Good companies near Chattanooga for newbies?

Chattanooga Choo-Choo!

 

lol.....one time I saw a truck with that painted on the sleeper, except it was misspelled;
"Pardon me boys, is that the Chattanooga Chew Chew?"

 

Choose a company and get started.
Meantime, become a member of www.OOIDA.com which is a business website for the owner-operator.

 

@TheMayo
I was in your shoes a year ago.
What's available is dependent on which school you attend.
Chatt state cc and Miller Motte are the two I know to be accredited, and you can get on with any company that hires grads.
It also depends on what you're wanting to do.
Van, reefer, flatbed, tanker, are all available in Chattanooga.
Do you want otr, regional, or local?
Yes, you CAN go local straight out of school.
Personally, I went local tanker.
I haul gas locally, I'm home every night, and the pay is pretty good.
I work 60 hours a week, and am pulling 90k gross per year.
Was offered 105k/yr if I want to run nights again.... haven't decided yet if the pain is worth the money.
If you have an idea what you wanna do, we can better tailor a list of companies for you to research.
I'm happy to help you however I can.
I will say this- avoid Roger's group dry bulk.
Their equipment is trash, they'll run you into the ground and the pay sucks, relatively speaking.
2 drivers came to us from them, and had nothing good to say.
Both were there less than 6 months.
I see their trucks broke down on the road constantly... at least 1 a day, usually 2 or 3 on 24 or 75.

 

@TheMayo
Cool thing about hauling gas is we don't climb on trailers... at all.
It's prohibited for safety reasons, and we really have zero need to do so.
Chemical is a different story though.
Gotta close the top lid securely.
I have my first chemical load today, and it's drizzling... ugh... cold and wet sucks.
I watch the job boards constantly.
It's fun to see who can't hire drivers and who can.
There's a few companies that post jobs daily, some post multiple times a day.
My thought is they can't keep drivers because they suck, for whatever reason.
One thing my instructors mentioned to me was that, once you've hauled tankers, there's nothing on the road you cannot handle.
Nothing quite like a sloshy sledge hammer keeping you on your toes in Atlanta traffic.
Truthfully, hauling gas, despite its perceived issues, really is easy money.
It pays much better than most company driver jobs, and 6 figures is very realistic.
I was offered 105k/yr this week from a competitor, and there's 3 other companies paying similar.... after you have a year in the seat.
85k is realistic starting out from school.
I don't know of any van or reefer gigs that come close.
I don't wait to load or unload.
No lumpers.
Gas tankers are compartmentalized, so not very loose on the road.
I'm happy to talk with you directly if you like.
Pm me your cell, and I'll text you to arrange a time to talk.

 

Mayo, all the best to you at the school and in your future endeavors. I am in Chattanooga but not working yet.
I did drive for Covenant... they require new hires to team for minimum 4 months just wanted to let you know..