Want to get out of the pizza business and into trucking

[bigpapa7272]

the thing is is i have 1 accident in 5 years which result in only 1500 vbucks in damage and i have had no tickets in 5 years thas what didnt make sense.

Yeah i still live at home so i have no responsibilities

The list of companies wanting to hire me is growing by the day. I guess only 1 accident in 5 years and no tickets in 5 years makes u a an easy hire.

The real reason is that these companies can't hold on to drivers for very long due to the astronomical 120% turnover rates. That's why they're constantly hiring even when freight is soft like it is now. Because once people figure out what a burn-job it is, they leave the biz ASAP.

The irregular work-shifts, poor diet/excercise, and long hours on the job will take a toll on your mind and body. That type of lifestyle is pretty much begging for Type II diabetes. Way too many freebies.

What if I bought out your pizza shop and paid you by the slice instead of hourly/salary? And then out of every 10 slices you served, I'd only pay you for 9 due to PMG (Pizza Movers Guide). If no customers showed up, you'd have to stand around unpaid. Same deal if the pizza oven broke or the lights went out. No pay for cleaning tables, mopping floors, sacking the trash, fueling the deep-fryer, etc. Ano no, I will no longer furnish brooms, mops, gloves, uniforms, etc - you must pay for all of that out of your own pocket. No more overtime after 8/40, either. The new workschedule I've posted in the breakroom goes like this: 14-hour days, 7 days per week, with no weekends off. Shifts will be determined by rolling a 24-sided dice: one day start at 0800, the next 1300, the next 2100, etc. Due to such irregular workshifts and the "on-call" nature of the job, employees are no longer permitted to go home. They must sleep on cots in a double-wide trailer with no indoor plumbing out back behind the shop. Oh yeah, and after all that you'll make the same money you're making now.

Honestly, would you still do the job? If you answered "yes", then you're either desperate or you've got some sort of deep-seated mental problems going. If you answered "no", then why on earth would you even consider OTR trucking?

P.S. - in the above pizza-shop story, I'd end up in jail if I tried that. But it's SOP in OTR.

[Jimbpard]

Try Millis Transfer.
Roehl doesnt seem to be too bad either.
When I was looking to get training, Millis paid the best, although you only got home about 4 days a month if that. But overall, seem like a very good company. The one thing I can suggest is dont get on Mike Millis's bad side. I hear he can be a j/o

[Cluggy619]

What if I bought out your pizza shop and paid you by the slice instead of hourly/salary? And then out of every 10 slices you served, I'd only pay you for 9 due to PMG (Pizza Movers Guide). If no customers showed up, you'd have to stand around unpaid. Same deal if the pizza oven broke or the lights went out. No pay for cleaning tables, mopping floors, sacking the trash, fueling the deep-fryer, etc. Ano no, I will no longer furnish brooms, mops, gloves, uniforms, etc - you must pay for all of that out of your own pocket. No more overtime after 8/40, either. The new workschedule I've posted in the breakroom goes like this: 14-hour days, 7 days per week, with no weekends off. Shifts will be determined by rolling a 24-sided dice: one day start at 0800, the next 1300, the next 2100, etc. Due to such irregular workshifts and the "on-call" nature of the job, employees are no longer permitted to go home. They must sleep on cots in a double-wide trailer with no indoor plumbing out back behind the shop. Oh yeah, and after all that you'll make the same money you're making now.

HAHAHAHAHA ........PMG...I knew JB was pay me by the slice. They ate the topping off before they gave it to me, though.

This is a great analogy.....

[fatman]

Yeah that's about the best analogy I've ever read. Kudos.

[feederfred]

That was a really good accurate analogy of the way it REALLY is in the trucking business today. Way to go CFM !

[arky]

Driving is definitely a different job from anything you've ever done before...and yes, you will provide a lot of unpaid labor. But, at the same time, when the week is done, you'll probably earn quite a bit more than your making slinging pizza dough. These guys can run down the industry all they want, but I'm bringing home $500-$800/wk and home most weekends. I do put in close to 70 hours a week to get that money, but it's not as bad as they make it out to be. At least not for me. I've worked as a tool and die maker for the last 15 years where you punch the clock everyday and listen to the same old tired, disgruntled bs from the same people every day. At least out on the road, your hearing it from someone different! LOL.

My suggestion to you is to look very hard for any type of government assistance for your schooling. If you can afford to pay for it on your, I would do that too before signing a contract. If you find that you just can't live with the negatives, a year is going to feel like an eternity...I doubt you'll make it if your not satisfied. With no commitment, you could simply walk away.

