It sounds like they're yankin' yer chain! But, it also sounds like you're gonna get what you want outta life anyways. You've got a good attitude and ambition. Crossing the threshold and getting your foot in the door in any industry can be tough.
You mentioned oil field services north of Denver? Try A&W Water out of Greeley. They run tankers, pneumatics and flats. Good bunch of people. Worked along side them for years (They were the competition... LOL!).
Good luck to ya!!!!!
YOU are tenacious! You would have made a good Marine. Best of luck out there.
Schneider hires for their tanker division straight out of school. Thinks too much started with them before moving to van. Give him a shout out.
I want to "cut my teeth" on tankers and be able to have the skill required to "hang with the big boys" right when I "start my engine."
That's awesome. But there's only one problem with that goal - it's completely impossible.
A rookie can't hang with the big boys at anything worth doing. You know that. You'd like to "try" to hang with the big boys to see whatcha got - and that's awesome. But let me tell ya - that's a fun idea if you're trying to throw darts or playing video games or having a BBQ contest. But you're talking about an 80,000 pound building on wheels surrounded by minivans full of children in heavy traffic, horrendous weather, tight schedules, erratic sleep patterns, and a million other challenges you'll face everyday. This isn't really the type of endeavor you undertake by jumping right to level ten on day one. If it were that easy, we'd all graduate from school as top-notch pros. It takes years and years to reach the highest level at this.
Personally, I love people who take your approach and strive to challenge themselves. I'm the same way. But I promise you, you're severely underestimating the skill it takes to survive your first year out there in any sort of big rig, I don't care what trailer you're pulling. There's nothing wrong with wanting to work for certain companies or pull certain types of freight. But don't convince yourself that you know more than you do about what you'll be facing out there. You run the risk of underestimating the challenges, and that can lead to a catastrophe.
I drove a food grade tanker for a year and I loved it. And the shifting does take a lot more skill with 48,000 pounds of liquid sloshing around. But it isn't like, "If you don't drive a tanker you're not a real trucker". I've driven everything and they'll all kill you with equal speed and ferocity if you lose focus for just a moment.
So wherever you wind up, just roll with it and take it a moment at a time. Clear your mind of expectations, learn all you can, and enjoy yourself. Because tanker or not, 80% of the time you're on cruise control looking at cornfields or frozen tundras anyhow. And every type of trucking has its challenges.
Ever carry one of those massive, heavy tarps the flatbedders lug around and try to tarp a tall load in heavy winds in January?
Ever try to drive an empty van or reefer on slick roads in 60 mph crosswinds?
Ever try to drive anything out of downtown Chicago at 6:00 pm on a Friday?
Don't sweat that first job so much. It doesn't matter nearly as much as you think. You'll certainly get your opportunity to drive every type of truck in America someday. But remember, you have to survive that first year, and that's waaaaaay more difficult than almost anyone ever imagines it will be.
A refrigerated trailer.
Don't sweat that first job so much. It doesn't matter nearly as much as you think. You'll certainly get your opportunity to drive every type of truck in America someday. But remember, you have to survive that first year, and that's waaaaaay more difficult than almost anyone ever imagines it will be.
Granted. Will do, Brett. Thanks. You rock.
Well, Guys? "Looks like University of Illinois!"
-Tom Cruise, "Risky Business"
It sounds like they're yankin' yer chain! But, it also sounds like you're gonna get what you want outta life anyways. You've got a good attitude and ambition. Crossing the threshold and getting your foot in the door in any industry can be tough.
I'll say it's tough. You're not kidding!
You mentioned oil field services north of Denver? Try A&W Water out of Greeley. They run tankers, pneumatics and flats. Good bunch of people. Worked along side them for years (They were the competition... LOL!).
Working with good people would be ideal. Thanks for this. It's time to move.
Good luck to ya!!!!!
Thanks, Man. Just want put food in the fridge, that's all.
YOU are tenacious! You would have made a good Marine. Best of luck out there.
One of the highest compliments one could receive. Thank you, Sir. That was a well-needed shot-in-the-arm.
Schneider hires for their tanker division straight out of school. Thinks-too-much started with them before moving to van. Give him a shout out.
Thank you SO MUCH for the tip, Home Girl. (I'm from Philly) Pleased to meet you.
