New Driver Needs Advise

Yesterday I graduated from truck driving school and have 3 job offers on the table. They are Crete carriers, Prime and Tyson foods. I live near Fort Worth. Drivers, which would you choose and why?

Yesterday I graduated from truck driving school and have 3 job offers on the table. They are Crete carriers, Prime and Tyson foods. I live near Fort Worth. Drivers, which would you choose and why?

Only you can make that choice. Look at pay/benefits,hometime and type of freight and then pick whichever is best for you

And don't pick because of average weekly mileage because it will take some time before you will get that many miles a week

Jeff, you've got three very fine choices there. You will just have to determine which one is right for you. Prime will probably pay the most out of those three, but you will be in a light weight truck, and they will want to keep you out on the road for several weeks at a time. I have talked to some Tyson drivers who love their jobs, but other than that I don't know a whole lot about them. Are you wanting to pull a reefer? I pull a flat-bed, and I know that is not for everyone, but I've got to tell you those wait times involved with a reefer would drive me insane. The great thing about the reefer is you can get some nice long runs at times.

I have always liked Crete. They are very solid financially, and they have a lot of options for the driver. What I'm saying is that if you decided you weren't real happy with pulling the type of freight you started with, they could switch you to a different division, or maybe move you to a dedicated account. You could even switch to a flat-bed if you wanted to, by moving over to "Hunt", which is a flat-bed division within their family of companies. It's just a thought - flexibility in your choices is always a nice thing. They also sometimes give their drivers a choice of loads to choose from. This is something that I sometimes get to do in the specialized division I'm running in at Knight Transportation, and it is kind of fun having that option occasionally.

The main thing to try and focus on is deciding which type of freight you want to be pulling. Have you checked out our guide on How To Choose A Company? By reading through that you just might get some good ideas on how to make up your mind. For me personally, I want to make sure that I'm enjoying what I'm doing. If you enjoy your work, and look forward to overcoming the obstacle that surely will rise each day, then you will be well on your way toward making some good money in this field. Remember that first year can be really tough, so don't throw in the towel at the first signs of difficulty. Once you've made a choice give it some time to begin getting the hang of how it works, what the customers are like, and getting yourself familiar with company procedures and protocol. Learning the ropes of all this is part of that first year's difficulty. There are few jobs that have the kind of rewards that over the road trucking offers, but there are also very few that are as difficult to break into for a rookie.

Best of luck with your decision, and let us know what you end up doing.

As stated only you can choose the company . Pay and home time are big Contributors. Anything under .30cpm really isn't worth it. If you can get 33+ you'll be in a good spot as a rookie.

Lets see, Tyson starts out at .39 a mile but tops out at .42. they tell me $60k is realistic but doing the math I'd have to drive about 3000+ a week Crete starts at .35 but jumps up after 6 months. they have excellent benefits, good choices for different divisions so home time may be better Prime starts at .38 plus .05 if I want a small truck in reefer division and .45 for tankers. I have heard tankers is not exactly the best place for a new driver to start. I am not really interested in flat bed otherwise I would have gone with Maverick who really wanted me in their glass division. I have had a lot more interest in me due to only having 3 jobs my entire life, no criminal history and nothing on my license for over 20 years. My biggest thing is I want to get out there and bust my butt and make good money while still being able to see my family every so often. I do thank each of you so far for your input.