You need to do a lot of research for schools in your area. Find one that suits you and then talk to them. They should be willing to help you get assistance if it's possible. Be cautious of them if they try to sign you up to a carrier, they are probably getting paid to recruit you, and that contract is the same contract you would be signing with Swift or any other training company. Once it's signed, it's binding. You do have to be careful, there are a lot of sharks out there feeding on newbies.

As for companies. I work for Maverick and would recommend them...but I really don't think they hire in your area. It would be worth looking into. The school I went to was full of USA and PAM students. Most of them didn't even know who they would be working for when they arrived at school. The school assigned them a company and a contract. It was ridiculous. The stories we were hearing of those two companie's training programs were plain scary. I wouldn't consider either of them on their best day if I was desperate for a job.

CFI, Millis, Crete (if they hire students), TransAm, KLLM. I hear good things about most of these companies. Start out as good as you can. Go with the company that has the best reputation and will hire you. Do everything possible to do it without a contract.

That's my advice,

Arky

[arky]

I left out something

I think just about everyone on this board would agree that LTL is the way to go if you can get it. Being from Baltimore, your probably in a good location to get into LTL freight. Some of the LTL companies provide training too if you live in an area where they have to recruit drivers. Where I live it's not going to happen, but where you live, it's possible.

I would check into Old Dominion for sure. I know they have a dock to driver training program. You would work the dock as a regular job, but when it's your turn, you'll be sent to CDL training. I don't remember for sure, but I don't think there is even a contract for the training at OD, but don't take that to heart, I could be wrong. This is a VERY good set-up for anyone who lives close to a terminal...especially a young person. You could find yourself in a VERY good paying job within a few years and be home every night.

Arky

[silvan]

That was a really good accurate analogy of the way it REALLY is in the trucking business today. Way to go CFM !

Me three. It just underscores my whole rant about us being FLSA exempt. We keep this country running by sitting around for free, and it's a crock.

[feederfred]

Yes, I know all about the FLSA "rants", been in a few of them. It amazes me how you always get the defenders of "thats just how it's always been"....I don't give away any of my time, and NO-ONE who drives for a living should either.

[bigpapa7272]

I visited allstate career and ive made up my mind to stay away from a cdl mill and go to a good school like allstate. I figure Im investing in my future why not make a good one. Anyways Im going to call the recruiter at all state in the morning and get in the last class starting in april. or the first one in may. Im still gonna work part time in the pizza business til i graduate. I'm gonna keep a blog of my time at all state on my myspace once i get that back up and running.

I cant wait to call her in the morning.

[ChipW]

Just to warn you, although there some here that try to drive you away from doing OTR, 9.5 times out of ten, you have to do it to get your foot in the door.....

And all companies are going to have some that like them and some that hate them.... Like the guy you work with talking about swift being ok.... I'll bet you find others that say quite the opposite....

Just remember, that no matter what company you sign on to, the company is however you make it.... You can play by the rules and get along or be a rebel and make it a hard time....

Enjoy your new career choice, I know I'm enjoying mine.... I'm a PAM employee and I like the company very much..... Very laid back for being such a big company.... But like I said, you get out of it exactly what you put into it....

Chip

[Ridge Runner]

I was talking to a guy who works for me 2 nights a week part time and hes a truck driver during the day on a local route for a local company. He told me that schneider has some shady ethics and practices he doesnt like When he started out he worked for swift he said his experience with them was nothing but positive all the way around. He also told me to stay away from cr england and pam.

He told me the best thing to do is to get trained get my first year under my belt, then go from there and decide wether to be a company driver or an owner operator. But he told me he makes good money as an o/o.

any other thoughts you guys might have would be aprreciated .

Not trying to be an ***** here but what part of these two statements makes you think this guy should be giving advice to you on getting into the trucking industry?

[just_froggy]

All State is a good school. My other half went to A.S in North Versailes, Pa, (Pittsburgh) and he had a good experience. You might want to check with the unemployment office in your state. There was a program I went through up here in PA and my training was paid for by the state. There might be something like that to help with your costs.

[Meat Wagon]

I've never had a job of ANY type where there weren't complainers (including me sometimes :wink: ). It's been my experience that with almost all the 8 to 5 jobs I tried I came home at least as tired or more so than the 12-14 hr trucking jobs. I'd get tired of the trucking grind & swear I wouldn't go back, but it's in my blood I guess. I was coming home on a Dallas / Atlanta round trip last week and was thinking about this very thing, and how content & less stressed I really was looking out that windshield compared to copier repairing, printing, or appliance repair that I had done.

