Comments By Joseph G.

Thanks Big Scott. I was aware of Jax terminal but not Orlando. My concern on location is that not every company allows you to take the truck home. Glad to hear about Orlando as Thats a 2 hour drive as opposed to Jax which is 3. Still, Lakeland is only 1 hour.

Thanks Old School. I'm glad to hear they have those runs. My friend who drove for Sift is pushing me towards flatbed if it's available. I'd rather be paid for a bit of manual labor than be unpaid to sit and wait at some DC.

I read Davy A's entire thread last night and am amazed by how much I was able to learn. I haven't spoken with a Knight recruiter yet. Probably will today, the CFI recruiter has been informed I'm interested but am not rushing. He and I will be in contact again soon enough.

Hello All, my name is Joe and Tuesday I passed my General, Combo and Air Brakes tests to get my A permit. I live in Spring Hill, FL which is north of Tampa on the left coast. I've already spoken to some recruiters and even received a conditional offer from Cypress. A bit too quickly IMO. I like what CFI and Wilson Logisitics have to say but am not for of the fact that they do not have terminals close to me. I noticed Knight and their terminal is in Lakeland. Their pay seems low to start but they have incentive based pay scale and bonus structure. Other carriers that have terminals in that area are Werner and Prime. Knights seems to have more options and in house training as do Wilson and CFI.

Also, i'm blessed to have a very good friend who worked for Swift for 7 years. We have known each other for 20 years and speak frequently by phone. I learned much from him about do's and don'ts way before i decided to take this step.

Another note for those that may not know. Yellow/YRC is hiring and has an in house training program. They have received a 700 million loan from the government as part of the relief packages. They are buying lots of equipment and hiring 1500 drivers. I spoke to their recruiter and they are training for Orlando as positions are available there. You must live within an hour drive of the terminal so that counts me out. I'm on the list for Tampa but it looks like that may take a while if it happens. Its a small terminal and I'm sure they hire from within as well.

The wife is on board and the kids are old enough so I'm good to go OTR/Regional. Regional is fine by me as I'd prefer to stay out for bit and rack up the miles. I know I'll have to do some OTR too and am OK with that.

So this me. I'm looking forward to ditching a dead end job and hitting the road for a much appreciated pay raise. I'll be around here reading up. Feel free to drop a comment and stay safe.