How do I make the most money in my first year? Who should I start with?

Stay away from any company that your school recommends! They are usually paying the school kickbacks to send you to them. Stay away from the mega-carriers ie: Swift, england, werner etc... These companies are great for the guys that have terrible records and aren't going to be doing it that long. Do you research. Obviously you have begun to and is why you are on this website. By the way, welcome. A lot of what you read on this site are opinions, so take them with a grain of salt. Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see when it comes to the recruiters. Are you familiar with the naval recruiters that tell you you will be stationed in Hawaii? Yeah, same thing in trucking. If they say home every weekend, that usually means for an hour or two on Sunday afternoon! In all seriousness. This job is a lifestyle and you will be away from home for long periods of time.(can be very tough if you have a family or little ones) With that being said once you have given it a few months to get used to the lifestyle it can be a very rewarding career. I wouldn't plan on making big bucks your first year but $500 to $800 paychecks a week should be obtainable if you have a fairly decent head on your shoulders. Keep in mind there are factors in trucking that can earn you $0 a week too! It can be feast or famine especially if you own your truck. Stay away from leasing trucks. I wouldn't recommend you buying one until you have driven for a couple of years. Yes you can make more as an owner operator but you can also pay more too! It is a very delicate balance in which you will have no clue until you have learned the ins and outs of the business. I am not talking about driving the truck. That is the easy part. As far as getting started you have a couple options; you can go to a private school in which you pay for or they provide you with a loan. The cost usually ranges from $4000-$10000. Depending on your financial situation you may be able to get help from UncleSam. These private schools usually get you through within about three weeks. There is the community college route which might be a little cheaper but usually takes a few months to complete. There is also the company route in which some trucking companies have their own schools and will pay for you to go through, however, you need to sign a contract with them saying you will drive for them for a year or so. If you go to the private school though most companies will reimburse you for the tuition if you drive for them. Start combing through company websites and maybe google trucking companies in MO. You don't have to necessarily get hired in MO just thought it would be a good place to start. Anyway welcome to the forum, keep the questions coming and good luck!

 

My suggestion would be to read the Post on this Board and you will get a good Idea as too the State of the Trucking Industry and how alot of the OTR Companies Operate.

 

I worked for Central for several years. They were a very good company!

 

Any of that was advice ?

Until you get a name and phone number of who to call outside of the Major players you got squat. Does your landlord accept squat ?

 

do they hire 21 olds and do they do training?

 

yeah they do training. check out their website.

do a google search for central refrigerated service, inc since we can't post links.

 

I called Central and spoke with them for a while.

I was good until she said that you get your Upgrade at week 25. That's 6 months.

I would be living in a box on the curb if I had to wait 25 weeks for a truck.

Outside of that they look good and sound good in every other way.