Need Some Incite On Different Schools/companies. Please Help If You Can.

I have been accepted to two different schools and waiting on a response from a third. I have been accepted at Celadon and at USA Truck (through Drivers Solutions). I am waiting to hear from Swift.

I have read, searched, and flipped coins till my finger are sore (Just kidding on that one). I have read everything I could find on each of the companies. Good reviews. Bad reviews. Company websites. My eyes are about crossed.

I am going to set down next week and actually call each company and talk to recruiters. With knowing that recruiters are not always the most truthful, I am looking for some incite from ANYONE out there that knows anything about these companies or schools.

Each has their good points and bad points from reading their websites. But, like recruiters, websites don't tell the whole picture.

I like USA Truck. It seems to be a driver centered company. But, you have to get your own way to school. Your own meals. And several other costs. Which at this time I don't really have the resources. If this is the company I choose, I will try to borrow some money if I have too. Plus you have to pay back the cost of schooling at $200 dollars a month Once you are solo. (thought that was a little expensive). But I like what they say they do for their drivers. So the website says.

Celadon. They pick up the tab for EVERYTHING. Or so the website says. Their fleet is average of less that 18 months old. But, from everything I read, and even their own website, their benefits for their drivers don't seem very good. Health care is VERY expensive. I mean way above the usual company standards. (not just trucking companies). From a review of Celadon, a couple of "failed students", said that if you fail for any reason, you have to pay them for the schooling. Even if you don't make it past the first week. Cost is $7,300 dollars. Now I KNOW that is over the top.

Swift. I can't find anything specific on them.

I have read all the posts and articles here at TT at least 2 dozen times.

This is going to be my career for the rest of my life. Or at least I hope it is. I want to make the best possible choices I can.

Can anyone that is or has worked for either Celadon, USA Truck, or Swift give me some incite to each. Please.

Thank you for any help you can give.

Keep is safe out there. Joe S.

Joe, it sounds like you're wearing yourself down trying to make this decision. I'm hoping I can give you a little different perspective and help you out just a little. You made it clear that money is tight, so go with the one that's going to pick up the tab.

We don't waste our's or your time by telling people that company A is better than company B because it simply is not the proper way for you to jump into this industry. You say you've read all the articles and threads on this website twice now and your eyes are starting to cross. Well, there is so much valuable information here for people just entering the business that you should be on overload by now, and maybe that's just your problem, but man you ought to be educated enough by now to make this a simple decision.

I'm relatively new to this and I chose this career after 30 years of steady self employment. I think we are close in age and probably share some of the same concerns in our choice of career. Let me encourage you to not look at this choice of company to train with as your final choice for where you will be working for the rest of your career. Celadon would be a great place for you to start, they will pay your way and they just started a new top notch training program over there. After you've put in a year of safe driving and are starting to get the hang of this business you may just decide that you really like it where you're at and want to stay, but if you don't feel that way then is the time to start looking at the benefits that you mentioned being interested in. At that point in your career is when you might have a little leverage to land the job that you really want. So sit back and relax a little, you're working yourself way too hard on this decision.

You don't have to get all the pieces in place right here at the beginning. Just getting trained and learning enough so that you are staring to feel just a little bit confident in your new skills and abilities will take you every bit of that first year. So, slow down and realize the only real decision you have to get settled right now is where to get started, and if the finances limit your choices then go with the one that fits your budget. Don't go borrow a fist full of money to get started, you'll regret it after you realize the truth of what I'm telling you, and then you'll be paying back money you didn't really need in the first place. Don't get yourself all wrangled around about working for a year for the training company either, if you're like me that first year is going to fly by so fast you absolutely won't even notice it.

One more thing Joe, you can't rely on advice or information from "failed" students. There is a reason they are "failed" and you can be sure they didn't fill you in on the real reason they are in that category. I had some real struggles getting hired when I first started this journey. Without boring you with all the details, I'll just tell you that I went to four different orientations before I was accepted, but I can tell you from my experiences that most of the failed students should have never been there in the first place, in fact I think a good many of them were there just to get a free hotel room and meals for a week.

