Profile For Donald S.

Hi Brett I am about to be graduating from school and heading into OTR. I am very comfortable alone and often times dont see family and friends for weeks and sometimes months. Yeah the occasional phone calls but I have to many interest and most people have their families and own lives so socializing is secondary. That being said Im sure the alone time will be fine. I guess my big questions are Will the companies in general keep you rolling. I am fine paying my dues and with proving my work ethics and loyalty to go the extra mile. Taking the less desirable loads,short runs or whatever is cool. I just dont want to being sitting at a truck stop for weeks waiting for loads. Does that happen? Money is important but I have very few bills and made the move to drive as a lateral move into a new less stressful career.I understand there is stress but I managed double digit million dollar construction projects for many years and not managing 12 subcontractors and 54 employees and working 90 to 100 hours a week will be rewarding in itself lol. I have read your pieces for awhile now and respect your expertise so any tips or advice will be very much appreciated. And THANKS for all your effort say safe

Hey Brett thanks for sharing! My take on this is your right, and not being afraid to humble yourself and being pleasant to the people you work with are great rules. I also have to say admin people with high positions and pay can be very difficult. I have had run in with those people before and marveled to myself at how they got anything done when I see them chasing seemingly ridiculously little issues. And I am pretty sure the owner rescinded his automatic fire rule after he heard they could have lost such a good employee. After of course he screamed at the admin guys about ****ing away 5 hours of their time dealing with an obvious issue. These types of situations tend to make owners and bosses question weather or not they hired good decision makers. Thanks Again bud looking for to the next one

Hey everyone, we have another new episode of our podcast "The Road Home" and it's titled:

How I Handled Being Fired For Arriving Early

One time I was fired from a company that I had worked at for five years with a flawless safety and service record, completely out of the blue, for showing up to a customer too early of all things. I was floored when I got the news. I had no idea what they were talking about and could not make any sense out of why I was being let go. This is my story about how this situation played out and what I did when I spoke with management about the situation.

Enjoy!

How I Handled Being Fired For Arriving Early

I think we have different ideas of starter companies. I am referring to Starter as in new business or "smaller" business not the beginning of a new driver's career out of training.

Hey Brett again well thought out and poignant. Everything made sense in logical terms but I have one question. The big companies also have big bills and nondriver profit driven execs. I would think a well balanced starter who planned his growth by assets and offered better then average salaries based on his budget might be good to. Let face it having a driver with proven history and dedication is worth two unknowns any day of the week. Great topic I could imagine pros and cons all day. The big guys who have managed to remember their roots and never got money drunk are probably the best in all worlds

Thanks for the break down! It was well thought out and is spot on. I have worked construction most of my life and know exactly what you mean by employees whining about overtime. And the ones who whine the most are the same ones dragging their shoes and milking the jobs for every penny. There are many jobs that pay better. But when considering the fact you dont have to bleed and beat your body to a pulp. And your not stuck in a trench or in some basement running a 90lb jackhammer in 100 degree weather. Also if you stay fit you have the option to drive well into retirement years its not a bad gig

Hey Thanks! I am in the 3rd month and can tell you I received so many contradictory rules involving the school I was shocked. I started with two great instructors and ended with a guy who was way out of their depth. He called students retards when they didnt get info the first time, made racist and sexiest jokes it was completely inappropriate. I have 27 years in construction and project management this is a lateral move for me I just dont need the stress of multi millions dollar projects anymore. The instructor treated us like high school "kids" this made it very difficult considering I have a spotless record of being on time and organized. Having to listen to his ridiculously embellished stories was bad. Also I was constantly told I would make 100000 a year I knew better I researched saleries. I would warn folks to do their do diligence as well. I think schools also need to be up front about all info and expectations. We lost folks that were on meds from their dr's and found out later they couldnt drive until they were off them. But that was not said until they went through all the class work. It seems to me they withhold certain info so they can bill for the first half and worry later about the person finishing or not. Many people complained about not being told the whole story before they signed on and took a fed loan. So ask the questions be through.