Will 1st year in an Auto-Shift hurt carreer?

Just got out of school in NC and due to my location in Kitty Hawk, NC on the coast have had only 2 job offers. PRIME,INC. and Howard Transportation out of Laurel, Miss. Howard is flatbed, hauling their own transformers out bound and whatever back. 8 wks. w/ trainer. .34/0-6 mos., .35/6-12 mos., .37/12-24 mos. Internationals w/ Auto-shift.

Prime is 12 wks. w/trainer, then .30 till 80,000 miles, # 80,000 goes to .34

I think I would rather go with Howard because of less time with trainer, .34/mile (loaded or empty) to start and probably better home-time due to having a small terminal 3 hrs. from my home.

Just wondering if driving the Auto-shift will kill my chances of maybe moving on to a higher paying gig after getting some OTR experience?

I graduated at top of the class (8 wks. # NC Truck Driver Training School) and was doing pretty good with the 10 spd. Think I could pick it back up in short order if I pushed buttons for a year or so first. I'm 55 and a hard worker.

What do ya' think?

 

you will have to get back to basics on shifting and learn how that truck runs/shifts, but thats even if you got a new truck after shifting a million miles in your old one.

I dont believe companies ask what kind of transmission you had in your last truck at your last job.

 

Personally, I think it would be safer if all new drivers started out with auto-shifts. So you have less shifting to worry about and more safety.

 

What do I think,

open question !!!!!!

Some companies are doing away with the auto shifts, then what ??

Never drove one, never will, just my opinion.....................

 

Most companies do a road test before you hire on .

You fail to shift right, you are gone, fact.

Best to learn how to use an air-shift tranny firsthand, IMO.

Auto-shifts are a piece of crap, anyhow.

 

I call BS. Once you learn to shift an air-shift, you dont even think about it. Its all automatic in your brain by then. No need for all that computer crap.

 

My first two years were in an auto shift. I've not had any problems with getting jobs.

The first outfit I went to work for with manual did make me road test twice, but that was it.

 

Thanks for the positive reinforcement! Did you tell them you had come from the auto-shift and they worked with you to show them you could handle the transition back to the stick?

 

It will be very obvious when you take your first "non-auto" road test with your next company. At this point you just have the basics of shifting, and it would take a few weeks with a trainer to get the real feeling of how to shift and use the transmission efficiently and safely. You will be amazed how fast those skills you have acquired will deteriorate. Is your school one of those that offers free lifetime refreshers? I think that schools should use the autos to help get drivers used to a larger vehicle and trailer management........but then quickly focus on the manual transmission. I know many companies have autos, but I also know after reading many of the trade journals for the industry, the CEO's have a love hate relationship with this technology.......it attracts many non-traditional drivers, but the cost to maintain an auto fleet is staggering as the miles rack on so do the problems. The other issue that can arise is when you need a loaner on the road; I don't think Penske and Ryder have many 2 screw autos in their rental fleet........and re-learning to shift a manual on the fly with a heavy load like paper or water is an accident waiting to happen

 

A friend of mine that had worked at the same company I did with autos had been at this same non-auto company's orientation the week prior. He had more problems than I did, so they wanted to make sure I could do it.