Trying to pinpoint the "better" LTL companies:

Yeah, I see that on their website they have a lot of office-based jobs that don't require too much as far as academic qualifications go, such as a degree.

BUT - they require people to be knowledgable in logistics, I'm thinking it'd be wise for me to grab onto a maw/paw company for a while, get my foot in the office side of things, and then hope the job economy bounces back and some of these people start hiring again - I'd have the experience to do something like operations manager at DF or something.

 

Once you go management you’re out of the union. You lose all the years you built. So if you got 10 years you lose it all once you go management. You don’t want to put too much time in a union then lose it. You lose all the benefits of the union.

For instance when my buddy started out as a young man as a package handler. Being young and having dreams of being a manager he took a management role at UPS. Then he transferred to a driver spot acouple years down the road. Instead of having 30 years in he has 25 years. He looks back and wished he didn’t do the management thing cause he’d have more seniority for route selection etc.

A lot of young package handlers get talked into this cause when they first start they don’t look at UPS as a Career also people think management means furthering your career. It doesn’t at most union trucking jobs.

Management means non union. No union protection. Means you can get fired easily also.

 

As a man who was in LTL management for 25+ years, then went to driving after they kicked me to the curb, I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt, driving is a waaaaay better job and it pays more.
LTL management was the most thankless job I've ever had. Every day sucked, it was just that some days sucked less than others.
Good luck nevertheless.

 

Thank you both for your replies, and transparency. It’s something I’m on the fence about but I still want to attempt it, for the knowledge, skills — just anything I can gain!

 

Just finished an extra volunteer weekend shift on line haul. I'll post and answer any question you have about Dayton Freight when I'm fresh.

But before I do that I'd like to know what level of experience you have at this point to see if it's even worth trying to apply right now.

 

My personal list would go UPS if they're hiring, Estes, then Dayton.

OD used to be a strong second, until I found out about their firing policy during this economic downturn, where they just get rid of drivers they don't like, regardless of seniority.

 

Oh! ABF just got a decent raise in this contract. I think that makes them a viable choice again.

 

What about XPO Logistics?

Anyone? Anyone?

-- Lual

 

If you don't want to have a life, you can make some pretty good money. Lol

 

Hi and thank you for the reply.

My question would be, would it be worth while becoming something like I suppose an operations manager for DF?

Is this a good position for someone wanting to advance to by getting their foot in the door as a driver first, seeking more knowledge second.

As far as I know, the location near me isn’t hiring at the moment but keep their applications constantly posted.

———-

To answer your question, this thread is more of a theoretical question for the future, so when I am more resourceful in the logistics aspect I can reference to this thread and have a better idea of what companies I could go with that have my intentions in mind.

In my area, majority of mega carriers aren’t hiring for anything at all, even drivers. So my intention was to temporarily work again at a maw and paw type gig and gain experience in the backend of trucking, just so when they do hire I am more rounded when applying.

Hopefully this makes sense I just woke up lol.

(edited)

edited and came back to say that before anyone asks why I would like to even go office it’s simply because I personally have a little bit of academic experience in business management and administration, tied in with my passion for trucking overall - I just basically eat, sleep and breathe this industry and want to be as resourceful as I can be. It just comes from me having a strong drive for what I love

It’s something I would like to experience on top of driving too.