Are they all bad?

They are not all bad. Every company is going to have a certain number of unhappy people. The bigger the company, the more unhappy people there are. And unhappy people are louder than happy people. Look for the same type of complaints mentioned by multiple people. And beware the fly-by negative posters. Keep your eyes open and your attitude positive.

 

YOU are never going to find a company to work for that is 100% perfect. That's just impossible.

But you can find through reading and searching out information one that may fit what you are looking for.

There are always going to be complaints and the stories of how things have gone wrong.

It seems that the positive stuff is always put back on the shelf.

Keep searching and reading, you will find what you are looking for.

 

If you want my opinion, I'd go with a reffer company. We all need food right? The dry cargo slows during the year but food stays steady, and with the right company the runs are nice and long. I'm not telling you which company to go with, but I went with Stevens, yup I did. If you can hang through the orientation and training, you will have excelent training reconized throughout the industry. The catch is they like you to stay out for 5 weeks or so the money is a little low and there is plenty of gossip on this site about them.
I personally got in a bad situation with their company doctor and have been put out of work for almost 2 months
now but I think I will go back to them cause the runs are good as long as you are ontime and communicate needs and problems with them its not a bad place to work just dont get caught up in the B.S.
Yes they have an inhouse license mill to replace you if you dont like it or quit, Turnover is high, alot of people are NOT ready for the lifestyle then blame other factors as their reason of leaving.
yes you stay out a long time,
yes you can get more money elswhere,
But do they have the miles to go with the money?
And Stevens has decent trucks 05 or newer.
Theres alot of bad stuff on here about them, some true, but alot of it is embellished and exaggerated.
But I'll tell you this, do your own research on what companies you are interested in (there are tons of resources on line to check out companies) and compare what hometime, pay, and other "benefits" you would like to have. Then decide, Educate yourself.(DO YOUR HOMEWORK)! Thats the biggest thing I can express to you. Know what your getting into before hand so there are few suprises and you should be just fine in your new career. I miss it so bad it hurts, I cant wait to get back out there. Good Luck with it man.

 

Driving jobs and companies that hire drivers are like any other job or company. 90% of success is YOUR attitude, or what you put forth. No one company is the right one for every driver out there. There will be times where you sit all day, where you have to move freight by hand, where you'll only get 1000 miles a week, where you're out for 2-3 weeks, etc. If a company sees that you're a worker, not a complainer about everything, then most companies will treat you decent.

And I would look around locally to see what is available. Most everyone who graduates a school automatically thinks they're limited to picking from 4-5 of the large carriers. There are lots of regional companies no one ever hears about.

My advice is given freely, value accordingly!

 

This is so true. The large outfits are some of the worst of the worst as far as their treatment of the drivers and have soured many a drivers hopes of a career in otr trucking.

I will however say that I have gone to each company I have worked for with a positive attitude but you can see after not to long how you are treated not as a individual but a tool. And how you are perceived negatively by the people behind the security doors and Plexiglas partitions that you find at your average large OTR carrier.

The driving job I have now treats me like I am a member of a team meeting the goals for the company, not just someone who fills a seat in a truck and is constantly treated like a 4th grader.

All 3 of the OTR company's I worked for as a experienced driver with many years of driving with safety awards, longevity awards and perfect on time delivery's treated me like I just got off a training truck and was running my first load and seem to think that all drivers are complete idiots who constantly need to be reminded of everything about how to perform their job and what is expected.

I worked for USX for over 6 years and they treated me no different at day 1 then at day 1000 and none of them left me with the feeling that they viewed me as a professional who had demonstrated time after time that they needed little guidance to get the job done.

The company I work for now treats me like a member of the company not a tool to make a truck move like the OTR company's do.

If all you care about is miles and money then OTR work can make you some decent money. But I got tired of being told how to do my job for no reason by people who had never done it. And giving all my time to a job and being payed for only part of it.

 

There are very few good truckload carriers out there. The large ones (Werner, Covenant, England, JB Hunt etc...) are all best avoided. You will always donate alot of your time with the truckload carriers, your road expenses are high all in all the job is thankless and you tend to be grossly underpaid. Miles will never be anywhere near predictable, you'll usually be trained by an idiot and this is all after you've been promised the moon by some slimy recruiter.
My advice to you would be to focus your search on LTL carriers. The turnover rates are lower (for obvious reasons), your schedules are predictable and usually everything you do right down to fueling and hooking sets you are paid for. You are always treated and paid like a human being.
If at all possible avoid Truckload carriers like the plaque.