Help??sounds Like All Are Bad

I am also a ASE Certified Tech and have been in and out of trucking since the the early 80's. I currently pull a flatbed and you don't have to settle for crappy equipment or small paychecks. Mavericks avg is 52.5 for the 1st year and there are a couple flat companies that pay decent. With a box you can avg 30-45 your 1st year, but that will depend on the company and you. The 1st year is the hardest year after that it picks up and starts to click.

 

Schneider isn't all that bad. Most of the drivers that complain are the ones that couldn't or didn't want to do what was asked of them. I went to an outside driving school and drove for TransAm as my first company. I only left them because I only had 4 days off a month. I then drove for Schneider for the next two years on a Walmart grocery dedicated account opening up the new terminal in Wintersville Ohio. Before that terminal opened I would communte 4hours one way from my home in Ohio to Bedford Pa in Schneider's truck. 5 days out home for two, and once Wintersville opened I just left the truck there and drove my own car home. Some people just don't understand that Schneider or whoever you end up with have certain things that they want you to do so they can ensure that you keep running and for whatever reason those people can't seem to do it and usually are newbie's and want to do things their way. In that case, go buy your own truck and get your own authority otherwise do what your company asks. Send in your hours of service of when you're available and for how long after you make your delivery, send in an updated eta to your customer if your running late or early. That kind of thing. It's not hard to follow proceedure to keep yourself makin money. Schneider is a pretty decent company. I have a friend driving for them right now that went through their school. He's at the Indy terminal right now takin his break and gettin his truck pm'd in the morning. The only downfall with Schneider is they go into Canada which can be a real hassle. My friend just got accused of being a communist by the border patrol because he has two tattoo's of red stars on his arms and got hassled for two hours. I thought it was kind of funny but he's certainly pissed and is talking about filing a complaint agains the border patrol. Still makes me chuckle thinking about it!!!

 

I'd go in with the attitude "I definitely WANT to make this step. Even though I could have that automotive job by the end of the bus ride, I have made up my mind I want to leave that all behind." Sounds like you've not found your footing. First decide that you REALLY want to make the leap. Then make the leap. Go in like your life depends on it. Don't fool around. By researching this site, you've made a great start.

Good luck.

 

ALL companies have their downfalls. It's what YOU make of them, and how YOU handle them that will determine your success, or failure. Schneider is no better, or worse, than most other large companies.

Some people just aren't cut out for the lifestyle. Being days away from home, irregular hours, strange cities, crappy directions, receivers with attitudes,etc. If you think you can handle the lifestyle, I would go for it. Stick with a company like Schneider for a year or so, and then start looking for something local, if that's what you want.

BTW, I worked for a Ford dealer, back in the 80's as a technician, on flat rate.

 

Hey DR, I'm new into this industry also after making a MAJOR career change. I first thought that any company would be good to work for but once I started reading all the posts in here I had the same question you have, it's quite normal. Yes, there is A LOT of information in here and from what I've found it's all quite accurate. Much is based on opinion but I see that as someone who has been there done that. By doing your homework I mean just that, I would sit home with a notebook and a pen and research company after company calling them and asking questions. After a while I started to look over my list and I saw first hand how different some companies are from others! I agree, no compay is perfect but in my honest opinion with some of the large companies you tend to get "lost in the shuffle" so to speak. I found that smaller companies tend to give you more personalized attention and treat you less like a number than the giant companies. Maverick, from what I hear, is a good company and I actually spoke to one on their recruiters. He was very nice and was willing to actually invest 20 minutes of his day and answer any questions I had. It took me a long time to finally find the company I will be working for, try like almost two months and I feel every minute spent was worth the effort. This forum is a wealth of information, use it! I haven't met anyone in here that I would say wasn't 110% helpful to a newbie like myself. Be persistent and deligent, you will find the right company.

 

There are good companies out there. Remember, on a forum like this people are quick to vent and moan. Many of the happy drivers are out there driving, not typing. Schneider is not all bad, no company is. Many consider Schneider's training to be one of the best. Do your research, and most importantly, decide what is important to you. Are you most concerned about money, hometime, benefits, APU's in the truck, no-touch loads, etc. Once you prioritize your list, that should help point you in the right direction. My boyfriend went will KLLM after we did a lot of research. Is it a perfect company? Heck no, but overall we have been very happy with them. Good luck. And you don't have to justify your career change to anyone. So what if you have your ASE certification? There are truck drivers out there who used to be doctors, lawyers, teachers, chefs, etc. We don't have a caste system here in the US, you can do whatever job you want to, whenever you want to, and switch as many times as you want to. The sky is the limit!

 

I will tell you this...like Leannamarie said there are truck drivers out there that used to be doctors, lawyers and so on...you know what that says to me? That they were, just like you my friend, unhappy with what they were doing for a living! Why can't people have a job they really love? Don't you think you would be so much happier and fulfilled doing a job you absolutely love to get up in the morning and do? I was a full commissioned salesman for many, MANY years and just recently it smacked me upside the head like a 2x4 just how miserable I was...I felt like I was a slave to the system. Why did I choose to drive a truck? Three reasons...one I loved the big rigs since I was a kid and always dreamed of doing it...second I think about the freedom, and lastly I wanted a job that I could get up in the morning and spring out of bed eager to start my work day! How many people do you know that say they can do THAT? Best of luck to you DR!

 

DR, you will find good and bad comments about any company, the key to making it all work is to learn the proper way to do business the way they want it done. Learn all you can about their procedures especially their paper work. If through your research you find a company that seems to suit your needs go there and do your best to succeed.

 

I'll throw my 2 cents into the discussion, too.

I doesn't matter what you do/did in your former life. I was VP of a telephone company for 15 years. Left it last December. Looked around a LOT for something to do. After a month or so, I settled on driving - and spent another month researching before I actually decided to do it. THEN I started researching carriers.

I agree with others - if you can, stay away from the big companies. My target size was 1000 trucks. Get bigger than that and you become a non-entity - just a faceless driver pushing along.

I spent a lot of time on this board (and, to be honest, others) listening to the ramblings and experiences of others.

After (and during) school, I submitted about 50 applications. Unfortunately, owing to where I live, places like Maverick and TMC aren't interested - and I'm not interested in relocating. (At least they had the courtesy to call me back - a lot of companies didn't bother).

Out of all those applications, only 6 companies contacted me before I deemed it necessary to call them. Don't be bummed out if you don't get those calls - start calling THEM.

I'm rambling again. <sigh>

it all boils down to "Go for it"