Profile For Robert D.

Thanks Old School it is very true us newbies hear plenty of horror stories. I also realize some bring it on themselves. Just glad to find a company where at least I know a few people who are happy working there.

They care about a person which is nice

I just want to point something out here. This is a common misconception about trucking companies: that they could care less about their drivers. I completely understand how new folks researching the industry fall for this because there is such voluminous reports online supporting this nonsense.

Mark my words. Every time you see someone going on about how a certain trucking company doesn't care about it's drivers, that person was probably a pain to deal with as a driver. It doesn't matter where I've worked in this business, there are miserable drivers and very happy and successful drivers doing the same job at the same company. The miserable drivers all think the company doesn't care about them, and the successful ones all have the company tripping over themselves to do what ever they can to keep those drivers.

Perspective is everything when it comes to this subject. Unfortunately there are a lot of drivers out here whose sole perspective comes from a negative position which they unknowingly created for themselves.

Thanks for the nice post Im going out with my trainer in 2 to 3 weeks Wish I had this oppurtunity.

Its a relative of mine, one of my 3 uncles in the business. They all live in Georgia, I live in Iowa, and neither of them ever go to the midwest so it took a little bit to get down here to have this opportunity, but its well worth it. Getting to experience all the in and outs of the job and lifestyle first hand is really getting me excited to start classes, and of course getting some visual and hands on practice without even getting behind the wheel.

Day 7: Pretrip review, I didnt do too bad. I remembered a couple of things, but needed a little help on finding where some **** is.  We start rolling towards buffalo, 486 to 90. About 62 miles left to go to reach our destination by 1400, its 1210 right now and over the cb we hear that theres a 30 min delay, construction about 13 miles.  Stop n go traffic, lot of cross chatter on the radio, "passing the time" my uncle calls it.  After what feels like an hour, its hammer time!  We get to Buffalo and hit high wind gusts.  Must be that canadian wind coming across lake Ontario.  Made to our destination at 1350. Time for a supposed 1h live load.  20 mins later, the load is done and my uncle comes out with his paperwork; he had to sign and date about 20 BOLs for himself and 20 for them! Hell, they were done loading by the time he was finished with the paperwork! We got 321m to Breiningsville PA and 7.5h on the clock.  GPS tried to take him on the back roads again rather than staying on 90, but he knows better.  Me, I'd probably take that route and either get lost or take forever.  But I guess knowledge comes with experience. Boring trip.  It takes alot out of you going down the same interstate twice in the same day.  I-90 from syracuse to buffalo, the buffalo passing through syracuse!  God damn that was a boring drive, and I thought I-80 west of des moines ia was horrible! Welcome to Allentown PA. The place where truck stop addresses lead to an employees only back entrance from a residential road... Seriously, how off could the quallcom really be?? Luckily, theres another truck stop close by.  Nearly pitch black, absolutely no lighting at all!  There were even 4 wheelers parked in the truck spots, one of them may have even been a boat... WTF!! We eventually find the service plaza we originally wanted on a toll road, luckily it had plenty of parking available.  Maybe thats something to look out for in the future, legal parking within toll areas.  Its been a long day...

Thank you very much for the reply and all the great info. I decided to take the job close to home. Im home every week for reset and it is OTR and talked to some drivers who work there as well. They care about a person which is nice and Ill be going out with my trainer in 2 to 3 weeks. My fellow classmate is out with him now and Ive talked to him and the trainer is very nice non pushy etc. Guess for now I can thank my lucky stars and hope all goes well. Ill be posting more once I start my training. Again thank you and have a great run.

Robert Wrote:

Have 2 offers one from MCT (Comcar) and one from local J Bauer. Think Ill make more for mct but bauer im home for reset every week. Anybody work for either of these, Thank you

First off, welcome to the forum Robert. And congratulations on the offers and earning your CDL. We have a tradition of offering the dancing banana for a job well done. All the best for a safe and successful career!

My thoughts on this are go with the company able to best prepare you for going solo. If you haven't done so already, inquire how (or if) they road train entry-level drivers (new CDL holder) and for how long. It's not always about the money on your first job, but about how it will positively enable your future as a safe and efficient driver. Quality road-training is essential to establishing a solid foundation of skills as you progress forward.

The other consideration, possibly as important; with J. Bauer you would have a local job. Local gigs for first year drivers may or may not be an ideal situation. Local jobs many times entail frequently maneuvering your truck in highly congested urban centers, frequent backs and very long days. Try to get more information on the nature of the "local" job and determine if your skills are up to meeting the potential for increased challenges, stress and the associated risk.

Here are some links that can provide further insight as you ponder your decision:

• 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"

Also reading Brett's Book: Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Truck Driving provides a unique and candid perspective on what you can expect the next several months.

Again welcome, and let us know how else we can assist you.

Have 2 offers one from MCT (Comcar) and one from local J Bauer. Think Ill make more for mct but bauer im home for reset every week. Anybody work for either of these, Thank you

I.ll Be in Atlanta for orientation the 23rd of August myself

Hey Diver. Are you still with Comcar? I'll be heading to Savannah in August for my Orientation. Just wondering if you have heard anything about CT division. That's where I am going to end up. To begin with at least