, (Portland); all have terminals in Oregon.

They all take entry level drivers.

Maybe more I only now these.

 

Swift actually isn't bad if you get into a dedicated account. We have people coming into our account straight off of their mentor's truck.

 

yeah at what? 30CPM?

 

redstar , you might want to try and figure out just what kind of trucking "you" want to do. You might like pulling a reefer , or you might like pulling a flat-bed...those things you need to decide for your self , and really before you get done with your schooling. There are all kind of trucking jobs with all kinds of different work skills needed. You need to find your niche , then work towards it. Lots of drivers get discouraged , for the simple reason the type of trucking they got into 1st left a bad taste in their mouths...take some time.....look into the different aspects of this trade and head into the direction that you think is best for you. Food service was my choice ( did it for over 30 years with the same company GSF..... it was the perfect job for ME )....not for everybody however...hard work , crazy schedule ( most runs began shortly before mid-night ), but great pay / benefits and I was home every night....some guys would run not walk away from a job like that because it's not their thing....But look around , ask questions , and above all listen....good luck!

 

Wipper, those companies always hire, and there's a reason for that. Clutchwrecker seems to feel he's doing the company a favor hiring on with them. It's actually a 2-way arrangement, the company puts up the truck, their customers and their reputation, the driver hires to pick up and deliver loads on time. Maybe there's a company out there who will hire on an inexperienced driver for $.38-.$48/mile, but I don't know of any. You have to get some experience, get your learning curve flattened out - then you have something of value to hire out. The mega carriers Wipper mentions are sometimes referred to here as "bottom feeders," and there's a reason for that as well. I hired on with Swift out of my CDL refresher, for $.26/mile. Plenty of consistent miles, pay on time, mostly good equipment...in 6 months I was up to $.31/mile. Swift also has a $.04/mile bonus quarterly if you are good. No service failures, no at-fault accidents. Hmmm: $.30 + $.04 = $.35. That's very competitive for someone with 6 months experience. I don't know about the others, but if someone gives you a chance to get rolling, that's good. Sorry, Wipper, but inexperienced drivers need a place to start. One other thing. If some company says they pay more, $.42 or something, they probably have shorter routes, fewer miles and more stops. My $.02.

 

I just can't see how you figure a new driver will make a living in this business if he or she doesn't care about or respect the owner's investment and trust in an inexperienced driver. If that was your own money, your own $100K truck, would that help you care about it a little more? I think it would. What about that? Is it a double standard?

Let me contribute this. I bought a used Freightliner last year, and I've been doing well enough to consider adding another truck to my little enterprise. Please, believe me when I say, I will not be hiring a driver who doesn't care how much I invested in my equipment, a driver who only thinks his paycheck is the whole story. In fact, trucks are pretty easy to find, a little harder to buy, but a good, safe, reliable driver is the hardest part of the formula. Really.

 

Never said the company wasn't risking anything. If you're gonna suggest he go with a a mega carrier, you need to make sure he's informed on what's going to happen if he goes with one. He needs to know the majority of them will not provide him with a truck that idles properly, or a company that is partial to treating drivers like walmart associates.

Re-read my first post. I outlined some very basic details, that are easy to find when shopping around for a starter company. In my second post, I mentioned that it's sometimes necessary to make concessions just to get into this industry.
Is that always the case? No, absolutely not. I'm sure of the fact that there's at-east one or two guys running around on these forums and roads, that got out of CDL school and snagged a good job with a good company that said they required over 1 year otr experience, and they had none.

Their names don't come to mind, but ask Chinatown, and he will point you in the right direction.

Even having 6 months of OTR experience can open quite a lot of doors. Again, one might to have to strike a few concessions to get in the door, that doesn't mean he doesn't at-least deserve not to freeze his ### off in the winter, or sweat it off in the summer. When I went with FFE for their "Training academy", I knew I was going to be the lowest man on the totem pole for a good long while. I was right. I got the crap loads.

Not only was I a company driver, I was a company trained driver, under contract who refused to lease a truck.

I never even tried to apply to a company that said it required experience, until it was too late. I was under contract and waiting to get out of FFE. About a month prior to my time with FFE coming to an end, I started spreading applications. I sent them to anyone/everyone that sounded like they might be a good company.

I sent several out to companies that "require over 2 years/200,000 miles OTR experience." I was very surprised to find that easily, over half of them called me back with prehires. I kept my nose clean, no incidents or accidents and my MVR was just about spotless, at that point.
A lot of these companies are willing to work with perspective employees when it comes to driving experience.

They don't always shoot you down at the gate, and it's important that this guy knows it.

It was commentary about loyalty, knowing when to have it, and how much of it to give.
I can appreciate that my company has made a large investment, getting me on the road. They have to appreciate that I'm on the road, in their truck. While that investment is indeed risky from the perspective of having a new and inexperienced driver behind the wheel, whoever put him in the truck knew the risk beforehand.

No one is going to be surprised if a newbie slides his truck under a parkway in NYC, or rolls on an exit ramp, or any number of things. Hence the lower pay.

But, drivers deserve the right to expect to be reimbursed for the work they've done fairly, and to be treated decently regardless of who they are and where they're from and what amount of investment from the company side has been thrown at them.

So saying "Well, we threw you in a brand new truck! Why are you so thankless" Is typically a bad reply to the C.R England guy that ran 2,500 miles last week, and got paid $100 for doing so.

And if it was my own truck, of course I would treat it better. It's mine, not some faceless leasing corporations. Did you really expect me to say "Hell naw! I'd beat the #### out of it, it's mine anyhow."

 

If you don't like who you chose, then find one that will meet your needs. Most new guys choose the wrong company because they don't know any better.

Doesn't make them a bad person, just naive in some cases, desperate for job in some cases too. I started with Raider Express out of Ft Worth, Texas. Chose the wrong company because I was naive, not desperate for a job and now I am looking to get back into the industry.

My DAC report simply says I worked there from this date to this date. Nothing wrong listed. Again, if you don't like something, move on.

 

I've heard nothing but good stuff about May, and they will take recent grads. Two things that aren't so swell: you can't take the truck Home, and they are governed at 61 mph, the latter which would personally make my head explode in places like AZ- NM- TX with the 75- 80 mph limits.