Are There Trucking Consultants For Rookies?

I simply wish to earn a minimum of $45K to start, and I could care less if it is flatbed, van, reefer , or what have you. They could send me to Siberia, and that is fine also. Just not on a team. I just know this number is out there, but to get someone (experienced driver who works there, or has worked there), to tell me that is doable, is like pulling teeth.

This is doable depending on which company you go with and how strong your work ethic is. For example, at Swift your pay would be 39 cpm to start. To make 45k gross your first year (after school and training) you would need to run a little over 115k miles. This is an average of 2200 miles a week. To pull it off you'd need to work hard, prove yourself, sacrifice some hometime and develop a good relationship with your DM. If you're willing to do that I don't see why it couldn't happen. Keep in mind if you go through a company school they'll also usually be deducting tuition payments from your checks.

Thanks CS. I may need to speak with Swift again, as last week's conversation, they conveyed .37 CPM. The recruiter said $500/wk average for the first 4-6 weeks. After training, they give you a truck and send you on your way at .37 cpm. If they are .39, that is obviously better! Your 115K miles is on target for the .39 cpm. I realize any rookie needs to prove themselves to the DM or dispatcher , and I am confident in this area. I am extremely mission oriented, so I am hopeful that shows with them, and I can earn the extra miles.

Overall, I am concerned about three areas; Compensation being enough to pull myself out of the hole, running solo and not team, and a carrier with a pet policy, which Swift actually allows. The only other concern, was on the CDL school I will be attending. This course will be funded through a grant, which is for Veterans. The Veteran Representative told me that the last Veteran that went through it, had 16 job offers after graduation. Never in my life have I ever heard of someone getting that many at a time, but that's what he said. I see on so many carriers websites, where they say (if you have gone to an approved school of theirs), or some other verbiage. I certainly can't be too selective on which school at this juncture, as it's free. I just hope they approve of this school I will be attending. Their name is (Advance Trucking Institute) if you have ever heard of them. Class starts on the 4th of January, so I have a few weeks to prepare.

Thanks for reaching out C.S., I do appreciate it.

I'm not entirely certain on the 39 cpm , I'm basing that off a Qualcomm message we received back around May that increased the pay for solo and team drivers. I'm a team driver and it's possible my memory is wrong, as 39 cpm Is the rate I was making before the pay raise. Maybe a solo can chime in and clarify which it is. At 37 cpm, you'd have to run 121k to gross 45k, or an average of 2300 a week. Still entirely doable in my opinion, but don't plan on taking a ton of time off.

I'm not entirely certain on the 39 cpm , I'm basing that off a Qualcomm message we received back around May that increased the pay for solo and team drivers. I'm a team driver and it's possible my memory is wrong, as 39 cpm Is the rate I was making before the pay raise. Maybe a solo can chime in and clarify which it is. At 37 cpm, you'd have to run 121k to gross 45k, or an average of 2300 a week. Still entirely doable in my opinion, but don't plan on taking a ton of time off.

No problems C.S., I will get a confirmation today with them. I plan on being a road warrior in the first year. I just don't want to be with a carrier that sells you on the cpm, and then you find out that you are painting stripes at the terminal because loads are reduced. I know that is negative thinking, but I think I read too much in all these forums where you hear these other drivers complaining about not getting miles. I definitely need the miles, unless I win the lottery. Thanks again C.S., and God Speed. Drive safe.

Big White, I think you're digging hard and deep looking for a diamond in the rough that just doesn't exist. There is no magic company that pays rookies way more than everyone else. There is no secret path paved with gold that only a few select people discover after searching tirelessly day and night.

The consultants you're looking for, or mentors as we tend to refer to ourselves, are right here. We're the friendliest and most helpful place you'll ever find and no one has anywhere near the quality and quantity of information we have. And every last bit of it is dedicated to helping people get their trucking career off to a great start. We are exactly the people you're hoping to find.

