Considering A New Career!
Topic 809 | Page 4
Congratulations Browncoat! I did the private school thing myself, but I seriously consider these company trained schools as a very good option. There's no out of pocket expense, and for so many people that alone helps them get started. I did much like you, and went to a school close to home so I didn't have the added expense of housing and meals. It worked out well for me.
Getting those pre-hires is important. I unexpectedly hit a few bumps in the road when trying to get hired. But the beauty of those pre-hires is that I didn't have to go home licking my wounds and start looking all over again, I just made a phone call to the next good looking pre-hire and was off on another bus headed for another chance.
Wishing you the best!
Pre-hire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
Pre-hires:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Old School,
Great post. You nailed a lot of my concerns. I had been jumping around and checking out my best options. I'm glad I found out here -- rather than later -- that the hours spent driving and the CDL both mean a heck of a lot to getting hired. Just having a CDL is not the golden ticket.
I will take your word for it and sign up with a "sponsored trucking" company to pay my dues despite the lower cents per mileage. That seems the be the best approach for my circumstances. I want those 160 hours on the road (or in training) whatever it takes to build credibility. That is critical.
When it comes to getting paid 0.23 cents per mile versus 0.42 cents per mile the person who gets the most drive time comes out of ahead. I need to stop being obsessed with cents per mile.
Thanks for invaluable information. Keep up the good work!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Hey guys, sorry I haven't jumped in this thread very much but Old School is a champion and he's had it covered. I definitely agree with every word he says and you can rest assured he knows what he's talking about.
And the way these major trucking companies work is they count on their best drivers to do the bulk of the workload, especially when it comes to taking care of their most important customers and running their most important freight. Once you've spent 3-6 months with a company and you show them you're an awesome driver with a great attitude that they can count on to get the job done out there, they're going to keep you busy and take decent care of you.
Most importantly, you'll have to develop a decent relationship with a solid dispatcher. The dispatcher you have is actually more important than the company you work for. A lousy dispatcher will make life lousy no matter where you work, and a good dispatcher will keep you rolling and watch out for you no matter where you work - assuming you're a great driver of course.
So don't sweat the idea that you'll be putting in a year somewhere with company-sponsored training. You're going to want to do that anyhow with your first company. It takes that long to learn the ropes a little bit, prove yourself to be an excellent driver, and understand the trucking industry well enough to even know where you'd like to work next.
And I worked for "starter companies" for most of my career because I love the big companies. They have piles of freight, mountains of various opportunities available (local, regional , dedicated, OTR , etc), a lot of money behind them, national account for tires & repairs & towing which makes life very convenient for the drivers, and all kinds of great stuff.
Honestly, I've yet to hear anyone explain to me the downside of those large "starter" companies (as they refer to them). I loved em for 15 years. I worked for small companies and it wasn't nearly as nice as the larger ones.
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Dispatcher:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.Company-sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
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Old School:
That's kind of where I'm at in the process. And thank you for posting that, it's very reassuring to know that my own research combined with words of experience from someone who isn't just whining about a company that wronged him, are leading me down the right path.
I'm waiting to hear back for sure from my recruiter, which should be next week, whether or not all systems are go. I'm looking to enroll in Roadmaster, who has a facility about an hour from me. After weighing my options, I decided to go with a private school with the hopes of being trained on a more broad level instead of just what one company wants me to do and on their equipment. Hopefully my pre-hires will come out shiny, and I'll be good to go on 7/1.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.Pre-hire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
Pre-hires:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.