What's reasonable to expect fresh out of school?

As someone that’s been there done that in the same way you’re doing it, I’ll offer a few things that have kept me out of the hot seat, and gotten me to where i am today.
Be safe. Smooth is fast, fast is smooth.
Better to get out and look a dozen times than break something.
Ask questions even if you think they’re stupid. Better to look stupid asking than being stupid creating problems.
Getting started in trucking is like training a horse. School teaches you enough to get your license, but the true learning comes from miles and miles of experience. With horses we call them wet saddle blankets.
Trucking is a thinking man’s game. If you think things through, envision 3-5 steps ahead, and have s basic plan in mind before you execute, you’re way ahead of the power curve.
Have a list of other drivers you can call if you have questions. Each new drivers we hire i make a point to introduce myself and offer my phone number for them to call me if they need guidance. I know every store we run, and how to safely run them, and can talk them through it.
I’ll take that call every time to help the team win. I figured out that problems cost the team time and money, and by me investing a little bit as i do, they learn faster, keep out of trouble, and become assets instead of liabilities.
Own your mistakes completely. When you screw up, and you will, own it. You made the decisions that got you into the mistake, you were at the command of your ship, it’s yours. I guarantee you will come through better by owning it than trying to lay blame elsewhere. Owning it earns you respect, respect gets you better loads.
Be the go to driver for anything…. The Swiss Army knife type driver.
My dispatch knows I’ll run anything they ask of me if I’m able to. They also know that I’ll take the crap runs and the crappy customers that whine about anything they possibly can, and the customers that try to intimate drivers into what they want instead of what’s safest for the driver and the equipment. I won’t be bullied, I’m professional, and I’ll explain the why behind my decisions to them if they’re open to it.
I still get the stink eye from two of them after 2 years of delivering to them. That’s fine. I’m safe, my equipment is safe, and there’s no problems.
You’ll reach a point about 6 months on where things click into place and you get smooth all of a sudden. Be extra careful when it happens. That’s when you’re most prone to mistakes. You’ll forget to GOAL, be over confident in a situation, and it’ll bite you in the backside…. Hard.
Above all, think safe, be safe, and think about how to protect yourself and your equipment as you go through your day.
Congrats on getting your cdl.
What you make of it is up to you.
You may want to look at tankers. There are a handful of tanker companies that will take new drivers.

 

If you read the above referenced Forum thread -- & use/think about what's in it -- you should be good.

It's a tough market out there for new drivers right now. If you find you're having a hard time getting your foot in the door somewhere -- don't get discouraged! It's not really you -- it's the market showing its true colors.

If you strike out with the carriers mentioned in the above thread -- come back here, & let us know.

We'll find you something else.

With all that said -- both Werner Enterprises & Roehl Transport are presently looking for drivers in your area.

Of those two -- I would suggest Werner, as first pick.

With Werner -- you can do either dry van -- OR reefer duty. You can try one -- and later switch to the other (without changing employers ).

Werner will also have a formalized new-driver training regimen waiting for you, to get you started on the right foot.

Submit the on-line "short" app via their website....& wait a few days. If you don't get a recruiter's reply via email in that time -- go ahead, & call them.

-- L

 

Put a lot of my time in trying to find the right fit, based on what the new driver wants. Many times my recommendations are ignored and they go to some crap company, then in a few weeks are back on here complaining they aren't making much money and will it hurt their career to job hop so quickly from their first trucking job.

 

Happy at Werner -- TTR thread

-- L

 

Werner & Schneider aren't the only two companies out there that hire new cdl school grads.

 

That's VER-RY true.

However -- there are VER-RY FEW companies that are now actively hiring brand new drivers who are also the subject of threads posted here recently on the Forum with titles/commentary anything close to....."Happy at <<<carrier name>>>"

Here's another recent thread....very similar....

Back at Werner | TruckersReport.com Trucking Forum | #1 CDL Truck Driver Message Board (thetruckersreport.com)

-- L

 

EPES Transport System Jobs

they have a terminal in Chester and hire new grads

 

Check out Kreilkamp Trucking Inc.!

@CDLdriver2023

Driver Pulse has a bunch of driving jobs as does Indeed.

 

I started at Werner 20 years ago…… it wasn’t all that bad. I still recommend it for newbies.