One of the biggest misnomers we've tried to squash over the years is the idea that amongst the major carriers there are good companies and bad companies. That is absolutely not true. However, like with anything that is performance based, you will find that different people end up with widely varying results.

You can send 100 people to any given company and 15 will love it, 70 will think they're somewhere within the "not perfect but still a good company" spectrum, and 15 will hate it. Why isn't there some sort of consensus on these companies? Why can't we give you a list of the "best companies" and the ones to look out for?

For starters, all of the major companies can be great companies to work for. Would it make sense to think they all have hundreds or even thousands of brand new trucks and have been operating successfully in this industry for 30-75 years because they're clueless idiots that manipulate and abuse good people? Of course not. They're "Best In Class" for very good reason.

There are quite a few highly successful trucking companies out there that hire students straight out of school. To me it's an incredible blessing that someone can come straight out of school and immediately get on with some of the top companies in the industry on day one. These are companies that have the largest fleets, the best finances behind them, the largest variety of opportunities in various divisions, and tons of little perks that make the driver's life so much more convenient out there. It's an awesome situation for new drivers.

These major companies can range anywhere from an absolute dream to a complete nightmare depending on how well they suit your needs, how well you perform, and how well you get along with people.

For starters, find companies that suit your needs. Make sure they have what you're looking for in terms of home time and the type of freight you'd like to haul. That's the first two things you'll need to figure out for yourself - how often do you want to get home time and what type of freight would you like to haul? Once you determine those two things your choices will be narrowed considerably.

Once you get the list of companies that offer what you're looking for then look at their pay & benefits, the opportunities they may offer in other divisions, and any special perks they may offer. Most major companies have a variety of freight they haul and a large number of divisions ranging from local runs, regional runs, dedicated runs, and OTR. Also look at any other little perks they may offer that will help you with your particular situation. For instance, some companies may go out of their way to offer extra benefits to military vets or maybe they have a pet policy that allows you to take your pet with you.

So at this point you have a short list of companies that all seem like great candidates. Apply to all of them and see who actually offers you a job so you'll know what your final choices are. There will normally be anywhere from 2-10 companies on your list at this point and it's safe to say that any of them would be a great place for you to work.

And by the way, you'll get a lot more time and attention from the recruiters once you actually apply to the company. At least part of a recruiter's pay is commission. They don't get paid to sit around and have a leisurely chat with you. They get paid if you show up to work there. So once you apply and they see your application passes their requirements you'll get a lot more attention from recruiters.

So you go through your current list and you end up choosing a company to get started with. The experience you'll have with this company will depend 95% upon your personality and your performance. And this is why you'll hear 100 drivers screaming, "This company sucks!", a hundred screaming, "This company is the best!", and about 10,000 that will say, "They're a good company. Not perfect, but solid."

Now as a former Marine you'll appreciate this next part. Have no concerns about this - you will get a chance to prove your worth at any company you go to work for. They will assume in the beginning you're a knucklehead that won't last 10 days out there because that's quite common in this industry I'm afraid. Absolutely nobody gets the benefit of the doubt in the beginning that they have what it takes to survive in this industry. The only way to find out is to throw you out there and see what happens. They may start you out slowly, they may throw all the freight your way you'd ever want. There's no way to know.

But over time your safety and service record will reflect your abilities, and the miles you're willing to turn and the lengths you're willing to go to get the job done will reflect your work ethic.

....continued......

If you have a great work ethic and you're a safe, reliable driver you're well on your way to being a happy camper at whatever company you're with. There's only one piece of the puzzle remaining and that's your personality.....

I don't care if you're a rock star of a truck driver, if you make enemies within your own company then you're sunk. When freight is a little slow they'll give what's available to other drivers and they'll let you sit around at truck stops wasting time. When you get into a situation where you're hoping to get a special favor thrown your way they simply won't give you a break. When you're in a situation that requires quick attention they'll let you sit there and simmer for a while.