You seem like a level headed guy, but you are over thinking this decision. Settle your anxious thoughts down and just go with what you can afford. You'll realize soon enough that I've given you some solid advice.

Old School is giving you some solid advice I believe. I am a newbie myself and I did a tremendous amount of research before diving into the industry. I did go to a private school because the money was not a huge concern, so I am in a slightly different position than you.

I would advise that you try and pick a company with different divisions. That way if you start as Dry Van and want to try Reefer , you do not have to "company hop" to a different company in your first year. Again, I am not sure exactly how all the companies with different divisions handle requests from new drivers to switch divisions, but I imagine that if you have been safe, on time, and eager to learn, then they would help you move to a different division if you want.

I think all the companies you mentioned are strictly Dry Van. Try some like Roehl, Schneider, Prime, and so on.

Old School. You are totally right. I have been over thinking this. That is something I have done for a very long time. Not to bore you with history, but I have made some bad choices in my life, bad enough that now before I take a life changing step, I look at EVERYTHING. And yes, sometimes too much.

Everything you have said is solid advice. Thanks for the help.

And as far as future companies, maybe I am jumping the gun, but I have already been looking. Call that wishful thinking or call it over confident. But there are a lot of good companies out there. Just not "starter companies".

If a person can make it in the Motor Coach business, they can make it just about anywhere.

Celadon, at this point in my life is the right choice. My family is not real thrilled that the company goes to Mexico. But it should be good pay on those trips.

By the way, any tips on Mexico?

ThinksTooMuch. Thanks for the info. But I do want dry van. Not fond of having to play around with tarps. I have watched drivers do that. In the rain and after dark. Not my idea of fun.

And as far as reefers. Not a bad choice, but I would like to do something that doesn't have multiple stops. Maybe not all reefer companies do, but I have read, on here and other places, that most reefer divisions have multiple stops. Grocery stores, meat markers, etc. And sometimes they can be there for hours at a time.

I have been told and have read that USUALLY, OTR dry vans aren't that way. They make a pickup and stop where the drop off is. No stop and drop here and there.

I wanted Schneider, that was my first choice hands down, but Schneider doesn't do paid training anymore. After you go to a private school, they will pay you back up to $6,000 at $150 a month. IF they hire you. To get the average school cost paid off, you would have to be with them for over 2 years.

Thanks for all the input. Now call the recruiter Monday and check some final points and requirements on my part. And then work it out with family for a school date.

Keep it safe out there. Joe S.

Joe, once you get started you may just change your mind about so called "starter" companies. Those companies have invested a lot to help people like you and me get into the industry, and they all have solid financial backing and strong national accounts so that you won't be stranded out there on the road with a flat tire trying to figure out how you're going to get it replaced. With just a simple phone call you'll be getting a road service crew out there asap. These larger companies take good care of their drivers and their business, that's why they are in the position to be able to bring on new drivers with no experience, or to have their own training programs.

One more thing, and I don't know for sure about Celadon's policy on this but I seriously doubt that you would ever be taking a big rig into Mexico. The company I work for has a few terminals in Mexico, and deals with a fair amount of freight coming in and out of Mexico. I've never known of one of our stateside drivers crossing the border. The way this is handled by most trucking companies is that there will be a drop yard or terminal in a border town, like Laredo for instance, that you would go to with your freight and you will simply drop that trailer at the yard and pick up another one there that's loaded and ready to go somewhere here in the lower 48. The drivers in Mexico will then come and pick up that trailer that you dropped and deliver it to it's final destination. Like I said I'm not the final authority on Celadon's way of handling this situation, but that is pretty much the industry standard of doing business across the southern border.

