Life As A Trucker

Here's the thing with Company-Sponsored Training Programs - they're more like a tryout than a regular school. These companies will bring in anyone that qualifies to be a truck driving and give them an opportunity to get their CDL training with no money up front. They'll pay for your transportation, give you a place to stay, train you, and hire you after you complete the program and get your CDL.

But...it's important to keep in mind that this is not a guarantee - it's an opportunity. And you wouldn't believe how many people blow it for themselves. And I'm not talking about people giving it their very best effort and they just can't catch on. I'm talking about people going in their with terrible attitudes. They won't listen, they don't learn, they don't take it seriously, and quite honestly a lot of them don't want to be there. They'd rather be working elsewhere but they're unemployed or can't find a decent paying job so they've turned to truck driving to see what happens.

And of course like anything that's handed to you in life, most people don't appreciate the opportunity. It's free. They didn't earn the opportunity. They didn't put anything into it. It was just handed to them. So what do they do? They take it for granted. They don't really care one way or the other. If it works, fine. If not, nothing lost.

On top of that, they've read all of the same ghastly horror stories all over the Web that you've read. So they show up to these companies thinking the whole thing is a scam. They figure the company is going to use and abuse them, the company doesn't care about them, and they're going to end up with nothing anyhow.

So now you have a group of 50 people that show up on Monday for their opportunity. 10 fail the physical or drug test right off the bat - kicked to the curb. 10 wind up getting caught lying on their application or don't have the proper paperwork with them - kicked to the curb. Now you're down to 30 before it even gets going. The others in class see people dropping like flies and start hearing rumors started by the cynics that figure it's some sort of conspiracy or scam. Now the ones that showed up with bad attitudes get even worse. They start talking about leaving on their own, they start inventing conspiracy theories in their head, and the rumor mill is swirling. They don't trust the company, they don't like the company, and they start recruiting classmates to see their point of view. It's a poison - it spreads like a virus.

Now you have to keep in mind that the company is spending a ton of time and money to train people. The only way they can recoup that money is if the students become productive drivers and stay with the company throughout the length of the contract. Well they're simply not going to invest that time and money in someone who doesn't want to be there, doesn't trust them, has a terrible attitude, and obviously isn't going to pan out. So they start kicking more people to the curb.

In the end, about 10 out of the 50 people actually make it through the course and go on to be successful, productive drivers for the company. The rest go home, convinced that the rumors they heard were true. They got nothing out of it just like they expected. So they immediately go to TheTruckersReport and RipOffReport to tell the world about the horrible scam they were just involved in and to warn everyone to stay away from the company.

What about the 10 that made it through? Where are they? They're out there driving a big rig, making money, seeing the country, happy with their new career. You don't hear from people who are happy and successful. You only hear from the complainers, the dropouts, and the ones who didn't belong there in the first place - the vocal minority - because they're the ones who have to save face by placing blame on others. They're the ones that have to try to justify their failures to the world.

Go to a nearby truck stop and speak with some current drivers from any company you're considering. Catch them at the fuel islands or as they're walking into the truck stop and ask them how they like working for their company. You'll be shocked and how positive and happy most of them are. They'll tell you, "The company isn't perfect. No company is. But they treat me pretty well. I'm happy here."

Don't ask anonymous knuckleheads sitting in forums for their opinion about a company. Go to a truck stop, find a driver who's out there doing it successfully for that company every day, look them in the eye and ask them how they feel about their company and their job. That's where you want your advice coming from...from people who are out there successfully doing it day in and day out.

Thanks again Brett, the wise and powerful! lol. your knowledge of all things trucking is astounding. I also would like to know if you have ever heard of All State Career, they have many programs such as welding nursing and truck driving. also what is your feeling towards CRST (or anyones opinion)? I know my experience would be different from yours but just trying to feel out what might be best for me. I dont want to go all the way to Iowa to find out I dont like it. I have perused the company sponsored training and some private schools( is there a "Harvard" of trucking schools?).

Harvard of trucking schools? Here is a secret about any so called "best school of trucking".....no matter where you go, weather its Harvard or LSU, those that can't hack it will not do well at either school. All schools and I mean ALL schools do one thing and nothing more...they are geared towards helping you get your CDL. They are not there to hold you hand or give you a shoulder to cry on.

Want to know the best way to get your CDL at any school you attend? Go to ANY school in the nation and as long as you have a good attitude and an ability to learn then it does not matter where you go.

The same goes for companies. If you are a safe driver and have a good attitude you will make it at any company.

