Narrowed It Down To 2 Trucking Companies That I Want To Train With / Work Yet I Know Can Only Choose 1... Any Advice ..

My two choice trucking companies are Prime, inc and Knight transportation. I would like after training me, plently of miles, frieght that goes otr / regional , decent hometime. Really would like some sound advice on the best way to make sure i have all the right information before i finalize my choiçe .

Any advice will help me out . thanks.

I would like to comment by sayin that your better choice might B knight I have been real Intense In doing my researh as I move forward to become a driver. suggestion put this in your web search (Prime Trucking INC Comments and trucker driver reviews) do that with any company U consider you will b amazed at the differnt results U get. How I sort Out Bs in driver or employee thoughts is the 1 thing thats stands out the most could B low pay, disfunctional mangement at certain terminals lousy loads basicly more than person sayin the same thing cuz everybody got some kind of beef in trucking lol

I've been considering Knight as well. The training program seems to be the best anywhere and who else will pay you while you are working to get your CDL???

While you are in training just about every company pays you. The standard seems to be .12 cpm or $600 dollars.....which every is higher per week.

Just to clarify, are you referring to in training as in when you go over the road with a trainer? From what I have been told by recruiters from other companies, they will pay you for training only after you go out with a trainer but not during the first few weeks during classroom and range training when working to get your CDL , however, my understanding is that Knight does. I think its because of how Knight's training program is different and their "over the road" training is the primary form of training received rather than only training in a controlled environment prior to getting your CDL. I may be wrong about all that though and my apologies if I am. I'm still doing my research on companies to make sure I pick the right one.

Same here too but having difficulty in picking the right trucking career . been looking for the choice that is a decent pick for me . question : knight transportation their schoodo they have just one or many others ? I'm confused about this.

And I really want to be a truckerb, I love to travel , love to see new places / have experiences like I never had !!! I just want a better way of living and to be comfortable in life !

Hearing what you're saying............I really want to be a trucker, I love to travel, love to see new places/have experiences like I never had!!!

That to me sounds like OTR. I am going PRIME because of the other reasons stated and I know I will get experience and experiences. I will be obligated to that for 1 year and then if I don't want the OTR I can explore.....with driving experience that they are looking for in a driver. Right now we are at the bottom of the food chain and the focus has to be getting licensed and hired to gain experience as drivers.

I have been across a lot of the USA because of the military and yet I have only scratched the surface of seeing this country and wow is it beautiful. I can't wait to get to see more, even if it is just passing it by on the highway. I know from what I've read on here that there will be PLENTY of experiences that will make it very memorable, good or bad. I cannot imagine getting bored doing that.

But the one thing that is a little different with me is that I am NOT going to be all that concerned with how often I get home in the first year. I am going to treat this like a Navy deployment where I am going to be gone for a lengthy period of time. I'll make some money, get job experience, get life experiences, and have benefits..........all with what sounds like a very solid company. I can always make changes later, but 1 year is nothing in time. At age 56 they go by like the months when I was younger.

Good luck!!!

I would like to comment by sayin that your better choice might B knight I have been real Intense In doing my researh as I move forward to become a driver. suggestion put this in your web search (Prime Trucking INC Comments and trucker driver reviews) do that with any company U consider you will b amazed at the differnt results U get. How I sort Out Bs in driver or employee thoughts is the 1 thing thats stands out the most could B low pay, disfunctional mangement at certain terminals lousy loads basicly more than person sayin the same thing cuz everybody got some kind of beef in trucking lol

Night Ghost, we welcome you to our forum!

We also want you to be real careful about basing any of your research on driver reviews. In my opinion it is the absolute most unreliable thing you can go on. Truck drivers are notoriously the most whiniest griping bunch of alpha male types that you will ever come across. The truck driving career has a lot of challenges to it, and only a small number of the many who give it a try are truly successful at it. Therefore you are left with a trail of ridiculous reviews by people who couldn't cut the mustard anyway, and their reviews are so unreliable that they half the time seem to be just trying to out do the latest review in how badly they can slander which ever company let them go because they weren't getting their job done correctly in the first place.

I can say such things with clarity and authority because I work for one of the most maligned and slandered companies you'll ever come across (Western Express). We also have another member here, GuyJax, who works for Werner, another company with terrible internet reviews. GuyJax is a long time veteran who is a top tier driver who gets all the miles he can possibly do and is treated like a professional every day. All the terrible things I've ever come across about my chosen company are so bogus that it's obvious it was the driver's failure to perform at the level the company needed him to be at, not that the company was an evil life sucking empire, like the reviews would have you to believe.

Here's the truth - all these companies, even if they are known for bringing in new CDL holders in mass, have got a core group of drivers that they depend on to give the best or most critical loads to. The people who get that responsibility have proven themselves time and time again and they simply don't have the time to be sitting around writing malicious reviews of trucking companies. You will cut out a lot of the confusion about selecting your first trucking company if you will eliminate all the reading of those stupid reviews. If you really want to know what working for a certain company is like you can get an honest answer by going to a truck stop and asking an actual "employed" driver, who is there fueling his truck, how he likes working for whatever trucking company name is on his doors.

