Profile For Lee S.

That recruiter has lied to you either unintentionally or blatantly! I have spoken to several drivers with melton that have autos which isn't a bad thing and also there's a video on YouTube of a driver with melton that got a 2017 freightliner Cascadia straight out of training and it was an auto! Maybe that recruiter doesn't know haha but I'm going on the 9th to orientation and when I get done im going to request a 10 speed, not for egotistical reasons lol just because I would like to drive a 10 speed and be seasoned before going to an automatic because I'm fresh out of school! Also I like them lol #yay10speeds haha

Errr.. I meant the 9th, like you. See you there lol.

Well, I don't know that she intentionally lied, but she definitely misspoke. In the bunch of videos, they email to you after getting approved for orientation, there is one stating they're buying 450 T680's this year, all autos.

I fly out on Saturday to start orientation on Monday the 17th. A little anxious about the road test. I graduated back on November 4th, had to have surgery, and am just now ready to go. And we learned in 7speeds. So having not driven a 10speed before makes me really nervous.

That recruiter has lied to you either unintentionally or blatantly! I have spoken to several drivers with melton that have autos which isn't a bad thing and also there's a video on YouTube of a driver with melton that got a 2017 freightliner Cascadia straight out of training and it was an auto! Maybe that recruiter doesn't know haha but I'm going on the 9th to orientation and when I get done im going to request a 10 speed, not for egotistical reasons lol just because I would like to drive a 10 speed and be seasoned before going to an automatic because I'm fresh out of school! Also I like them lol #yay10speeds haha

Well, I don't know that she intentionally lied, but she definitely misspoke. In the bunch of videos, they email to you after getting approved for orientation, there is one stating they're buying 450 T680's this year, all autos.

I fly out on Saturday to start orientation on Monday the 17th. A little anxious about the road test. I graduated back on November 4th, had to have surgery, and am just now ready to go. And we learned in 7speeds. So having not driven a 10speed before makes me really nervous.

I know I am late to this party, but i spoke with recruiter at Melton's on Friday who told me they still ran 10 speeds, no autos.

I have spent countless hours watching youtube videos of truckers, some of which have been mentioned and are quality. However, I've noticed in the beginning the rookies are out there giving their testimonies about how great their company is or not, and the next video you see on them they have been fired for something they did or blogged about. I tend to think that doing you tube videos as a rookie isn't such a good idea. Or they have changed companies for whatever reasons. I see some that are bragging about getting 3000 miles a week and raking in over a grand take home and the next thing you see they are complaining about sitting and not getting any miles. One guy went so far as to say he leased a truck from company X and in 3 months netted 300.00 after all was said and done. Yep He quit!!!! I thinking youtubing isn't always the best thing for a rookie to do.......

You guys.....this is exactly the kind of stuff I was talking about a few days ago when I asked if we should setup a video section here on TruckingTurth.

I've surfed YouTube for good quality trucking videos and that's a painful process. 95% of it isn't really helpful to anyone that wants to learn more about the industry, the job, and the lifestyle. But the other 5% is really great.

So send more ideas like these! I can setup a video section with different categories like:

- The trucking lifestyle

- The realities of the job

- backing videos

- shifting videos

- cooking in the truck

- electronics reviews

...all kinds of different categories. That way people don't have to endure the painful process of sifting through 27,000 YouTube videos. I can embed the good ones right here on TruckingTruth.

This is why I like Red Viking Trucker. He makes the specific point about not telling who he's working for, for the reasons listed above.

The Right Brotha is also one I have found helpful.

Red Viking Trucker is worth checking out also. Particularly his older original videos. They really straight to the point and informational.

Glad to hear of your experience with May, Sam. They are one of the companies I am looking at after I get my CDL here in a couple of weeks. Search Youtube for The Red Head. He works for May and has given a pretty good impression of the company, which got me interested in them. Anxious to hear if your continued experience with them is the same as his.

Cheers.

Lee

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, I have done a lot of reading over the past months on this site, watched countless videos, so i kinda have some idea of what to do. This site has been incredibly helpful! I am going to go the High Road pages here in a bit. I went ahead and got my DOT physical the other day as i wasn't sure I'd make it through, and if i didn't i needed to give myself time to make other plans for employment. Got through it ok though. So now i am working on getting a grant through WIOA to go to CDL school, which i think i prefer vs company training. Anyhoo, i didn't mean to hijack the thread. I will probably start my own thread here once i get into CDL School

Looking to get my CDL soon and Interstate was one of the companies i was looking at. I know on their website they state they want 3 months experience, is that a hard and fast rule or do they make exceptions?

Assume the worst: they tell you to come back after you get some solo road time in.

Learning to drive a big rig takes time and miles of experience. Interstate is saying they don't want to take the time for a newbie. Don't get upset, some companies want to see five years experience before they will talk to you.

Another point: for your driving career resume: job hopping is frowned upon. Our recommendation is to stick with your first company for at least a year before switching.

You certainly can have your reasons for signing on with Interstate. A phone call and a question for an Interstate recruiter will answer that.

You might also want to take a look around:

• Trucker's Career Guide: Choosing Your First Truck Driving Job
• Article Category: Finding The Right Truck Driving Job
• Forum Topics Tagged "Choosing A Trucking Company"

Yep, in the 19 months I've been with them, Interstate (or IDC, or INTD, depending on whose acronym you want to use) have been outstanding. The office personnel I've dealt with have always been friendly, helpful, and actually cheerful. It's like they actually enjoy their jobs and helping drivers. Even the shop guys are cool. There's a genuine atmosphere of driver appreciation, over and above the usual "we appreciate what you do" lip service.

Looking to get my CDL soon and Interstate was one of the companies i was looking at. I know on their website they state they want 3 months experience, is that a hard and fast rule or do they make exceptions?