Profile For Jerad M.

Thanks for everyone's replies, I appreciate the honesty. I am going to accept the Ace job, get trained up and running to gain some experience.

I applied for ABF, Old Dominion, Estes Express, YRC, UPS Freight which is now TFI, Fed ex freight and Gemini/Loves as a fuel hauler. I was turned down by ABF, Estes and Fed-ex because I have no experience, I haven't heard from the others yet. I just have these two offers at the moment and have to let them know by Tuesday or lose them.

Why choose between only two companies?

Ace will give me a full training program 4 weeks backing as a yard dog, then 4-5 weeks with a trainer OTR. The small company said they will put me with their other driver for 1-2 weeks and cut me loose which scares the heck out of me as a newbie!

I was told by a friend of mine who used to work for Swift to stay far away from them.

Smile when you say that, Jerad. There are a few Swifties here who will take issue with that. I'm one. I went through Swift's training program, then drove Swift, then taught at the same Swift Academy I started at.

I'm glad you understand you're still not ready for Prime time (oh, Hi, Kearsey!). Understand you need to ride OTR with a trainer for roughly six weeks before they'll let you out on your own. Ask Ace Hardware about that. With a CDL, you can Apply For Truck Driving Jobs and be rolling with your trainer in a week or so.

Thanks for the reply, I forgot to mention both are W2. I didn't realize that the mega carriers were paying that much to newbies maybe I need to actually give them a look, I was told by a friend of mine who used to work for Swift to stay far away from them but I'm not sure about the others.

This is my opinion, but to me both of these don't sound particularly great.

First, ask if any of these are paid 1099. If so, then immediately it's a terrible deal. I'd think any of the mega carriers can beat the rate that these places are giving you. The mega's doing otr are up to like .60/mi. The accessorial pay to me is low. Personally when i see a bunch of accessorial stuff it's smoke and mirrors but that's just me.

Good luck.

Thanks for the reply, I'm sorry I forgot to mention both are W2 positions. The training portion for me is huge I know that the 160 hour school I attended taught me just enough to get into trouble and I need more training.

I dunno about the small company. The 1099 deal might be your future there. Also as a freshly minted CDL driver you won't get the training and support you will need.

I think Ace Hardware would be a good deal. You will certainly be a W-2 employee there. In my opinion, I think driving a truck for a non-trucking company (Ace, Ashley, Tyson, Walmart) might be better than driving for a trucking company.

I have 2 job offers straight out of CDL school. This would be my first trucking job ever, after a 15 year career as a Deputy Sheriff. I'm in Colorado Springs,CO thanks in advance for any advice.

The details are as follows,

One is with ACE Hardware starting as an extra board driver regionally, .49 cents per mile $16 per hour detention/break $15 dollars per stop $30 sleeper pay 3,000 sign on bonus. -Good but expensive medical dental vision. (600 per month cost.) -6% 401K match -Will start as yard dog until trainer is ready for me. -2021 freightliner manual trucks -on road 3-4 nights per week

The other is a very small and new trucking company in town I would be employee number 2 driving a flatbed regionally. ( owner is very nice and has bent over backwards to try and hire me)

.48 cents per mile. $75 tarp and strap pay. $25 per hour detention/break $25-30 per hour if doing local runs. $20 sleeper pay -No medical, dental, vision but gives $500 per month towards it to get your own. -3% 401k match -flexible with schedule -takehome 2018 Peterbilt 579 automatic transmission. -will allow me to pick loads further out l, example to go visit family in another state. -allows riders and pets. -5000 sign on bonus.

I feel blessed to have these two offers both seem amazing to me and I'm having a very hard time deciding.

I really like the appeal of the small company. The owner is the kind of person you can sit and talk to, he seems very flexible and understanding.

ACE is appealing because it is the safer job with full benefits. I have also read there indeed reviews which are pretty decent.

I appreciate all of you on here I have gained a ton of knowledge from this forum!

Thanks,