Am I makein a mistake

Our buddies home is in forclosure after going through "training school", passing all his tests, and driving for the company for 3 months. He's a good man. He is not losing his home due to a subprime loan either. He believed the numbers.

Here is the latest eye opener the recruiters do not tell you; those "miles" they pay you for are not the actual miles you drive. They have a system that tells you how many miles you will be paid for. My husband just got screwed out of 200 miles. That is 3 1/2 hours of slave labor.

 

Ahhh, spoken like a true Law Enforcement professional.

There's one side of the story, the other side of the story, and somewhere in the middle is the truth.

Yeah, I worked security at a Six Flags theme park for a while. So I'm sort of like a retired cop. HA!

The sad part is, some of the security "officers" I worked with actually did think they were cops. We'd just laugh at their nice flashlights and their attitude while they busted people for line jumping. That job was actually a blast.

 

All answers are good, but it really just depends on the kinda decisions you make while out there....It's a big lifestyle change though...and once you get sucked into, it's hard to go back. Trucking is painfully addictive...

Get with a good solid company..Knight...Roehl...and a few others...stay away from Werner, as a new driver CR England. Werner was a good company back in the day...I don't know what happened to them...

And the main thing is keep a upbeat positive attitude...

 

LadyBird,

Sorry to hear about the issues with your husband and his buddy. Unfortunately, times are tough and likely to get worse before getting better. I think most of us are here for the right reasons, to earn a decent living, support our families, start a new career, etc. I, for one, am going into trucking for several reasons... I need the money to keep my house, keep food on the table, etc. Most of my wife's family has only ever been in trucking, so I've been around it for years and was always curious about trying my hand at it. I love to drive, and to travel, and spent 8 years recently as a sales rep traveling multiple states on the east coast. Now that I'm home all the time, quite honestly, it's grown rather boring seeing the same old scenery day after day. I also am quite specific in my goals... to gain experience, pay some bills, and then get my own truck(s) and get into hauling coal, gravel, etc. locally, just as most of my wife's family has done for years.

Unfortunately, there are many carriers out there that prey on the weak, uninformed, etc. The primary reason I'm here is to research the industry and get the word 'from the horse's mouth' rather than from a recruiter. I've learned a lot on this forum, thanks to many members that happily share their experiences and help us newbies negotiate our way through the darkness of ignorance.

At nearly 50 years of age, I've worked for 35 years in several different professions, have grown children, even grandchildren. I've been in the military, in law enforcement, and had many other experiences. I've been taken advantage of enough over the years to have learned by experience and I know now to ask lots and lots of questions and not believe every answer I get. I feel like I'm rambling now, but I guess my point is this... Not all of us just stumbled blindly into trucking, believing everything we were told by recruiters, with stars in our eyes and counting the thousands of dollars that are soon to be mounting in our bank accounts after taking the wheel of a big rig. Perhaps there are those here like that, but I feel most are not nearly that niave. I know that I sometimes resent some of the replies I get here that must presume I'm some starry-eyed newbie that hasn't a clue, and I'm sure others here resent that as well.

I guess the bottom line for me is... we're all here for different reasons and have had different experiences. Rather than ridicule one another for whatever reason, I think we should all, including myself, try to help each other out, to figure out the best ways to manage in a new profession that offers enough challenges already.

God Bless and I truly hope things improve for you and your family and for your buddy as well!

IronRydr

 

Thank you! I completely agree and considering the state of affairs we do need to support each other. We need to band together to fight some of the rediculous laws against truckers, lying recruiters, and the unscrupulous business practices of fleet owners. Man things have changed.

There seems to be some awesome happy truckers here, and there are those who have been screwed by the recruiters and lost everything. I have emersed myself this last week in all of it but don't take anything personal. I don't think most Forum members are intending to belittle anyone. Folks are hurtin'. (In one post I wrote that I was so edgy from reading all the horror stories I was going to go curl up in the corner and rock back and forth. )

I wouldn't be surprised if every Pennysaver in the country has recruiter adds in it. The things people have written about how the schools have effected the industry are true. When I go to apply for a job, I expect clarification on my pay - full disclosure. This is not happening and I'll be tellin our story. My motivation is simply to spare anyone from being blindsided. These are difficult times, no one has the right to profit off the hopes and dreams of others.

 

You can't pick up ANY paper in MS, without a Werner "training" ad in it. All promising up to $800 or more a week, after training.

Over the past 2 weeks, I have had to sort through 100's of ads for Werner, Swift, Schneider, and Covenant. All wanting "students".

NONE advertising for experienced drivers. The only real driving jobs I have found, are off grid. IE Not advertised in the most common places.

2 of our local "training" schools. Are offering a limited time discount for training, only $2400. Excluding room and meals of course.

There are still good paying jobs out here. But they are getting grabbed up as soon as someone finds them. Think too long, and the job is gone.

 

Danc,

Even as a newbie, I couldn't agree more. I do have positions secured with two different carriers and debated about a third. Turns out, the third one would likely have been the best choice, but by the time I called them today, all seats were full. I guess I'll just be grateful to get started anywhere, presuming that I'll earn a decent paycheck. With that, I'll take whichever position opens up first and plan on staying there unless something unbelievably good comes along.

Hopefully things will start improving later this year and we all won't continue to feel so desperate.