Selecting a Good Starter Company

I will remember that, payooper. I've heard terrible things about CRST, and will not go there.
From my research, it seems that the "starter" companies are pretty much the same. None of them are perfect, and they all seem to have a long list of people complaining about them. I suppose I should stick with Werner and get that year's experience in. Then I can afford to be a little more picky.
I have heard to avoid both CRST and C.R. England.

 

Trucker79010, I suppose I phrased that incorrectly. I should have said, I don't have a preference as to what I'm hauling simply because I don't know the differences between them. I know I want to avoid flatbeds, but that's about it.
As for my being weak, well, I was being silly for the most part. I may be weaker than a lot of men, but I grew up on a farm, so I'm not that delicate. I do think I can handle most anything that comes along.

EnigmaGal, thanks for the kind words! I will look into Prime.

 

Oh, gosh, Keyster, I didn't think I should list all that resume stuff on a forum where I'm just asking about good companies. Of course I'm looking to *work*, not just get paid. But I'm asking fellow drivers about it, not companies. I don't think anyone here wants to read all that. And, besides, there's nothing wrong with wanting a few things from my company, or looking around to see all my options.
And, yes, I've heard that finding good female trainers can be difficult. My sister-in-law told me that she went through two terrible female trainers before she took a male trainer instead. He turned out to be very helpful without being inappropriate. I'm afraid I'm not that trusting, though. There's simply too many bad apples out there.
So it looks like I'll be stuck in a hotel room for a while after orientation, waiting for a trainer to become available. Any time I asked a company about having female trainers available, they all assured me that they had tons of them lined up, but of course, I take that with a grain of salt.
Thanks for your input, though! I'm sorry if you think I'm being too demanding with my pet policy or wanting to drive solo. We all have the things we can't live without, right?

 

Haha, thanks, Hsauer87! I kind of expected them to give me a hard time; it doesn't really bother me. If I have to dig through a bunch of nasty replies to get one or two nice ones that really help me out, it's worth it!

As for the class shrinking, it was a number of things. The drug test on the second day really knocked a lot of them out. One fellow had to go home to clear a past stroke with his doctor. Another guy just couldn't manage the computer - and by that, I mean he couldn't type his name in to log on. Many people couldn't pass the DMV test at the end of the week to get their learners permit. And others, I suspect, just got fed up at having to spend all day at the computer, then go home and read 40 pages out of the manual. Like I said, if you can get past that first week, you're pretty much set.

For the testing, I'm going to assume you mean the driving part. They don't really help you with the written part outside of giving you the book to read and making you sit at the computer the first week. The last three weeks I was there, we worked on the pre-trip inspection, backing up, and driving the trucks around town and on the country roads. So, basically, you spend three weeks going over what's on the driving part of the test, plus the pre-trip. You do have to speak up if you need help in something, or more time in one area. For example, I had trouble backing up, so they sent me to the field with an instructor for some one on one help.
The folks there are all really nice, and want to see you get through it as fast as possible. After all, they don't get paid more if you need to retake the driving test, and require an extra week there.