What company is good for someone coming out of school?

Schuster - Official Site
schusterco.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Take a look at this company that hires new cdl grads. Maybe they hire Washington drivers. Their big account is Blue Bunny Ice Cream that loads out of Le Mars, Iowa. They run all over the USA.

 

You should get to Yakima sometime. It ships everything we eat east of there as a Country. Wenatchee is probably coin mining more than apples now but Yakima is food of all sorts.

Half the state towards Spokane is farm. Flat. Spokane is not necessarily a good host with their vicious traffic.

If you have not seen the rest of the USA, best get cracking and run around. There is so much to see.

Grab your spouse with you when you earned the right to carry a passenger.

 

Yes a grain of salt, but on the other hand some of the abuses common are still going on today, including that .38 a mile.

 

Jumping around is almost like the kiss of death.

The first year is tough, because all those companies know your options are limited.

You need them, they don't really need you.

Schneider has pretty good trainers. I drove for them locally in a day cab, the money was decent, and so was the equipment.

Their seasoned drivers were all good.

They have a good training program and classroom.

The biggest tip no one ever gives new drivers is "Don't jump around."

Make your first goal just to stay put at that company, whichever one you choose, for a year.

I know Schneiders trainers all have some time under their belts. A lot of places trainers don't.

Once you start getting your feet wet, form a plan where you want to be in 2 or 3 years.

Hauling fuel, flatbed, just van. Local deliveries.

Stuff pays good. You just gotta pay your dues and get some experience.

Form a plan "Man that's for me." And just don't take your eye off of it.

 

I used to say quite often in TTR, your first year, or even the first 3 months is the Absolute MOST dangerous time against you.

Dispatchers rub their hands in greed ready to run you fresh meat into the ground within 90 days. Should you dare complain all they do is give you rope and wait until you quit.

What you have not yet learned will be used against you. If you let it.

The best defense? One word: "No." applied carefully and with reason, supported by DOT regulations, chapter and verse and so forth. DO NOT be a child wailing and shrieking every time someone says you cannot have that before dinner just yet. It gets tiresome. But if you are careful, consistent and do not hit anything with that truck, you have actually a chance within three years staying with one employer a golden ticket to anywhere in this industry.

 

Might I suggest if you ever go Swift pay Albuquerque, Nm A vistit for OTR they are some the very best driver managers I have ever encounter in swift best part most they are former drivers there from the fleet manager and down they have always run me well until I switch to more home time it went downhill.

Lancaster which I am based out of is one the ones my trainer told me and even I didn't understand till late why he said it was a cesspool. The shop will hold your truck a month-two or whenever they feel to fix it if they fix it. Expect trailers with expired inspection the last one was 265 days old I don't run them but other drivers will which make sense I think most the drivers there are a joke there are exceptions to that rule few and far between.

Make sure whoever you pick is up to your standards not just what you think your standards based on your experience.

 

I would stay away from Swift, and choose Schneider. Training is 3 weeks. One week is all classroom, one week is driving with a city driver, and one week is driving with an OTR driver. It ain’t bad.

Sure, the pay is low, like $1k/week, possibly a little higher. Don’t expect to hit it rich your first year, and don’t expect $65k your first year either. $45-50k is more realistic.

You will get frustrated, but the dispatchers at Schneider are much easier to deal with than those at Swift. Plus, they give you work to do, you don’t have to call them and beg for every load you get (you do this at Swift).

Don’t break anything, because if you do, and even if you come out of pocket and repair it yourself, they will put it on your DAC! Be mindful of this.

As others have said, stay one year. Of course, after six months, a better opportunity will come along, and it will be completely up to you if you want to act on that or not. My first year, I worked for three companies. Second year, only two.

I suggest staying away from companies who allow you to work for them with 6 mos. experience. The dispatcher may be nicer, the grass even appear to be greener, but the pay ain’t going to change that much. Trust me.