Military veterans

@19d is retired Army and went through the VA Apprenticeship Program. He's with Schneider Bulk pulling tankers.

That's understandable. Trucking is a rewarding and satisfying career once you find the niche you like. Is your domicile CO or AZ?

 

Pretty sure all those companies I listed hire in CO and AZ.

 

I retired from the Army in July 15 and started driving for Melton in Aug 15. Been here since and think it's a great starter company, as long as you don't mind actual work (flatbed only). The pay is pretty good starting out and progresses rapidly your first year. They also have the VA Apprentice program for some nice extra cash. If you have any questions, just PM me and I'll help as much as possible. I tried to go with TMC at first, but they sent me home after 4hrs because I didn't have a VA disability rating yet and they said they didn't know how "broken" I was and whether I could successfully flatbed. I guess I can, since I'm still here.

 

Most of the big company’s have apprenticeship program, I did 12 months of it with schneider. I wish superior had it and I would use another 12 months. Some guys swap companys every 12 months to use all their gi bill in the apprenticeship programs since most companys only let u use 12 months. Don’t try to do tankers if u wanna bring ur dog. No place for dogs in chemical plants, try out dry van or reefer and hit the rest areas. Good luck

 

Yes go get your cdl first on your own, use post 911 gi bill, I went on weekend while still active duty. U don’t want no company sending u thru their cdl school.. because then they have you by the balls.. they will reimburse the amount of gi bill u spent also after u hire on.. schneider gives 200 month to repay money u spent. Most repay.. definately don’t get cdl at a 1 stop shop..

 

If I remember correctly, I started at $.42 and after 3 months went to $.43, 6 months $.45, 1 year $.48 and 120,000 miles (literally a week after my 1 year mark) bumped up to $.49. I also was getting my hire-on bonus paid throughout the year, CDL school reimbursed (I paid 100% out of pocket), and the GI bill money for the apprenticeship. I don't think I could have picked a better company to start with, at least for flatbedding. I still think if I'm going to be a company driver, I'd have a hard time finding a better place than here. It has its few bad parts, but all companies do. We run all 48 states and Canada, and I like to stay out for 4-6 months, and then take a 2 or 3 week vacation in the Philippines. We run almost all Kenworth T680s and have a few Freightliners, but not many. The trucks are governered at 65, but a handful of trucks have an ECM brainfart and the truck actually runs 67-68. Their pet policy allows for a cat or a dog up to 50lbs I think. I'm not 100% sure about the weight though, because they just changed the policy a few months ago. As far as getting "credit" for time served, the answer is no. Your pay is purely mileage based. Experienced guys come in at the higher levels, but not those of us fresh off the CDL school farm.