Finally Got My CDL, Deciding Between 3 Companies All Drivers Seem To Hate. Please Help :(

I finally graduated with my cdl , am deciding between western express, May Trucking, and trans am, and hopefully I’ll be offered a position with Sysco for a local position. Until then I have to consider the options already made available, every where I do my research drivers seem to hate these companies and I’m only reading negative reviews about all 3. I would apply to more local positions but majority of them require at least 6 months experience which I don’t have. I am just at a loss and need advice

Keaira, I dont know where you live but, if possible, I'd apply to Marten with the goal of getting on one of their dedicated accounts. Where you live will determine what your chances are of landing one of those accounts. Stay away from any dollar store accounts.

Any local food/product delivery like Sysco & dollar store is no joke for a rookie. You'll be backing in some very difficult situations. Unloading & sorting trailer loads of products with many daily stops.

You don’t want to do local as a new driver. We aren’t good enough backing and driving yet to do it. You are in the right place though. Apply for the jobs through here. The company reviews are absolutely on point on this site. I went with TMC it’s a flat bed company, and they are amazing, and yet you go online on different sites there’s tons of negative reviews. It’s from people that didn’t make it. We had a kid sent home from our group, and five minutes out the door he’s texting about how bad TMC treated him. When people get fired they never look into the mirror.

Congratulations on completing school and getting your CDL!

We never, ever recommend a local food service delivery route for a brand new driver. You don't have any experience. Yes, you passed the CDL test, but in the real world, that's the easiest thing you're going to have accomplished compared to running a local route daily. The opportunities are endless to have an accident (or several) in the very beginning of your career, essentially ending it before it begins.

You need to get experience and the best way is an OTR position for a minimum of a year.

U will not find a company that doesn’t have bad reviews. Figure out what u want reefer , dry, flatbed. I’m not familiar with the three you’re looking at but looks like May drives most western states and trans only hires from certain states. Really check out there training programs and pay while training. Also some companies only run teams. It’s what u are looking for!

I finally graduated with my cdl , am deciding between western express, May Trucking, and trans am, and hopefully I’ll be offered a position with Sysco for a local position. Until then I have to consider the options already made available, every where I do my research drivers seem to hate these companies and I’m only reading negative reviews about all 3. I would apply to more local positions but majority of them require at least 6 months experience which I don’t have. I am just at a loss and need advice

Why limit yourself to those companies? Any reason you aren’t also trying swift, Werner, Schneider, us express, etc? Most of the big guys should hire no matter where you live. And if you want to be local, some of them will have local accounts that you can switch to after you get your experience. JB hunt for example. I haven’t gotten my cdl yet but I believe these guys when they say generally most companies are the same and I plan on applying to a bunch. If I get a bunch of offers, cool. If not , also cool.

I wouldn't pay much attention to the online griping, there's a lot of negative things posted online about the company I drive for and almost none of it is true, not even close to true. Happy productive people don't generally spend their time online complaining.

Why would you like to stay local? What are you hoping to get out of the job? If you could make your own dream driving job what would it be like? You may be looking in the wrong places.

Thank you all for the advice, I think otr would be good for me to start. And I tried swift but they denied me since it’s only been 1 years since I’ve stopped smoking marijuana And not 3 ( I mean I do live in Colorado and had a medical card but I can’t change my past sadly) and I have a license suspension from 2016 for a missed insurance payment on my sr-22 which is why these are the companies that have reached out to me rather than swift, Knight, etc. I heard local positions with smaller companies are better but I could be wrong I’m just going off what I hear. I honestly just need to get the financial stability I need in this exciting new career, but I certainly don’t want to get screwed over by the first company I work with. I actually would like to start out OTR and intend to

Keaira I can see how that it would limit your options. With those extenuating circumstances if one of those companies will take you, you should jump on it. You have to ask yourself “ what do I have to lose”? Then ask yourself “what do I have to gain”? I would not worry about the reviews but look at each of the companies that will take you and see if they offer the type of driving you want. Good luck!

You are doing the right thing as research - looking around for information. The problem is as an outsider it's hard for you to see the BS among the good info. In this forum we do our best to get you accurate information.

As noted, most online reviews are by people motivated by the pain of frustration and failure as they try to point at something not themselves as the reason they don't drive any more.

The other posters urge you to stay out of local, and suggest you go with a larger company. The big ones have the resources to back you up in training and getting you in good, well maintained equipment. That's when you can focus on gaining driving experience.

You should Apply For as many Truck Driving Jobs as you can. Can you imagine the pleasure of having a real choice to make among job offers, rather than the desperation of having to say "I'll take it."