How Is Driving For Knight?

Im looking into making the leap into trucking.Does anyone have any experiance with Knight? Is this a good company to work for/get started with?

Thanks Mike

They were the company I started with, I enjoyed my time there. That's where I'm planning on going back to when I get back OTR. Equipment's pretty decent, some of their shops are really quick to be done with your truck. If you have your CDL when you start with them but no experience they'll stick you out with a trainer for 3-5 weeks. They also have a school down in Phoenix but I don't know anything about that, I got my license through a private school.

Hello Mike, and welcome to our forum!

I drive for Knight, and at this point in the game I'd have to say that "Wild horses couldn't drag me away!" I need to quantify that statement with the fact that I drive a dedicated account for them, but overall I can tell you that there is a general atmosphere of helping their drivers succeed at this company. I'm going to give you my standard speech to newbies coming in to this business but at the same time I do want you to realize that Knight, along with any of the large carriers is a great place to start.

My philosophy is that you will make this job what you want it to be by your work ethic and willingness to push through what ever difficulties arise to hinder you. As far as which companies are "good" I consider them all to be trucking companies - they've all got the same issues, because they are all trying to do the same thing, move freight from point A to point B.

So many people jump into this career with false assumptions based on foolish reports and notions that they have picked up from internet "review sites". Have you ever noticed how 99% of the people who post reviews are people who are dissatisfied in an extreme way? That in itself should be a big red flag to any thinking person. This business of being able to be anonymous, and being hidden behind a keyboard, has emboldened a bunch of people, who are generally failures at most things they attempt, to lay the blame for their own ineptitude at the feet of "big greedy trucking magnates who are still practicing slavery in their business models".

What I'm trying to say is choose a company that you seem to like, and then get out there and prove yourself to them. Don't be looking for them to prove themselves to you - that is the current trend of thinking and it is so backwards that it is a huge reason for the current 100% turn over rate in trucking. They don't have anything to prove - if you take a look at the walls of the offices of almost any trucking company that is being unfairly slammed on the internet you will find photos of drivers who have been there for ten and twenty years and put in millions of miles safely and very productively. Those guys didn't do that because it was a "good company" - they accomplished that because they were "good" drivers.

Your willingness to succeed and your drive to excel are the main ingredients for your success at this career. So don't worry so much about whose name is on the doors of the truck. I spent the first eighteen months of my career at a trucking company whose reputation is absolutely in the gutter by all internet review accounts, you couldn't ask for a company with more disparaging remarks against it. I excelled there, was always in the top group of drivers for productivity, and made some very good money despite the fact that their pay rate was very low. I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but rather the truth that you are the driving factor of your success at this. Any company out there who has a really hard working dependable driver who knows how to "get er done" will do all they can to keep that driver moving and satisfied. I have since moved from there to Knight, but it wasn't because I thought the other guys were scumbags. I received a much better offer and I took advantage of that offer. That's the way it works - you prove yourself first, then you will find the doors of opportunity opening up to you. Often times these companies have opportunities that are not even advertised. But as you establish yourself as a professional they will let you in on their top accounts. Are you aware that there is a flat-be division at Knight? That is where I drive for them on the SAPA account. I'm just using that as an example of how you may not even be aware of some of the really great opportunities at many of these larger companies, but as an established driver who understands how to get things done you will be allowed to move over into more lucrative opportunities.

Continued...

One of the biggest problems with getting started in this career is the sheer difficulty of getting oneself accustomed to all the many consequences of your own decisions and choices while out there on the road. It is tricky to say the least to get the hang of all this stuff during the first six months of doing this. People end up with negative consequences due to some of their own poor choices or decisions as to how to handle their job or manage their time. It is not easy breaking into this career. New drivers will inevitably make some bad choices while on the road. It is important to recognize when you make a mistake and learn from it. This why you see so many reports of bad companies on the internet. Those reviews are written by people who are just getting started at this and they don't have a clue about how to make it in this industry. They struggle and fail, so to save face they point their fingers at their employers who were probable desperately trying to help them get the hang of things.

Your driver manager will come to depend on you and treat you really well if you are a dependable driver. People tend to give up and blame their company for not getting enough miles, or not making enough money to live on, as if they were being mistreated by the greedy company. But I can guarantee you that at which ever company that is getting slammed on the internet for mistreating their employees, there are a group of competent drivers who are getting more miles dispatched to them than they know how to handle because those drivers have proven themselves again and again. The reason you don't hear from them on those internet reviews is because they are in their sleeper catching some much needed rest so they can give 110% during their next on duty time period.

^^^^^ ditto

I would just add, good attitude and working with your driver manager rather than against them will give you a huge advantage.

I've always taken whatever loads my dm gives me. I don't fuss with him, or talk back to him. I do my job as best I can and try to accommodate him as best I can.

I hear other knight drivers talking about things being slow...I've not seen it. I ran a 2700 mile load from PA to ca, then a 513 mile deadhead , then 2700 miles to va. So 3200 miles on that run. Then, I got dispatched from VA back to nv, another 2700 miles. I'm out of hours so this run will be relayed. Point is, my dm likes what I do and he's looking out for the both of us by allowing me to have these good runs.

Don't listen to the complainers, make your own way. One thing about review sites is that it's generally the complainers who go to them. You really don't see too many people with good reviews going to review sites..just the people who want to vent.

Oh, and...

KNIGHT!! KNIGHT!! KNIGHT!!