In the end you're still working for a company and you're depending on other people for the freight assignments and operational support you need. Make enemies with these people and they'll find a thousand little ways to aggravate you and prevent you from getting the miles and fair treatment you would otherwise deserve based upon your performance.

So as I'm sure you've learned from your experiences, people come in all forms and cover the entire range of the spectrum when it comes to personality, work ethic, motivation, and savvy . And I can tell you from my experiences that only a small percentage of the people that enter the trucking industry are going to thrive there. Most drivers are lacking in one or more areas and that will keep them from being one of the top performers or really enjoying their time on the road.

Your first year in the trucking industry will be the equivalent of basic training. They'll give everyone the same opportunities and present everyone with the same challenges. The cream will rise to the top, most will hover just fine somewhere in the middle, and a percentage will drop out pretty quickly because they either don't have what it takes to make it in this industry or it wasn't what they thought it would be.

This last crowd, the dropouts, are the ones that wind up showing up in forums and creating blogs all over the Web slandering companies and misleading people like yourself that are new to all of this and looking for solid information. I'm sure you've noticed over the years that the worst performers always blame other people for their poor results. It's never their fault they fail at everything they do, it's always someone else's fault - just ask them. They'll be more than happy to give you "the dirt" on the people who caused their demise. In fact, they will go to great lengths to tell the world how horribly they were treated and how they were shafted by whatever company they were at.

And I think these people truly believe that's the reality of the situation. They really do believe their poor results came from choosing a bad company. But anyone who has been successful in this industry can plainly see the real reasons they failed, and it's always due to their own shortcomings.

So I'd love to give you a list of "best companies to work for" and I'm sure you've found those useless types of articles and documents around the Web. They're junk I'm afraid. There's no such thing as "the best companies to work for" or you can be certain TruckingTruth would have the most comprehensive list out there. A company is only great to work for if they suit your needs well, you're a great performer, and you get along well with people. If you'll make sure of those three things then you'll be happy anywhere you work. If you choose a company that doesn't suit you well or you personally fall short in critical areas then you're simply not going to be happy no matter what company you're at.

1) Figure out what you want for home time and the type of freight you'll be hauling and that will narrow down your list

2) Apply to all of the companies on this list to see which companies offer you a job

3) Take the companies that have given you offers and compare pay, benefits, equipment, and opportunities in other divisions and rank them accordingly

4) Take the best opportunity you can find and go show them what an amazing driver you intend to be. Have a great attitude, be patient, go with the flow, get along with people, and work your *ss off. Most importantly, above all be safe.

Don't worry about finding the "good companies" or avoiding the "bad companies". Don't waste your time searching for that diamond in the rough or trying to avoid "scams". Those are fallacies. Find a company that suits you well, make the most of the opportunity they'll give you, and once you've proven yourself you'll be given plenty of miles, good equipment, and fair treatment.

That's how you get started in this industry.

Hey Big White. First, let me apologize. When I read your post, I mistook your joining two months ago as that being when you posted. My apologies for that.

I drive for Schneider, but I'm not a recruiter nor do I speak FOR the company when it comes to making promises. However, there are tanker jobs with Schneider, out of Charlotte, that have you home weekly and bulk/tanker pays better than van truckload and some others. Go to Schneiderjobs.com and put in North Carolina and you should see it. That position advertises a $1,500 sign on bonus. They normally pay that bonus over a one-year period, with the biggest chunk (mine was 40%) at the one year anniversary. They also pay 2cents per mile performance bonus (which isn't hard to meet as I've met it every quarter since starting).

You might want to check a previous post of mine; notes for newbies.

Keep your head up! You probably have every right to not like the way companies treat you. However, I went through orientation with people who could've been good drivers and quit within a month (one guy within the first week of driving) and that's money the company has thrown down the drain. They are dealing with thousands of people like that everyday. The guy who quit within a week had just retired from military and you'd think he would've had the best of work ethic and persistence.

Also, we get ticked off that the companies are greedy while we do the same thing. Think about it; most of us don't care about all that the company has to do, maintain or invest. We only care about what they'll pay us or the benefits they'll offer.

