Profile For Austin E.

I know this is a super old post and I'm still new to this industry, but I can tell you that I also have a prosthetic left leg and am forced to deal with Esther. She is horrendous. It has taken months to even make any progress with her and I am STILL waiting on her to send my training SPE just so I can get my permit and attend CDL Training. She is incredibly rude and puts your life on hold just because she can. The SPE setup has to be the worst thing the FMCSA has ever come up with, only dealing with one person and getting this kind of treatment? Horrible.

I certainly hope your representative is easier to deal with than mine. She has a horrible attitude and takes forever to do anything. It’s taken almost a year to get my temporary driving certificate.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're dealing with Ms Leslie in the midwest center and you're absolutely right.

I deal with Esther Fortenberry. She is sooo rude

Does anyone on here work for/have experience with Titan Transfer? They are based out of my home state and I am interested in their training program and their company as a new driver. However, I have made multiple attempts via phone, e-mail and even social media to get in touch and have had absolutely no response. Their recruiting department has yet to answer the phone and hasn't called me back after multiple voicemails. I haven't received any response back from the contact forms on their website either. Not the greatest first impression, but I am curious if anyone here has experience with them. Thanks!

That is fantastic information, thanks so much!

Welcome Austin! You have come to the right place.

That said, if you just look at reviews for a large majority of companies that hire new drivers, they are usually pretty dang terrible. As someone new to this industry, I'd love to hear from some of you on what to believe and what not to believe. I have a family so I certainly don't want to get into a horrible situation, but I also know that there will be cons to anything you do, that's just part of life.

What NOT to believe? Most of it. Bruce (BK) offered the long and the short of it. You rarely see good reviews, because top performing, happy drivers are too busy to be bothered with going to the sites and offering their two cents. The other thing to be leery of; these reviews typically include all employees and not just drivers. For instance, the last time I looked at one of the Indeed reviews, 189 people wrote a review about a company that employed 30,000+ workers. That is less than a 1% sampling. Not exactly reliable and credible. Do those 189 people represent the views of the remaining 29,811 employees? Unlikely.

I drove for Swift for 8+ years, achieving Double Diamond Status and was very happy with my choice. If you believe the reviews written about Swift, they are the darling of negative commentary. Is it true? No, hell no! I went to their school in Richmond, mentored (road trained) with them for another 6 weeks, ran solo OTR for 3 months and finally settled on a NE Regional Walmart Dedicated account until leaving them in September of 2021. This was due to a significant move (lifestyle decision) and my desire to run local, otherwise I'd still be pulling Walmart Wagons. I would not change anything with the path I chose committing to Swift.

We have numerous examples (active member of this forum) of highly successful, top performing drivers representing Prime, Swift, Schneider, Roehl, Knight, Werner, etc., companies who are almost always misrepresented on the review boards. Our advice, if you need to read about trucking on the interweb, stick with company websites and Trucking Truth. We will always give you the unfiltered truth.

Trucking Truth is a wealth of valuable information and designed to help people trying to enter trucking as a career. As we always do, we recommend reading and studying the following links to establish a truthful and accurate information base and set realistic goals and expectations. As follows:

• Truck Driver's Career Guide
• Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
• High Road CDL Training Program
• CDL Practice Tests

Trucking Truth also highly recommends taking the Paid CDL Training Programs approach to schooling.

Here is why (click the link): Why Company Paid/Sponsored Training is the Preferred Choice

Use this link to apply: Apply For Paid CDL Training

Good luck!

Thanks for your response, I really appreciate it. It does seem pretty common that disgruntled employees will quickly blame the company and not themselves, so taking it with a grain of salt seems to be good advice.

Hi Austin and welcome. This topic is discussed regularly, but for good reason. People getting started in the industry need to have a realistic view of reviews about companies. Most of what you read is pure garbage posted by disgruntled employees or ex-employees. If the truth was known, these negative nobodies created whatever mess they are griping about.

Personally, I started out with Schneider. They didn’t have CDL training then, but they do now. And you get to go for free and even get paid. Schneider has top notch training and instructors. I left Schneider for various reasons but I still think they are a fine company, especially as a starter company. Prime is another stellar example, as is CFI, TMC, Swift and many others. Approach those negative reviews with a heavy dose of skepticism.

Thanks so much for this fantastic reply. This is exactly what I was looking for. As you say, work is often what we make it, and I am looking forward to earning my place in this field even though it was an unexpected career change. Thank you again.

Welcome to our forum Austin!

Trucking is a unique industry. We like to say it's an incredible opportunity that requires incredible people. It's a very independent job that allows individuals to pretty much manage themselves into prosperity or misery. Keep that in mind when reading reviews.

Now, let me share my experience. I began my career at Western Express. If you've been reading internet reviews you've probably seen drivers complaining about that company. They give a lot of people a shot at this career. Unfortunately most of them don't prove to be worthy candidates.

Trucking companies are pretty basic operations. They all try to move freight efficiently with very little opportunity to distinguish themselves from each other. There's just not a lot of difference from one company to another. Remember that, and don't be fooled by the common misconception most newcomers have developed from their internet research. It is a fool's game to try and determine if brand X is a bad company to start with or if brand Y is a good company for beginners. You'd be splitting hairs to establish differences in the two, and as a rookie you would have no way to understand the insignificant nuances of difference in the companies willing to hire you.

I shared the company I started with because I wanted you to know I had a great rookie year there. I made good money and learned a lot during that year. I'd still be there had I not received an offer I saw as a great opportunity for me. After sixteen months there I moved to Knight and have been in a dedicated position there for nine years now.

It boils down to this... you will enjoy this career or hate it. The ones who hate it ALWAYS blame their employer. They know their success hangs on their own efforts, yet they failed miserably. To admit defeat is not as easy as laying blame somewhere, and it means you have to admit your shortcomings.

Don't fall for it. Be a responsible rookie who strives to be the best he can be. That's how I have always approached my trucking career. I am determined to be the best. I have had great experiences at a place where almost every driver claims it is a terrible company. Your trucking experience will be determined by your commitment to success. Take the high road of determination and commitment. Leave that low road of trash talking companies to the foolish ones who don't even understand what they've gotten into.

Hello all. I am new both to driving and to this forum so I hope this topic hasn't been posted a ton and my apologies if it has. I am former law enforcement but due to an injury sustained in the line of duty, I was forced to make a career change. But I'm not the "sit in an office all day" type of person. I like being out and about and I don't mind doing some hard work to go along with it, so trucking caught my interest.

As someone who is new to the industry, I'm still not naive enough to not understand that companies are going to put their "best" information on the website to try to get you hired, and the recruiters will tell you what you want to hear. It was the same with the military when I was serving.

That said, if you just look at reviews for a large majority of companies that hire new drivers, they are usually pretty dang terrible. As someone new to this industry, I'd love to hear from some of you on what to believe and what not to believe. I have a family so I certainly don't want to get into a horrible situation, but I also know that there will be cons to anything you do, that's just part of life.

Some companies I am looking into that are associated with my CDL school are Averitt, Werner, Schneider, etc. But there are other companies like Warrior Logistics, EPES Transport, USA Truck, Paschall Truck Lines, etc. that will also hire new grads and put you through their training.

Thanks so much for your time. I appreciate any comments.