Poke around our web site, check out our Truck Driver's Career Guide, try reading the free on-line version of Brett's Book - these things will help get you focused in a better direction. And if you really want to know How To Choose A Company that link will help you also.

Again welcome aboard! Don't misconstrue my comments as critical, we all got started on our research the same way you did, but somewhere along the way we came to the realization that nobody would be driving trucks if this career was as completely miserable as these reviews make it out to be.

I love what i do, and I'm doing it successfully at a company that has the absolute worst reviews you could ever find.

Yes I am talking about 9 nice you are with a trainer in a truck.

Now this next part I am not sure about but if it's true there are a few companies that work this way.....the pay during the "classroom" part of the school is not pay per Se. It's basically money given to you from the loan you took out during school which you still have to work off or pay back through working for the company once your schooling is complete.

So the total amount owed after you complete schooling is included in the price of the loan for schooling in the first place.

There are a few companies that work this way. Would be interesting to know if Knight does the samething.

Do I keep doing my research on both companies? I feel lost and trying to make sense of what choice I should be making . Any other good advice on what I should do. I just want to know how shall I go about becoming a trucker .. I want to do this right . in the right way ..

Do I keep doing my research on both companies? I feel lost and trying to make sense of what choice I should be making . Any other good advice on what I should do. I just want to know how shall I go about becoming a trucker .. I want to do this right . in the right way ..

Richard, this doesn't really have to be all that difficult, but I understand your frustration. Researching truck driving on the internet produces so much trash talk about not only the lifestyle and the companies, but also how you even go about getting yourself started. Have you tried following some of the links we've suggested? Did you see the advice above?

Poke around our web site, check out our Truck Driver's Career Guide, try reading the free on-line version of Brett's Book - these things will help get you focused in a better direction. And if you really want to know How To Choose A Company that link will help you also.

The information in those links should help you focus on the right way to go about this - stop jumping all around and focus on the suggestions in those links.

Let me try and break it down for you. In today's market the way you get started is:

1. Go to truck driving school - if you can't afford a private school then go to a company sponsored school.

2. Get hired by a trucking company (OTR is usually the easiest way to get started) and stick with them for one year of safe driving.

Your suffering from bogus information overload. Don't let yourself get all worked up thinking some of these companies are out to suck the life out of you, they just need competent drivers who can do the job. Unfortunately they keep getting a bunch of losers who'd rather whine about how they've been done wrong than get in there and get the job done.

If you think you like Knight, then jump in there, contact a recruiter and get the ball rolling. They're gonna be glad to have you if you are willing to work hard and help them move their freight. They don't bite, and they've got a lot of satisfied drivers who are working for them. Those satisfied drivers are busy folks who don't bother to take the time to sing the praises of their employer on the internet. Unfortunately, it's the loud mouth obnoxious wannabes who have nothing better to do but moan and groan, because they don't have a job to keep them busy enough to keep them quiet, that are producing all the information that is keeping you so confused.

Here are the three links I suggested in the quote:

Truck Driver's Career Guide Brett's Book How To Choose A Company

While I commend you on your diligence in looking for the "right" company to be trained at, and go to work for.....You are kinda doin' it azz backwards. Lets look at this another way. All companies will do the following: Put you thru school Put you in a truck with a trainer Let you pay for your schooling by driving for them for a given amount of time Give you miles Give you home time Pay you

OK...now here's where you NEED to make your decisions from: Will the company: Have freight going near your home, so you will get home time regularly ? ( check on freight lanes) Let you go solo if you don't want to team ? Have a rider policy, if you want a friend, spouse to ride with you? Have the type of truck you want to drive? (light weight, model, brand,etc) Pull the type of trailer you would like? ( flatbed, dry box, reefer etc) Have a pet policy, if you have a pet you want to take with you ? Have a reasonable benefit package ?

The company that you choose to go with for the first year is important only because you need to STAY with them for that first year. You NEED that experience to 1. pay off your schooling 2. get one year of experience 3. support your household while you learn to be a trucker.

So it isn't so much is one company better than another....it comes down to WHAT COMPANY FITS YOU. The first year of trucking is intense, and draining both mentally and emotionally. By doing your research to find the company that fits YOU, it will alleviate alot of that stress.

and btw.....trucking company reviews are trucker fairy tales...don't believe 'em, and don't get drawn into them. They are written verse contrived by disgruntled would be, could be, didn't make the grade bitter people. Now are all companies perfect?? noooo...far from it. but you will make your first year experience as good as it will be by working hard, learning all you can...and being FLEXIBLE. Remember, that company id entrusting you with approximately $150K worth of their investment. Its you job to prove to them that you are the person for the job.

Do I keep doing my research on both companies? I feel lost and trying to make sense of what choice I should be making . Any other good advice on what I should do. I just want to know how shall I go about becoming a trucker .. I want to do this right . in the right way ..

OK, the best way to choose is to take little pieces of paper labeled with your two choices and cover the areas on a dart board and then put on a blindfold and toss . . . maybe five or seven darts - gotta be odd number - and VOILA the decision is made for you . . . or not . . .

Jopa