Trying to make up my mind.

If you don't go into a new orientation figuring EVERYTHING the recruiter told you was a lie, you will end up disappointed. We had a recruiter here in school the other day from Werner, he went on to say that they have the least amount of turnover and the most satisfied drivers... I think we can all agree that from what we see here that is not exactly true. My point? go in expecting nothing, keep your head down, do your job, and a year from now make the jump and reap the benefits of working for a decent outfit.

 

Just do your research on companies you are interested in and talk to their drivers.

I live about a mile from the local Pilot truck stop in my home town. One day I just went down there and started talking to different drivers from different companies, just be nice and tell them you are a newbie driver and trying to get a CDL job.

Most drivers are friendly if you just chat them up. I offered to buy a driver a cup of coffee and talked to him for 30 mins about his company.

 

Another suggestion, just try and ride along with another driver, maybe a friend of a friend or something.

When I was going to trucking school my father had a friend that owns a logging company. They operate log trucks most of the year and in the winter they have a small fleet of flatbed trucks they run to keep their drivers busy in the off season. I talked with the owner and he set me up with one of their flatbed drivers for just a day "ride along", it was fun just riding around in the truck for a day talking with the driver.

The owner told me later that they were not hiring any drivers, but at least I made a contact in the industry.

I think I had my CDL permit then, and I remember the driver let me drive the truck around the company yard a little too.

It was better than sitting at home all day waiting for the phone to ring.