Find A Company And Stick With Them Or Jump After A Year?

ok get thru trucking driving school (private) and ready to hookup with a company, should I look for a company that I can stay on for 5/ 10 years or just try one out and look for something better after a year under my belt?

It all depends on you really. After one year your life situation may change, the company may change their policies, or any other million things can happen.

Stay with the first company you choose for a year and then make a decision at that one year mark. If you do well with your first company that first year they may offer incentives to keep you, make sure you negotiate if you do start looking at other companies because they may be able to match offers or offer something else to keep you.

The first year is the hardest, just remember that. Good luck.

Sounds good! Thanks,TTM

The Shadow, welcome to the forum!

You know, you just brought up a question that I've been thinking about lately. I've thought about posting my thoughts on it, but really it was something that I was just thinking about in relation to my own situation, but now that you raise the question I think I will give out a few thoughts on this subject. We always encourage everyone to stick with their first driving job for that critically important first safe year of driving. Not only does this give you a good foundation to build on in the future, but it also gives you some good standing and credibility when you do start putting out feelers for your next driving job.

I've always counseled people to not worry so much about their starting pay, but rather concentrate on doing your best to be a true professional during that first year and you will come out on top making some pretty decent pay as you learn the ins and outs of a very challenging career. Still everybody gets all wrapped up in the different pay scales at different companies and different types of driving jobs. Most of the companies that are willing to hire newbies aren't paying top dollar to their new employees and I think that is understandable, yet most of those same rookies jump ship as soon as their first anniversary rolls around thinking the grass will be greener if they just were in a truck with a different name on the doors.

My first anniversary is coming up pretty quick now, and I'm considering staying right where I am even though I could easily get a higher pay rate as far as cents per mile goes by going somewhere else. My reasoning behind my thinking is this: I have done really well where I am, and I am beginning to understand just how they like things done and what kinds of things I can do to make sure I'm turning lots of miles. I know a lot about the customers we deal with and where we run. I have a lot of little things down like places I can park that are right near the customers, or know which customers will let me stay in their parking lots, I know which places will let me get in early if I can manage to get there, and a whole host of other little details that make my life a whole lot easier and more profitable on the road. I have a dispatcher who understands how I like to do things and he can just about figure out what I'm going to do on any given load assignment which allows him to plan way ahead for me which really keeps my wheels turning.

I have some goals and would like to try some more specialized hauling some day, but for now I'm seriously thinking about sticking with my current employer, because of all the little details that come together and make for a critical part of your success out there on the road. The ability to have some sense of how to accomplish more than most of the other drivers do is worth quite a bit in terms of dollars that you earn on your paycheck. Having some sort of street smarts or just being savvy about the way things get done in this business goes a long way toward your success, and being familiar with how your given company likes things done and having them familiar with how you do things is of inestimable value when it comes to payday.

I hope I haven't rambled on too much without really answering your question, but it really is a combination of the little details that make this job rewarding both in a sense of accomplishment and in the economic benefits of a good steady paycheck. So many people ignore the little details that can make this job more rewarding by being able to accomplish more and therefore earn not only more money, but also more trust by the folks that are handing out the more profitable loads.

I did six months otr with my first company before moving on to another.

Never got a single day of hometime and the pay was not worth it.

Got a dedicated route with jb hunt easily with only half a years experiece. I now get weekends off and 50-75 percent more pay each week.

Definitly worth moving up.

So, what do you all think.....it's easier to commit long term to a little Mom and Pop company or a 500+ truck company?

So, what do you all think.....it's easier to commit long term to a little Mom and Pop company or a 500+ truck company?

All depends on what you want out of trucking. Only you can answer that. Some people like small companies and some people like larger companies.

First and foremost you ha e to figure out what you want first.