I'm Almost To My Final Decision On Which Company I Am Going To Go With!

A lot of really good advice & remember when you do make it final don't look back and wonder what if. Try not to get caught up in what your hearing about the companies you didn't choose. There will always be folks listening to what you say and telling you how much better it is at their company.....oh you get $100/holiday pay, we get more than that....or you're getting .45/mile to .38 for them but they'll say oh you only get 2000 miles/week, I never get less than 2500. When it always boil down to miles & CPM..I've had quite a few weeks that my money was better but my mileage was down....regional flatbed you'll have a lot of factors involved....tarp pay (some pay it at different amounts while others don't but make it up in your CPM) and you have different routes that pay minimum pay....we have 1 that pays $145 for a 168 mile run, throw a couple of those in a week plus the fact you can usually run a second load that day and it really helps your bottom line. All in all I think the companies you have looked pay wise will be pretty close together. They just disperse the $$$ in different ways and obviously will tell you which way they do it better. As stated by others the most important thing is you and your comfort level with the things important to you. A company that could have me near family members that might need my help would be a big plus. And making that first year is a lot easier if you feel that you made a good choice. Good luck & God bless, I think you'll do just fine.

Victor...one piece of advice that served me well, no matter what, once you start down this path, stay laser focused on achieving your goal. No compromises...all in, no looking back.

That's one of the best pieces of advice I have ever seen anywhere. I totally agree. Whatever you do is your decision. ONLY YOU are in control of your destiny, so go all in and see where it takes you. But remember this: Whatever company you go with, people always say, stay with them for at least one year: I recommend staying with them at least 3 years. That way, not only is your training contract paid off, but if you keep your records clean and don't give that company any reason to put anything negative on your DAC , and stay out of trouble for that 3 years, then if you wanted to change companies, that good, stable work history will get you in the door just about anywhere you want to go in trucking. Ask any of the moderators here and hopefully they will agree with me here. Stay safe and good luck out there.

Victor...one piece of advice that served me well, no matter what, once you start down this path, stay laser focused on achieving your goal. No compromises...all in, no looking back.

Thank you G Town for that great advice and I will put that to the practice when I start for real trucking. I really do appreciate the wise advice and sound wisdom you older people have cause it is what has been a great guide for me going through looking for a trucking company to go with and to help me keep my chin up and my head held high ( just not too high lol).

You have a positive outlook here which will come in handy. Calling forklift guys and managers may not be appropriate at some places as they are huge and very busy. However alway stay in contact with your fm. If you think your eta will change and may potentially affect your delivery, it's a good idea to give a heads up. What you can do though is call the shipping or receiving dept and check if you can get in early. Never hurts to ask.

Thanks C.T. for that advice, but I do have one question, what is eta? Do companies usaully give you a book of numbers to call like the shipping or receiving dept?

Ok time for me to go to get some shut eye, but I will be on in the morning!

ETA=Estimated Time of Arrival.

Well thank you Cystaurtfi, that is very good advice and I will take it all for what it is worth! Just one correction, I actually went to a private school and paid that all off already. I was able to take part in 2 grants which allowed me the awesome privledge of only paying $150 total. I have made my ultimate decision and the company that I chose to go with is SWIFT TRANSPORTATION!

I've been debating TMC and McElroy as well. For me, I'm going with McElroy. I've already been invited to attend orientation with both companies, but McElroy wins out for me. I like the guaranteed home time that McElroy has. I didn't realize how hard it would be choosing a first company to go to. I also like the tuition reimbursement that McElroy has. I had to rule out Maverick due to home time. I still have 3.5 more weeks of cdl school then off to McElroy!!!

Congrats on your new career!! I wish you the best of luck!!

Well thank you Cystaurtfi, that is very good advice and I will take it all for what it is worth! Just one correction, I actually went to a private school and paid that all off already. I was able to take part in 2 grants which allowed me the awesome privledge of only paying $150 total. I have made my ultimate decision and the company that I chose to go with is SWIFT TRANSPORTATION!

Congrats on finding a company. What terminal are you out of at Swift? Also who is your DM? I just want to see if we had the same one or not.