Having said all this, check my posts and you'll find I love driving for Schneider. I know they're huge and driven to keep their profits high. But they have delivered everything they promised. Also, they got me the miles early on so that I average over 10,000 miles per month and, they just put me in a 2016 Freightliner Cascadia with 36 miles on it. Most companies won't do that with rookies.

I know there are many good companies and I get that you've paid your dues. Unfortunately, not everyone values your experience like they should. However, there are still a lot of good people at good companies who, once they see your dedication and persistence, will reward you.

For me, it has come down to making sure that I make myself so valuable to the company, they want to keep me. I don't threaten leaving. They know the stats and how hard it is to find good drivers. Use that to your advantage. The year of sacrifices and hard work you put in now will reap huge rewards.

Brett is absolutely right. Hang in there. I'm off all week (oh yeah, how about that? They allowed me the time since my wife needed surgery on her hands. They could've said only a couple of days, but were kind enough to accommodate). Feel free to call on me through pm and good luck!

Brett,

Let me first say that by my offering a thank you, is just not enough. That goes for all the others who have posted responses to my seemingly lost in the woods cry for help. Normally I do not concern myself with all the what if's, or the digging for intel on an outfit before I knock on their office door. If you were to look at my own past life, you would learn that I found employment, or self employment, on my own without spending hundreds of hours gluing my eyes to a computer screen, while looking for the best approach. I am very self driven and motivated, and I guess a lot of that came from my raising, as well as the Marine Corps. I remember when I was a cop, and building a business of my own on the side, I went to a Sears store and bought a shirt that read "Nike...Just do it." I went on to build a $6.2M business later on. That shirt I still have today, because it reminds me of where I was, and what I accomplished.

This particular industry, which without a doubt, is the supply backbone of our country. Without those drivers, you don't get that coffee maker you ordered, or purchased at a local store. Of course the entirety of the Logistics world goes much deeper. Once I began looking into these companies, I immediately found "hundreds" of sites that easily kept my eyes peeled to the screen, because I would continue to read an indifferent story about a company, or perhaps, it was feedback from employees of that company. One can easily be misled if you keep digging for the diamond in the rough as you conveyed. Given my particular scenario that I have never experienced before, I unfortunately let the computer screen take over my logic, as well as a sense of urgency for the truth. Based on my past experiences, when I wanted a "valid" answer, I tend to direct those questions to those who are actually engaged in the area of inquiry. For this post, it was being directed to the experienced driver, which has central knowledge in the industry, and would give me a no BS answer. This you have done sir, and very well I might add.

I have made my decision in this career change, to move towards building an asset based 3PL provider business model. The path could possibly lead to a different direction in the industry, but that seems to be the most interesting to me. I wanted to learn from the driver's perspective, while at the same time taking in all professional training that is out there to obtain. Your site is a GREAT place for some of that. I do have a strong background in Logistics from the military, as well as several overseas adventures I have had the honor and pleasure in managing. If my plans work, by the time I am 75 years young, I would have something to pass on to my family.

When I mentioned that I have somewhat paid my dues in life, that comment was not to imply that I was better than the average Joe out there. What I was implying, was that I am a seasoned professional, and I am a bit less naive than I was 30 years ago. I have never put myself on a pedestal, and in those high level positions I have held in the past, I would always be seen helping those in the lower ranks. With the numerous calls I have made to these recruiters, it was quite obvious that most of them were young, inexperienced, and enjoyed speaking over you. They could care less if you were the President. Having slipped off into a very bad situation in life unfortunately, I am in fight mode to rebuild. As such, it is extremely important to me that I take the best step forward. I was looking for "honesty" and concrete numbers, so I could apply these numbers to my budget. I would (if lucky) receive generic numbers from these recruiters, but never a concrete conveyance. Again, this industry is entirely different than what I am accustomed to. In the past, when I wanted answers that I needed, I always got them. Because of the wide array, and inconsistent feedback on compensation, benefits, etc., I was reaching out in this post, for help in clarifying. My apologies for coming across as someone who was lacking in the ability to decipher the information overload I have encountered in my search. Speaking militarily, rather than listening to the privates, I was wishing to hear from the Staff NCO's or Officer level on my quest for the best approach. As for the consultant objective, I was in fact seeking someone (mentor) that could help in the path forward, as for entering the 3PL provider business model. I do have a friend who I have yet to reach out to, as it has been years since we have spoken. He owns Pearce Worldwide Loigistics. Kevin was born and raised in this industry, so I may reach out to him eventually. He was actually a client of mine in the 90's. For now, it is getting behind the wheel so I can learn.

