N.W. rookie... Looking for advice

BZ... try Stevens.
Maybe I'd end up your trainer. Love to have another NW student.
Gives me an excuse to go home more often. (Boise)

 

Hey bro, I am from Seattle, Washington, and i am have been researching things for a few months, comparing notes, reading all these posts, i have my choices narrowed down to Stevens, FFE and Central Refrigerated. I do already have a CDL but with limited experience, but Right now im leaning towards FFE, better start out pay, most posts i have been reading, guys have been getting regular home time after 3 - 4 weeks for a few days, stevens is still an option, trying to make that final decision...Personally i love the equipment that Steven's drives, but i am looking at getting about a year under my belt then switching to a local job. But I also got offered jobs with Shepard/watkins, England, Central Refer, Stevens and FFE... I went through the swift academy back in 07, and unless they have changed, i would stay away from swift...just personal experience watching how they operate and people they allowed to get behind a wheel of a rig...Werner has been so so, same with Schneider, but check into the other ones i mentioned, minus CR England.

 

Zachary, you and I are practically neighbors. Might even be in the same town. I run for Swift on the Grandview, WA WalMart account. I'm home every week for my 34 and have taken a week off roughly every three months since I've been on this account.

Most of the complaints you see from Swifties and ex-Swifties come from terminals other than the NorthWest. Troutdale and Lewiston are excellent terminals to run out of. If you start with Swift from the Troutdale terminal, I know the DM you will be working with personally. As long as you do your job and keep your record clean, he will bend over backward for you.

I'll answer any questions you have. PM me if you want to meet up for coffee next time I'm home. I know a cool little cafe in Rathdrum.

 

Sounds like you have been talking to recruiters or reading classified ads about trucking schools.

When they say you will make $30,000-40,000 a year that is exceptional. $20,000-25,000 is going to be a little more realistic especially if you aren't staying out for 4-6 weeks. That's what I was trying to explain to you about those two week deals. You will be averaging 1600 miles a week, hopefully, and at $.027 a mile (decent newbie pay) that's $432 a week before taxes. Now if you run like a normal otr driver the longer you stay out the more miles you will be making. If you can average 2500-2800 a week by staying out that will put you at about $675 before taxes.

Like I said I am not trying to be negative, just want to make sure you know exactly what you are getting into. It is very costly and will consume a lot of time to get into this. Not to mention by the time you finish training it will be the slowest time of the year. Which I guess could be a good thing since its winter it will give a chance to go at it a little more slowly.

 

Chompi,
I too appreciate the info; you left the same on my post as well when I was asking for advice. But times are hard right now and sometimes you have to start at the bottom. I know what it is like to be away from my family.
I am in the reserves and did 10 years active duty with the army prior to that. And with all my military and my college degree I still cannot find work. I live in a little town called Post Falls which is only about twenty miles from Spokane but there are still no jobs out there paying anything over minimum wage.
I "was" going to be a dad but my wife had yet another miscarriage and if I have to put in some crappy hours for experience at least I am getting paid to do it and it will be enough to make the bills. If we decide later on to have kids I can at least have the experience and time under my belt to find a local gig.
But I am serious when I say thank you for the info. I have taken a lot of this into consideration, trust me I do NOT trust what a recruiter tells me.
Didn't mean to jack your thread Zac. We should hit up Starbucks sometime, I have some other options as well and maybe we can bounce some stuff off each other.

 

You're welcome man! Sometimes new drivers only info comes from these recruiters and such and they paint a real pretty picture of what its like out there along with highly embellished wages that you can make.

Yes truck driving is a great career/lifestyle! Yes you can make money doing it. Maybe not as much as what you are hearing about but you can do fairly well if you get in with the right company, put in lots of time out there and hustle, hustle, hustle!

It is a hell of lifestyle though to get used to! I have been talking with a lot of new guys that are just getting out there on their own and they are telling me that it is night and day from what they were told and what they were expecting.

Yes you also have to prove yourself. The turnover rate is so extremely high (probably because of the misleading dream painted by these recruiters) and everyone and their brother is turning to truck driving, I guess because of job loss and the fact that it seems so enticing. Its only natural for everyone to feel like they can make lots of money and have freedom while doing it. The people making money from this realize this and its a great way to promote the industry.

Unfortunately it costs a lot of money and takes a lot of time (school, training etc...) before you find out what its really like and then it is too late! You now have thousands of dollars owed to a bank or company and still have to provide for yourself and your family so there is no way out. These recruiters also realize this so they throw in the "safety net" by saying you could work local or regional and be home on the weekends. Which is somewhat true. Home on the weekends means 3pm-4pm on Sunday afternoon! Some drivers do land local gigs but it is very rare and now that the economy is the way it is, it is even more rare. Newbies are spending all this money thinking if its that bad they will just drive local. I have 16 years experience, spotless MVR, and have owned my trucking business and I can't find local work! Knight offered me a gig and it was their 7/7 program. 7 days on 7 days off. Sounds awesome right?! Well first off you can only drive so far in 7 days. So lets say on the off chance I get 3000 miles that week. That's pretty good right? Well in actuality you divide that in half because I now have 7 days off. So 1500 miles a week. I could make more at McDonalds and be home every night! Well turns out it doesn't matter because its just a ploy to get you to orientation. They know you are going to make any money so you either quit or stay out 6 weeks and make a little money. See how that works?

Sorry, getting carried away. My whole point of all of this is just to inform you new guys a little better so you know exactly what it is you are getting into. Unfortunately a lot of times it sounds negative and I feel as if I am a dream crusher! I am all for you guys getting out there and experiencing it. It really is an awesome adventure, if done correctly and you have the time to invest out there on the road.

If someone comes to me (which happens quite often) and asks me what I think about them going over the road my first questions are, "Are you married or have a significant other (and or kids)?" and also "Do you mind being away from home for long periods of time?" If either question is answered with a yes then I really have to tell it like it is. If you don't have kids/wife and don't mind being gone then I will always say "Go for it!" you will have nothing to lose and the risk is minimal.

Sorry for the ramble guys!