Hey mountain girl, don't let this "bump in the road" get to ya! I know you've been in here for a little while, but you may not be familiar with my start in the trucking industry. Like you, I graduated with the highest G.P.A. in my school, and they told me that I was the first one to ever score a 100% on the school's final exam in the six years that they had been in business. My driving instructor used to say it was eerie riding in the truck with me because it seemed like I'd been doing this for twenty years. All that just to say that I was pumped when I got out. I was confident I could go anywhere I wanted and land just the job I wanted. Well... that's not the way it went for me at all. I actually got sent home from three different orientations for stuff that had nothing to do with my abilities as a truck driver. Talk about frustrating and humbling! I finally took a job with the last company on my list of folks who had given me a pre-hire , and I was really nervous about it because of all the bad stuff I had heard about them on those ridiculous internet reviews of trucking companies.
Well, I told myself I will work here for one year, and then move on to something else after I've got my career started. I can't even begin to tell you how much I learned during my first year. Those things Brett said earlier are so true. It just takes years to really get to the top of your game in this career. After my first year was up, my employer gave me a really nice raise, and I realized how good I was doing here and how much I was enjoying my career that my thoughts of moving on had already dissipated into an enjoyable satisfaction with the way things were going right where I was.
Just take things one step at a time, the main objective of any job is to provide for yourself and your family. Put those personal goals and aspirations as your secondary purpose and they will come into focus as you progress and improve your skills. You're gonna make a great truck driver - I recognize the qualities in you that will put you on the path to success.
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
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That's how I feel.
After all of you, my new trucker buddies, backed me up on vying for a position with the company I wanted, the school director stood by the teacher-from-hell's opinion rather than hearing me out. I still don't get how I finished with a 98.8% GPA (which included scores from unannounced tests on the road), an award for perfect attendance, an award for academic achievement, a student contest that I won at a national trucking company's annual picnic with the school, I was told by the administrator that my GPA was the highest at the school in 6 months, and still couldn't get a recommendation to the food-grade tanker company based on my shifting. My shifting? If my shifting was so bad, why was I not told about it, the night beFORE the CDL test? I categorically disagree, anyway. Teacher-from-hell hadn't been in the truck with me in a week-and-a-half. I really believe he was basing that opinion on what he witnessed on my second day on the road because the instructor from the last 2 nights, before test day, was the biggest perfectionist of all and if I missed any nuances, he, of all people would have forced me to refine it. I really do believe teacher-from-hell had some personal issue that interfered with a truly unbiased look at my abilities. Ugh. I'm done trying to reason with these people. I don't know how doing an excellent job is not enough. But da-ang, Gentlemen. Who gots?
Back to square one. I applied to the May Trucking Company (but they're dry freight and refers ...not my style) and I'm looking at a few water- and sand-hauling companies in the oil fields, North of Denver. I want to drive tankers, not the boxes. It isn't just the money, or I would have jumped at another company that's offering $20/hr and a $3,000 signing bonus to new graduates from my school. I just don't get the feeling that particular company is for me. There's no "feel."
I want to drive tankers. Why? Because tankers require a certain type of skill I believe I have. I'm not saying I think tankers are better than any other - or that I have any idea what I'm talking about. It's just the type of tracter-trailer combination that I want. There's a bit of smoothness and perfectionism required that I know I would enjoy refining. I don't want to work for "some other company for 6 months" first and then re-apply to companies with tankers. Is that ok? That's a waste of my time and that of the company I'd be ditching halfway through my first year. From what I've learned here, your first 12 months with the same company is critical, if you want to make a good impression with any other.
I want to "cut my teeth" on tankers and be able to have the skill required to "hang with the big boys" right when I "start my engine." One thing I've always been able to establish, having worked alongside men, in the military is that more than anything, I'm a team-player, I'm not a wuss, I'm a stand-up girl, just like the other guys around, I don't let the guys down, and I pull my fair share of the work load, just like everyone else. I treat everyone with respect and I'm not that girl out there who's always trying to out-do everyone else. Those types are a pain, too. Yanno?
I forget who suggested it, but I'm going to do what he said and keep pounding on the doors of the companies I truly want.
One thing anyone who knows me can say about me is: I never ...ever ...quit.
It's always been ...my personal motto: "(my actual name) never quits."
But being held back (without a pending paycheck) while your engine is ready, is pretty darned frustrating. Can you feel me?
-mountain girl
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.