Using a bad trucking company for entry into trucking?

Doesn't matter if the company is good or bad as long as you get your cdl.

 

Is a 5 yr old 70 in 55 an issue just pulled my 7yr MVR and it's on their. I was 16 at the time and a permit holder and paid $0 for the ticket

 

I doubt that will be an issue. If it's less than 3 yrs. it can be a problem though.

 

Boy are you in for a rude awakening.

I'm not saying don't get into driving, but it takes a special kind of ahole to do this for more than a few years OTR or not.

Why do you think all those companies have such a great interest in someone with no experience; not even the credentials to drive a big truck? The turnover is sky high at those carriers. Some are moving on to "greener pastures" but several more found out first hand that trucking is not for them. They sure as hell aren't quitting because they've achieved financial independence.

Good luck, dude. Chinatown will steer you right.

 

Yup!It sure isn't driving around in a big rig like on family trip and looking cool while doing this.
I started driving because I saw ads in Polish newspaper in Chicago saying "Make $1500-2500 a week!" this and that.Little did I know what this $1500 is for.LOL I actually heard of a guy who got CDL,got a job,went on "training" trip (1 week) and quit before his first solo trip.

 

Happens all the time.

I went through Schneider's training program way back when. By the second week, half our class was gone. Some failed the whiz quiz. Some got homesick or some other excuse. I heard through the student grapevine that one guy was sent home for taking out a utility pole though I could never confirm.

A lot of people come out here looking for easy money. It's not rocket science, but it sure isn't easy either.

 

There's some food service companies that hire drivers with only the cdl permit. You learn by OJT while riding and driving with another driver and unloading at various food establishments.
Sygma Network
Reinhart Foodservice
McLane Foodservice
Performance Food Group
Apply for drivers helper job.

Personally, I'd rather work for CRST than foodservice. I've done foodservice and it's horrible. Ten months teaming with CRST looks much better, and the end result is the same; you get a cdl and enough experience to your choice of a hundred other companies.

 

OK, first of all you are stating you have financial issues already and want to get into trucking to get out of it, but you already work at a job making $60k a year? Well, your first several years you will make a lot less than that, and with you already having money issues... Well you are looking to fail. What you need to do is get rid of bills (cheaper house, sell the car and get a reliable, but not new one, and other such things to lower your monthly output.) Once you are at least doing better then just treading water, then start to save for a real school. It's not that expensive really.

Also, to answer the main question, none of the companies you listed are really bad. They may not be good companies, but neither are they bad. Just your typical bureaucratic, non-caring, faceless corporate bs to deal with. Any will work, but remember if you have trouble getting even $100 for training, they are uncaring, etc...

 

As a former IT Professional (PM), I know where you're coming from. Life on the road is very different than abusing developers in meetings. The job market for drivers is unreal. I know a guy who quit Stevens, CRST, JB Hunt, Werner and Schneider in less than a year. I don't recommend that but the fact that he could still get hired says a lot about the industry. My last few interviews in IT were unreal the other way - interviewing fifty applicants (five people a day every day for two weeks) for one contract position!

The gold standard for CDL experience is one year OTR. The large companies aren't too picky about who they hire. They can take a chance on new drivers because they self-insure. They tend to have high turnover (80-107%) for a reason though. That said, some are less evil than others. Some will start you at 25 cpm, some will start you at 46 cpm. Some will expect you to pay back the cost of your training with weekly payments, others will forgive the debt completely if you work for them for 10 months. Some will pay you while you're being trained. Chinatown can direct you to the good guys.

Once you finish your year on the road without issues with tickets or a serious accident you can get a better job. These tend to be with smaller companies who have to pay an insurance company, so their insurance company tells them who they can hire. Your one year of safe CDL driving is your passport to these better companies who have turnover closer to 10% or less. Overnight, you'll go from 30-something cpm to 54 cpm or more! Your location and chosen specialty (van, flatbed, reefer, dedicated, regional, linehaul, local, etc.) will have a lot to do with what you can earn and what your day behind the wheel will be like.

Trucking isn't just a job - it's a lifestyle. How do you feel about being away from home for weeks or months at a time? Do you need a shower every day? Do you mind having to drive from location to location looking for an empty trailer that never appears even after you've spent 11 hours looking for it, unpaid?

As long as you get the loads where they need to be on time, don't wreck your truck or commit any major sins (DUI, texting while driving, etc.) you'll get to see the country and most of the time the driving part is pretty nice. Management is largely invisible (compared to IT). I actually speak to my dispatcher about once a month, compared to pistol-whipping developers several times a day for submitting changes without doing a smoke test first.