Oh, and just an FYI for you, one of the instructors at the school I attended had driven for Celadon for fifteen years, and said it was hands down the best trucking company they had ever driven for.

I said it before, and I'll say it again. If you took all the truck drivers and asked them an opinion on a company, YOU would NOT come to a conclusion.

Dave

Joe, your confusion and concern over picking the "perfect company" is shared by 95% of the people who are new to trucking. And I can tell you that Old School and ThinksTooMuch gave you some awesome advice.

Let me help put your mind at ease. The first company you choose means very little in the grand scheme of things. I try and try to help people understand that they're spending way too much time obsessing over that choice of companies. The first year is all about learning how to handle that rig, adjusting to life on the road, and learning the in's and out's of the trucking industry. In other words, it's basically on-the-job training.

Decide how often you want to be home and what type of freight you'd like to haul. That will limit your choices to a few major companies. Speak with the recruiters, pick the one you feel suits you best, and go show em you intend to be the most kind, professional, hard working driver you can possibly be. THAT is what will make or break your career - your performance.

Every company in America has plenty of freight for their top drivers or they wouldn't be in business. I drove every type of truck imaginable for a whole host of different companies and I always had plenty of miles and was treated fairly overall.

One of the most important things to remember is what Old School said - don't go by what you hear on the Web from dropouts and cast-offs. If they had taken their opportunity seriously, had a great attitude, and were willing to listen and learn they would have done fine in this industry. Wait until you get to school and see how many knuckleheads show up with horrible attitudes and no chance whatsoever of succeeding. You're going to talk to these guys for five minutes and think "OMG! This has got to be a joke! Please tell me these clowns aren't going to be driving a truck!"

When you realize these are the types that are giving their "hate speeches" all over TheTruckersReport and RipoffReport, you're going to be so thankful you didn't take your career advice from those people.

So just pick a company you feel suits you well and go for it. I promise you that once you've been out there for even a few months you'll see that it's your work ethic, your attitude, your safety, and your reliability that are going to determine your fate in this industry, not the company you choose to work for.

Thanks Brett for the laugh. And I can see myself doing that as I set in a classroom.

You and Old School have given me fantastic information and incite.

I hardly ever listen to the "trolls" online that put a company down. It is usually "sour grapes" as the old saying goes. But when two of them said the cost of the school, it almost knocked me off my chair. There is a post here that I read about someone not passing Celadon's school and having to pay for it. I can't remember which post it was. But is said something about having to pay for the school if you didn't pass. The normal length was like 3 weeks, but if you didn't pass the first time, it could take up to 5 weeks.

Don't get me wrong, I have no intentions of not passing. That is not bravado. I say that only because I have driven an 18 wheeler many years ago. And I am currently in the driving business. I know a motor coach and 18 wheeler are different. But I will have a little bit of incite when it comes to log books and handling a large vehicle on the road.

It just caught me off guard when I saw the school cost of 7,300 dollars and there was a chance (even though it might be small) I might have to pay that back. That was my only concern.

Thanks again Old School, Brett, and all the others for the help and incite.

Keep it safe out there. Joe S.

Celadon really looks like a good deal. There is a caveat however. Celadon, unless they have changed, has a contract based upon mileage instead of length of time. That may or may not matter to you, but you may be under their wing longer than a year. That being said, I would still go with Celadon if they would have me.

My first choice is Con-way Truckload....if I can come up with enough money up front to attend the junior college they hire from in Missouri. If I cannot, Celadon, along with Prime, Stevens, Central, Knight and FFE will all get strong consideration. I had decided to go with USA Truck or PAM, with Driver Solutions, but after talking with them, I found out that I am JUST outside their hiring area. They only hire along the I-35 corridor in South Texas.

Old School is right about Mexico. I live near Laredo, and Celadon has a good sized terminal there. I believe the freight into Mexico is dropped there. Same with Swift and others.

I have talked to a number of Swift trainees. Their school in Corsicana TX is excellent.