Weighing My Options

I am seriously considering a career in trucking and am looking for some input on companies to work for. Factors in my decision: I live in MN I have a wife and kids (I would like to be home as frequently and as long as possible) Training (I still need to get my CDL) Driver Happiness Pay is not a major consideration (I want to be paid well, but my wife makes enough to pay the bills) I am currently looking at Roehl and Schneider so any input on those or other companies I might want to consider is appreciated.

Both companies have 'part time' driving jobs. Have you visited their websites to check what was available in your area? Sometimes they'll let you run 1 wk on 1 wk off; 2/2; 3/1 etc...so that'd be great for you I'd think, but you might want to check and see if they'd let you run part-time if you used their company-sponsored training. Do you have any way you could go to a technical school or community college? There's a lot of flatbed companies that will get you home on weekends (at least in the southeast), so you might could go that route if you could get your CDL and then apply at companies... good luck to you.

Thanks for the input Josh. I'll have to contact the companies to see what would be open to me right out of training. I'm considering the college/Tech School route but money is a little tight at the moment. I haven't thought much about flatbed yet but I'll look into it.

(I would like to be home as frequently and as long as possible) (I still need to get my CDL) Driver Happiness Pay is not a major consideration (I want to be paid well, but my wife makes enough to pay the bills)

Steve, welcome to the forum! I'm always surprised at how everyone wants to be home as much as possible and yet still wants to make a great paycheck. Those two things are incompatible in this industry - we don't get paid for spending time at home, and we don't spend much time at home if we are making a good paycheck. I've yet to figure a way around it for an over the road driver. Even the guys who land those nice local jobs like line haul or LTL Pick-up and delivery jobs put in long hours working really hard and have very little time at home that they aren't sleeping and grabbing a bite to eat so they can get back at it again.

You didn't really say why you were getting into trucking, but if you've still got a young family and you want to be there as they are growing up I would recommend you get into something else for now. If running a truck across this amazing nation is still a dream that you want to pursue, I can assure you it will still be around when you get those kids up and on their own. I raised a family before I started this career, and to be honest with you I couldn't imagine doing it during those years.

I'm a flat-bedder, and Josh gave you a great suggestion. The way the logistics of flat-bed jobs work out a lot of the companies have developed a system that allows them to get most of their drivers home on weekends. That may mean getting home on Saturday and leaving to get back out there on Sunday afternoon or very early Monday morning, but that's better than being out for six weeks and home for three or four days.

You mentioned Roehl, and they offer a lot of different home time options that are appealing to some folks. They even have a seven days on and seven days off, but like most compromises in life you have to give up some things in order to gain other things. I guess what I'm trying to say is what I started off with. That seven days on and seven days off job means you are working only half the year which means that you are going to be making half the money of a regular over the road driver. You have to decide if that is something you can live with. Is it worth it to you to be with your family more? It would give you a chance to get a feel for the career and still be around to help raise your family. Who knows if you really like it your wife may want to go with you some day after those kids are grown.

I find this job rewarding and challenging, I can't see myself doing anything else at this point in my life. It is a tough career to excel at while trying to raise a family though.

Old School, Thanks for the detailed and candid response.

Steve, welcome to the forum! I'm always surprised at how everyone wants to be home as much as possible and yet still wants to make a great paycheck.

To clarify I'm not looking to get rich, as I said, my wife makes enough to pay the bills. As long as I'm not getting ripped off I'll be happy.

You didn't really say why you were getting into trucking

The big reason I want to get into trucking is because I want to do something I would enjoy. I love driving... I love driving anything that moves, and I enjoy going on long drives. Trucking seems like a good challenge. As far as home time, I mostly want to avoid the 6 weeks out 4 day home scenario. Options like getting home on weekends, 7/7, 7/3-7/4, and 14/7 etc sound good to me and I have the support of my family for those.

Hey Steve, getting ripped off by the company is the last thing that needs to be on your mind.

I know there are all kinds of complaints that you've probably seen in certain areas online, but let me explain something to you that I learned by spending sixteen months at a company that I defy you to find a single good word about on line. I was a top performer at Western Express and loved the time I spent there getting my career off to a great start. This business is completely performance based. The top performers get the best loads, the top performers get the best pay, and the top performers get preferential treatment in all things. All that whining and complaining you see on line is from the folks that couldn't cut the mustard, and now they are trying to lay the blame at the corporate powers that supposedly did them wrong.

The way to satisfaction and success in this job is to challenge yourself to be the best you can be at this stuff. No one will hold your hand out there on the road, and no one will feel sorry for you, but if you can adjust to the lifestyle and exceed the expectations the company holds for you then you will find that you are quite content and making a very nice paycheck for all your efforts. Your success has little to do with the name of the company on your truck doors, and it's all about you. So, let any unrealistic fears that you've let become established by bogus reports you've seen on line drop by the wayside and realize that the folks who are happy at this job are the folks who put their all into it and reap what they've sown.