You have taken the time to lay out the facts in this industry, and if you haven't already written a book, or a guide that sells on Amazon, I strongly suggest you do so. Your writing, and well thought out message, was truly a master piece to read, especially for those who are new to this industry. From a man who has great admiration for those who like to help others, I am thankful to you sir. My thanks extends to the other members on this topic as well. If I can ever be of assistance, I ask that you reach out. Thank you!

Steve,

Thank you sir. No need for an apology either, it was simply an honest misunderstanding. If you read my response to Brett, you will find that your type of response is what I have been after. I actually applied to Schneider about a 1.5 weeks ago, but have yet to receive any response. I will follow up with them this week. As for terminal locations, I can almost bet my last $2 that they won't have one near Franklin, NC. Charlotte is about 3.5 hours away. Would you know if they have a lane coming through here? Do they allow a take home tractor? It could be because of my living in the hills that they haven't responded.

I do not know how the PM works in here, as I never used that feature. Recently I learned that Prime had increased their driver pay, which is a bit higher than Swift. You speak of tanker, but wouldn't they need experience of a year or more prior to hauling potential hazardous chemicals, or other rating of liquid? As I have conveyed in my first post, I am reaching for the highest earnings potential in the beginning. I am hopeful that my CDL course will offer these endorsements, but they don't seem to like returning my voice mail or email, which isn't a good sign. This course is being "assigned" through a Veteran aid program, and I don't have much room to alter this path.

Your bolded words mean a great deal, and are important to know. Without knowing what happens tomorrow, there may be a slight chance we meet one another in the same Company. It just all depends on the best offer. I have immediate family here in Franklin, but they understand that I may have to be gone for weeks at a time, and possibly longer. I had about 11 years of being 3,000-12,000 miles from home (ending in 2013) for longer durations, so this will not be new to me or them. It's just a very strong worry of possibly hearing that one of my elderly parents was admitted, or possibly passed when I wasn't there. Life is filled with obstacles. As for what you said about the company not caring for you, I just "voluntarily" left the Federal Government, so laughingly I know all too well about what you are saying. It does boil down to being humble in a way. You have to put your blinders on, and focus on you and your family. Whatever it takes to succeed in that, means that you have to take the punches as they come, but continue to show your overwhelming support for the company. In return, it seems that they have treated you well, which is great.

As said, I will reach out to a recruiter with Schneider this week, and if you have any scoop that you would rather not discuss here, feel free in contacting me. Or PM me? Honestly, I haven't even looked at that feature here. I am sure it is just a click away, but haven't seen that yet, lol. I hope your wife's surgery goes well, and has a safe recovery. Those things come in handy. :) Take care, drive safe, and thank you!

I am telling you from first-hand experience; if you show up at CDL school on day one with a smile and a teach-me-and-I'll-do-it attitude, you will be the one-in-one-hundred. Most students show up at CDL school thinking they can dictate where they'll go (company) and how they'll operate.

You will encounter people who think that because their CDL school is being paid for by the government, they are owed something. They'll ***** about the crappy trucks the CDL school is teaching you with. They have no idea what it takes to pay for liability insurance or any of the other expenses in running a truck driving school. Let your life experience set you apart from (ahead of) the crowd.