Tips On Starting A Career?

Hello everyone!

I am currently looking to start a career in trucking and recently obtained a class A CDL with no endorsements, no restrictions. I've been actively looking and researching jobs for the past week and I'm a little overwhelmed. I've learned that my best option would be to drive regional or OTR. Just got finished reading the online book "The raw truth about truck driving" and it was very informative but left me with some questions. Just wondering if I can get some tips and advice on what I should do next, I would greatly appreciate any and all information.

The book said to approach a company with my own expectations and goals. Seeing that I have 0 experience in the trucking field I do not know what to expect but my goal is to make money lol. The book also mentioned some questions I should ask a company and I will do so but what should I be looking for in a company as a inexperienced rookie driver?

I'm accustomed to an hourly/salary pay and the getting paid by the mile is a bit confusing to me. What would be a good or fair pay to look for? Also are ESOP companies more beneficial? Is there a certain amount of miles that I should be aware of or is that on the company itself to tell me? Are there any companies that you guys recommend I take a look at? I'm not the type that jumps from job to job, I like security and stability. If there is a company that I can spend my whole career with then I'm more than happy to stay if the situation is right.

Ok guys and gals, it's late and my head is spinning from all the jobs I've been looking up so if I missed any important questions please fill me in. I appreciate any and all advice from you guys and thank you for your response.

Hey Twosides11, your dilemma is a common one. It is overwhelming when you make this leap. It shouldn't be, but it is. We understand what you are going through. Newbies at this do all kinds of research and reading, and the overload of information starts to feel like a weight on their shoulders. I have a fairly good perspective on this matter simply because I got rejected by every company that I thought would be the best places to work.

First off you need to realize there is not a right or a wrong choice to make here. You have no idea what to expect because you are totally green. So, don't even worry about your expectations of the company. ESOP companies hold no advantages over publicly owned or privately owned companies. Don't get all bogged down in the weeds like that.

I'm accustomed to an hourly/salary pay and the getting paid by the mile is a bit confusing to me. What would be a good or fair pay to look for?

Honestly I wouldn't concern myself with the pay. Any company who is hiring rookie drivers is going to pay similar rates. There will be some differences, but it shouldn't really matter to you at this point. Your first year is all about you. It's not about the company. You need to focus on developing yourself into a professional driver, and you will soon discover that is not easy. Everybody struggles during their first year. The biggest problem most rookies have is that they get frustrated with their abilities and they start blaming their problems with their new career on their employer. That's right, they start thinking they have started with the wrong company. Don't fall for that nonsense. It has derailed countless new trucking careers. Being a rookie driver has it's issues, and it has nothing to do with the name on your truck's doors.

Is there a certain amount of miles that I should be aware of or is that on the company itself to tell me?

You will be responsible for the miles you run. Everything about trucking is performance based. It is going to be totally different from any job you have held before. You will be responsible for what ends up on your paycheck. You will not be paid for showing up for work and spending your time working. You will be paid for what you actually accomplish. Rookies don't accomplish as much as hard core veterans. That's just a reality. The company may not entrust a rookie with as much responsibility as a well trusted driver. Your job that first year is to work on proving your worth to the company. How do you do that?

• You make every appointment on time.
• You don't hit anything.
• You make sure you are easy to work with.

That's what you focus on that first year. When you encounter issues you focus on solutions. Almost everybody turns their focus to their employer. They decide the problems they are having are due to the fact that they chose the wrong company. Do Not Do That. It is a huge mistake. Spend your first year developing yourself into a professional. You can do that at any trucking company willing to hire a rookie driver. I did it at Western Express, a company which had nothing but terrible reviews. I proved that trucking reviews are useless to newbies. They honestly don't mean anything. The problem is that they are written by a bunch of losers who couldn't find their way out of a wet paper sack. They have no idea what they are talking about and they cannot be considered as helpful information.

Continued...

I'm not the type that jumps from job to job, I like security and stability. If there is a company that I can spend my whole career with then I'm more than happy to stay if the situation is right.

I think it is silly to try and find the company you want to spend the rest of your career with now. You don't have a clue what you want from this career yet. Don't put that stress on yourself. You just need a job right now so you can start developing yourself into a professional who knows what he is looking for. Let me give you an example. I decided I wanted to pull flatbed freight when I was getting started. Each of the companies I chose rejected me. I had a hard time getting my first job. Western Express took me on and I eventually excelled there. I loved my job and I was doing well. A friend that I had developed through this forum contacted me after about fourteen or fifteen months into my career and encouraged me to look into a new flatbed division that Knight was starting. He had started at Knight about the same time I had started at Western Express. He had been encouraged by his terminal manager to try their new flatbed gig and he was enjoying it. The job was for a dedicated customer and it was still basically an over the road job. After some deliberation I applied and they hired me. That was over seven years ago, and I am still loving it. I had no idea at the beginning of my career that I would love working for one particular customer. This particular job is everything I could have wanted out of trucking, but there was no way for me to know that as a greenhorn rookie.

Right now you just need to focus on developing yourself into somebody worthy of the title of professional driver. That is a tall order in itself. Don't get all distracted with the peripherals. It is distracting and stressful.

Are there any companies that you guys recommend I take a look at?

First you need to decide what type freight you want to haul. That will narrow down your choices. As a rookie you basically have about four choices. You can do dry-van, refrigerated, flatbed, or tanker.

I don't recommend tanker for newbies so let's just say you have three choices. Dry-van is probably the best choice, because it will have the least amount of risk, but you choose what you like. Once you have that determined you can start choosing companies that haul the type freight you have chosen. You are going to be limited by companies that hire newbies. Typically those are some of the most amazingly managed trucking companies on the planet, so you are in good hands. You want to go with the big companies who hire rookies. Don't worry about the nonsense you will see on the internet. Companies like Swift, U.S. Express, Knight, Schneider, or any of the other big trucking companies are all great places to start your new career.

Old School, this helped me out tremendously as well. I feel I'm on information overload at this point.... Ohh and I spoke to the people at church they are behind me on this decision!!!!!

Thank you so much Old School! That help a lot. I often try to get all the information I can about something before I make a decision. Sometimes that can be a negative because I then start to over complicate an easy situation. There was a company that visited the school I attended so that might be best for now. Also going to put in 8 application to companies I've seen so far. Again thank you Old School for the information!

You got this!

Use our one and done link to apply to a bunch of companies. Don't limit yourself to only a couple applications as you could easily get turned down.

One and Done

Laura

You got this!

Thank you! I appreciate that. 🙏 Just put in applications to Swift, TMC, Marten, FedEx freight, C.R England, J.B Hunt and XTL.