In the 70's I remember talking to a few old driving hands & they thought I was nuts for wanting to drive a truck. I got a 2 yr technical degree to fall back on & then went after what I really wanted. I went to a private driving school in Portland, OR & paid $1200 (a fortune for me back then), had 3 crappy jobs the first year for the experience, then got hired off the street as a feeder driver for UPS which I did for 9 years. I had to quit due to serious illness.

Nothing even comes close to UPS as a dream job as far as I'm concerned; deregulation in 1980 eventually wiped out most all the good companies. But even at UPs there were whiners who would want you to believe that God had it in for them because of their lousy job.

Sorry for the rambling, but my point is that everyone is different and are cut out for different occupations because of personality, ability and desire. You are at an excellent time in your life to explore. I say go for it. How are you going to know if you don't try it? Trucking isn't for everybody but there are plenty who wouldn't do anything else.

Ideally I would like to do LTL linehaul but I'm not in a position to work the docks or run the casual board forever part time until I get enough seniority :|.

Through trial & error I've realized that pulling a chemical tank is what I want to do until I retire. Some people wouldn't even consider it.

Get your own private schooling. My advice would be to shoot for a medium sized co. I don't think CRE, Swift, Werner ect. would be the best beginning, though I realize there are drivers happy with these companies. Every type of driving job has its up & down sides. After a year or so you will have a better idea of what type of driving you want to do & your employment opportunities will be better by then.

I wish I had the internet for information gathering back in '76....much easier now for those researching the industry.

[Meat Wagon]

One more thing. Each company will send you to their own doctor for a physical & drug screen. Several times I have had more than one valid medical card in my wallet.

These physicals are kind of a joke; not much to them. Check you with a stethoscope, tap your knees with a rubber hammer, turn your head & cough, bend over & touch your toes...that's about it.

[LostProphet]

The list of companies wanting to hire me is growing by the day. I guess only 1 accident in 5 years and no tickets in 5 years makes u a an easy hire.

The real reason is that these companies can't hold on to drivers for very long due to the astronomical 120% turnover rates. That's why they're constantly hiring even when freight is soft like it is now. Because once people figure out what a burn-job it is, they leave the biz ASAP.

The irregular work-shifts, poor diet/excercise, and long hours on the job will take a toll on your mind and body. That type of lifestyle is pretty much begging for Type II diabetes. Way too many freebies.

What if I bought out your pizza shop and paid you by the slice instead of hourly/salary? And then out of every 10 slices you served, I'd only pay you for 9 due to PMG (Pizza Movers Guide). If no customers showed up, you'd have to stand around unpaid. Same deal if the pizza oven broke or the lights went out. No pay for cleaning tables, mopping floors, sacking the trash, fueling the deep-fryer, etc. Ano no, I will no longer furnish brooms, mops, gloves, uniforms, etc - you must pay for all of that out of your own pocket. No more overtime after 8/40, either. The new workschedule I've posted in the breakroom goes like this: 14-hour days, 7 days per week, with no weekends off. Shifts will be determined by rolling a 24-sided dice: one day start at 0800, the next 1300, the next 2100, etc. Due to such irregular workshifts and the "on-call" nature of the job, employees are no longer permitted to go home. They must sleep on cots in a double-wide trailer with no indoor plumbing out back behind the shop. Oh yeah, and after all that you'll make the same money you're making now.

Honestly, would you still do the job? If you answered "yes", then you're either desperate or you've got some sort of deep-seated mental problems going. If you answered "no", then why on earth would you even consider OTR trucking?

P.S. - in the above pizza-shop story, I'd end up in jail if I tried that. But it's SOP in OTR.

Ive never seen a better analogy to the trucking industry in my life.Very very well said.

[love2cu1]

that was funny.....good joke...rotflmao!!

[feederfred]

I was talking to a guy who works for me 2 nights a week part time and hes a truck driver during the day on a local route for a local company. He told me that schneider has some shady ethics and practices he doesnt like When he started out he worked for swift he said his experience with them was nothing but positive all the way around. He also told me to stay away from cr england and pam.

He told me the best thing to do is to get trained get my first year under my belt, then go from there and decide wether to be a company driver or an owner operator. But he told me he makes good money as an o/o.

any other thoughts you guys might have would be aprreciated .

Not trying to be an ***** here but what part of these two statements makes you think this guy should be giving advice to you on getting into the trucking industry?

EXACTLY...."he's a truck driver", who gives career advice to others, YET he's still DELIVERING PIZZA part-time ? What is wrong with this picture ? Of course, he liked Swift...that says it all...