Truck drivers are about the biggest Prima Donna's in the world. If one thing does not go the way they think it should the first thing they do is pick up the phone and have a not so nice talk with their DM/FM. From that point on they might as well go get another job cause they just screwed themselves.

The best thing you can do before call your company and complaining is to count to 100 BEFORE picking up the phone.

I am sorry. I would not make a very good dispatcher. If a driver called in with an attitude and talk to me like I have heard drivers talk to their DM I would explain to the driver the reason I gave them the short run so I could get them to a load that had 2000 miles on it right before I took that 2000 mile load off them and made them stay on that 300 mile run that delivers in 3 days and no possible way to drop and hook.....BUT If a driver called in wanting to know they deal and they had a reasonable attitude that driver would go on my favorite list.

Sorry to burst everyone's bubble but I did not just think that up. Its being done everyday in the offices of every trucking company. You can through attitude pretty much at anyone at a trucking company but the one person you never throw anger at is your DM. They are your boss. Your life line. Your ability to make a living. You would be better off yelling and cursing the owner of your company than ****ing off your DM.

Haha, I have a good attitude. I was more or less being sarcastic with the Harvard thing. My original point there was to see if anyone heard of All State Career. I went there tonight to get info from one of the recruiters there. There was some discrepancies in their paper work, 1 paper they gave me said 75% percent placement for graduates and the other 1 said 88%, I asked him why and he said the paper work that was given to me by the receptionist was out dated?

I guess what I put in is what I would get out. I just dont want to screwed with job placement thats all.

Just remember you are on a job interview the first time you step through a school's door. There are a few different stages but its all one big job interview. Treat it as such and you will do fine.

The gentleman told me he would talk to financial aid tomorrow. I also already qualified for financial aid at a community college where I was/am taking welding classes. he said that it was great news and I shouldn't have a problem securing it. I also am on unemployment sort of(?) Long story, and I also have a chance of scoring a grant thru unemployment. I hope this means my interview went well.

Kevin, I am in the same place you are in trying get started in the industry. My common sense tells me that a lot of the negatives I hear are from people who either failed, or had unreasonable expectations going into a new industry with zero experience. Like Brett told you, people who are negative thinkers are essentially planning to fail. Taking as many people as possible along with them, will make themselves feel much better when it inevitably happens.

As they say, "Misery loves company."

One thing I have noticed with a lot of negative comments I have read about specific trucking companies, is that the person who is doing the complaining rarely ever tells you who they would train with and work for their first year, if they had it to do all over again.

What that tells me, is that the person who wrote the negative post or made the negative video, does not have the primary motivation of helping a new up and coming driver make the best decision possible. Most likely, their motivation is to trash talk the company who gave them an opportunity to better themselves, and take zero responsibility for having no experience in the trucking industry.

When things don't go as hoped or planned, all I can really tell myself, is "This is what I need to do to get the experience I need, to make the money other drivers with more experience are making."

I am an aerospace certified Tig welder/Fabricator with 26 years experience, and I can tell you that most companies now days who need welders, are dropping their benefits packages completely. Most of the new welders are being hired through temp-services, so that the company can save a lot of money. Most of them are completely doing away with overtime as well, because it cuts very heavily into their profit margins. You will hear a lot of positives thru school, because there are incentives for the teachers each time they certify a welder, get them job placement, or get them completely thru the course. The reality to it is that now days a lot of non-union welders work for $2 an hour above minimum wage, with no benefits.

One of the reasons that I have made the decision to become a truck driver, is because the opportunities in the welding industry just keep getting worse. Trucking companies on the other hand still offer their drivers actual employment, as well as benefits and nationwide job security. Most welding work is contract based, and when the contract ends, the layoffs are soon to follow.

In my opinion as an experienced welder, your job opportunities, longevity, and pay scale are much more promising as a truck driver than as a welder.

no matter where you go, weather its Harvard or LSU

Easy there, big fella....being from Arkansas doesn't give you the right to look down on LSU...

I guess what I put in is what I would get out. I just dont want to screwed with job placement thats all.

You really won't have to worry about job placement as long as the school is credible, which most are of course. Different companies have different requirements for which schools they'll hire from. So the biggest thing to ask a school is for a list of major companies that hire their students. Then call some of those companies from home to verify this yourself. As long as major companies hire from a school then you know they're a legitimate candidate.

We have an awesome series of articles on How To Choose A Truck Driving School. Read through all of them. They'll teach you what to look for and where to get the information you need to make a good decision.