Inexperienced driver

You're correct. Most companies would jump at the chance to hire him. I've witnesses that in the past.

 

Do you know anything about ABF? They have a road driver position open here in Portland but I can’t figure out what it pays or if it’s a local spot or not.

 

I’d look at Altom and see if they’ll give you a shot. Hit up every fuel hauler in the area. Someone will hire you.

 

Looks like they have both road and city jobs in Portland. The road you make more money but the schedule won’t be as good. Best I can tell you should easily do $100,000 plus very soon with a road job. The benefits and insurance are still Cadillac plans and don’t cost you anything. The schedule for a road job will be the hardest thing but the work will easy if you can handle the schedule. It’s very likely the road job would be out and back 1-2 day trips. Some places it may be 3 days but I doubt very much of that. Also don’t let the starting pay they quote you keep you from going there. Most union jobs have a progression pay which goes up quickly. The money you will likely make hourly for delays, drop and hooks and other time spent will push you into a gross income category you will likely be happy with. The insurance alone is worth $400 a week and won’t cost you a dime.

 

I definitely appreciate the information. Hauling fuel right now with benefits paid but I’ve always heard good things about ABF.

 

I think you will find it’s a really good job, minus a predictable schedule for several years. Very similar to what I had at UPS, including the excellent pay and benefits.

 

Do they not give you set days off?

 

You will need to find out the location specifics because it may vary greatly from what I am familiar with. Best I can tell you is after a certain number of days/hours/tours worked you will definitely get a certain number of hours/days off. It’s a 24/7 operation so you will be subject to working anytime until you get enough time to get a bid. How much time that takes in Portland, I have no idea about.

 

SNI (Schneider) has tons of jobs out of Chicago zip codes. So far I think it’s a great company and I would recommend them if they have what you’re looking for.

In my humble opinion, I wouldn’t worry about getting the exact job or company you want, just starting out. I would find a job and company you’re confident in to get a minimum of 1 year of clean driving, bonus points for OTR, more bonus points for endorsements and/or Flatbed-Tanker.

Make sure to do as much research as possible before jumping in. No one in this industry will cater to you in any way. There’s no hand holding. Really think about what you will like to do, and more importantly what you don’t want to do.

After one year of clean driving you open up a lot of doors and after 2 years, there’s not many doors that are still closed.