Looking for the right company..

buy a snow mobile suit, you'll do fine.

 

Most OTR Companies don't really want the driver unloading stuff anyway.

 

I'm not going to write a book and bore you of the pros and cons to trucking companies, I would like to touch base on a couple things you mentioned though. First of all,, even with the longer trucking school your going to have to "team" with a trainer for at least a couple months. After that you should be good. A lot of that has to do with a "seasoned" trainer ( and I use that term very loosely) can show you company specific logging requirements etc and how to come down a grade at gross without turning into a wet spot. Just do your research, if it sounds too good to be true, it is. There is no grey area about that in the trucking industry.

 

I spent months trying to figure out the perfect company to start at and when it came down to it Swift was the most flexible for me. Shocking lol
The main thing I found is every starter outfit is about the same. I wouldn't go to a company that makes you team with another student after training though. Seems like a lot of #### to deal with.

 

How about Shinn Construction in Bridgeport?
They were paying a flat rate of $300.00 per day for a 12 hour shift about a year ago.

 

Unfortunately, your like 99.9 % of the new people with zero experience. You want to have this truck with these features, you want to run this or that and along the way I sense your expecting nirvana but willing to accept a truck that rolls.

Do you know why every company is going to be nice to you? because your a newbie and they know that they can sell you the bridge that goes across from WV to PA and you'll take it.

If your coming from a job that pays $50,000 a year and you want to do this because you think it will be kick ###, get to travel the country and get paid, you will be disappointed. If your coming from a job that pays $20,000 a year, guess what, you just got a pay raise.

You want to get old quick? drive flat bed. Want to deal with special permits, extra time at scale houses, drive flat bed. Do you know what a tarp weighs? it's 150 pounds. Want to deal with that all the time, go ahead.

Your choices of companies is just what it is. Trust me when I tell you that I was exactly where your at three years ago, minus driver license issues. My choices when I came out was any company where I was willing to work for 28 to 30 cents per mile. I got lucky in a sense because I found a decent company with miles, but really bad operations side of the business.

You have an advantage in that your in a trucking school where carriers will have or will be visiting and you can discuss your issues and atleast get a sense of where you stand.

My advice, take it or leave it is stop looking for a shiny new truck to shiny slightly used truck and get a job with someone who is going to allow you to gain the experience you need because chances are the first company you end up with will only be temporary and after 6 month's, when you pick up that trucker rag at the Petro or Loves and you see a company willing to pay you 45 cents a mile or whatever they pay that is more than your making, you can then move on, knowing that you have experience and know what the trucker lifestyle is about and you can be educated enough to know BS from BS.

 

Barber trucking is a flatbed company out of Brookville Pennsylvania. About 2 hours north of Pittsburgh, hires newbies... we have nice prostars, apus equipped, governed at 72 mph.... oh and we have 60 trucks, you can stay out if you so please but we're home on weekends
You also start out at .42cpm but have 5 weeks of training to go through first but the training pay is pretty good.