Why would you want to do this for a career

I looked at the training companies and took what seemed like the middle of the road for beginning cents per mile wages. I looked at the fact that not many will give more than .28 cents per mile and of course I did not look at them all, just the main big mega's, Swft, CRST, Stevens, etc.

That company I stared with Raider Express, paid 30 cents per mile, talked about 3 pay raises in first year and found excuses for not giving the raises. One guy I went through school with, was given 1.5 cents per mile raise because he had an issue with logs that was so easily correctable that safety said, don't worry, we will just fix it for you.

 

A friend of mine called me and announced he went to orientation at US Xpress, talked up the company, no doubt reading off the recruiting propaganda they give to you and when I asked him how many people were in orientation on day 1 of 3, he said 60. I said what, he said yea but on day 2, it went down to 38, and on day 3, down to 27.

I said so you had the job from day 1 and he said, no, they were actually told that until each document was signed off on and they could pass a road test and the dot's, they were playing the waiting game.

I tried to be funny and asked him if there was a sign on the door that said "partially Unemployed walk this way" was visible, he said if I think I am such a super trucker, why don't I throw in an application and come down and I said, why should I, I didn't wake up this morning on the partially unemployed list.

 

Got the green light for National Carriers, just waiting for one piece of the background check puzzle to come back which has been delayed because of the holiday week.

Oh the irony of it all, when the trucking companies want to put someone back on the bus to go home, they know how to push paperwork, make phone calls, and get it done, when it comes to getting you on board, it is like watching a turtle race a greyhound.

 

I know alot about trucking because I come from a trucking family and so does my wife. My mother was even a road driver for Werner back in the day. I know first hand how to spot a real recruiter from a poo slinger and I know how the business works but I learn something new everyday here.

When I went home and announced I was going to driver for Raider Express, everyone around the dinner table had a very similar response amongst those present which was Bah ha ha ha ha ha hee hee ha ha, then it went to seriously, and I said why not and they said, if your that naive, I have a old cabover that has 3,000,000 miles on it that I will sell to you at the price of a KW T680.

That's when I learned that you need to do your research and make a wise choice from the start.