So I will be starting my CDL course at a local community college here soon and I am looking to the future. So far Con Way looks like my best choice and I have not heard a bad thing yet about them. Where I live, for the past few months I have been watching the unemployment office boards and Con Way seems to be hireing quite a bit. Cool thing is that its LTL and starting pay is $19.01 an hour and in the posting there is not requirement as far as prior experience. That would be the cats meow if I could get that because even though $19.01 is good starting off its a $10 an hour cut in pay for me from my previous profession as an Ironworker. Needless to say the economy has caught up with my area and my profession is taking a hit. But we will see what happens when I get to that bridge. Anyway I have some questions about Con Way. In the LTL side of Con Way is it drop off and grab another trailer or do the drivers unload the trucks? In the ad it says that it is part of the job but I am not sure if its one of those things where the driver unloads every trailer or just every once in a while. Either way its fine by me, I am just curious. Also how are their benefits? Whats their 401k like and their health insurance? Do you have to work a certain amount of time before your benefits kick in? Also it sounds like there is a possibility of a bonus. How are those are they good or is it one of those deals where they talk it up then send you a $20 gift card in the mail? Do the people that are hired on LTL have to go to Joplin Mo for the boot camp as well or is that just the ORT drivers? Also even though LTL would be the best scenario how is the OTR side of Con Way? Is it pretty comparable pay wise? I know from what I read they pay something like .29 to .32 a mile starting off. Also even though I went through a community college to get my CDL would they still send me to the bootcamp or is that for drivers that dont have a CDL? Also I live in Washington State would they do send me to the camp would they send me all the way to Joplin Mo. or do they have training centers all over the country? Anyway I think thats all I can think of at the moment as far as questions. Sorry for so many but I am trying to learn as much as possible so I am not running around blind. Thanks in advance for all the great answers. I will probably think of some more questions later.
LTL freight for somebody like Conway would probably be 15 - 20 stops per day delivering a pallet here and there. For the most part you would probably back up to the dock and the receiver would go into the trailer with a fork lift and bring it out. You would only have to secure the load and move it around in the trailer. That doesnt mean though that you wont get a delivery to an office building where you would have to carry the stuff up Good luck
I'd go Conway Freight in Washington... Decent starting pay plus lower speed Limits in area states = more $$ in your pocket when your driving but be prepared to be on the dock / forklift just as much as you drive as a newby
I wonder how far their frieght drivers go? Is it just a few hundred miles away or can the trips sometimes be quite a haul? Plus I notice alot of the freight drivers run doubles. I guess I will find this out in school but how is driving doubles? Is it pretty challenging? I take backing is out of the question. Also how do they work with the doubles. Do they load them to where you empty the back trailer then you drop that off and then run single till that one is empty? Then pick up a new set rinse and repeat?
Check the Conway Freight web site ...I believe they have a big training program including school at No Cost!
Well the cool thing is with me going to the Community college its all paid for already since im a dislocated worker.
I've been a freight driver for since 2003 so I can probably help a little. So much depends on the terminal but I can give some general facts about the company on the East Coast where I am. Pay is good. Not sure where it starts now but It's probably high .40's and high teens per hour. Top is .57 and 24.15 right now. Runs go up to 600 miles but you won't see that for a long time. You will spend a lot of time on the dock. CDL = Con-way dock license. I generally like my job but I work for idiots. I'm lucky that I don't have to work the dock because I run a meet and not a hub. I work about 7.5 hours per day for $215. If I take extra work I'm up around $350 to 400 per night. For the first time I'm actually gonna say this place sucks and you don't wanna work here. The micro management is almost embarrassing now. It's a real good job with my slot on the board but horrible if you're at the bottom. I'd leave tomorrow but like one of my FedEx Freight buddies always says, It's easy to leave a 50 or 60k job... Not so easy to leave an 80 to 120k job.. I'm still here at this point because there is nowhere I can match this if I quit. If I ever got fired I'd be fine with that but I just can't quit. I hope that makes some sense to everyone..
I wonder if I can pre apply so to speak for the position. Put in an app now and hopefully have a job ready for me when i get my CDL. Is that possible or do I wait till I have the CDL in hand when I apply?
Sorry to hear about the micro managing. That can always be a pain. Hopefully it isnt like that here in the northwest. I am also looking into possibly Old Dominion and Yellow Trucking. But as far as Con way goes I wonder if I can pre apply so to speak for the position. Put in an app now and hopefully have a job ready for me when i get my CDL. Is that possible or do I wait till I have the CDL in hand when I apply?
