Getting Experience

dancorn · Mar 23, 2009

Just completed driving school and got Class A license with hazmat and tanker endorsement. Have applied to about every OTR carrier. They all want experience except for England who wants $900. Ha! The expedite companies also want experience. How the heck can you get experience when no one will take you on board.? What am I missing here? I have no background or legal issues.
Any suggestions?

youngsamuel · Mar 23, 2009

I don't know where you live but TMC is hiring. Go to their website and look at their hiring map. If they approve your school they will hire you. I was 50 mi. past the hiring radius or I would be with them.

ACEofSpades · Mar 24, 2009

Yep TMC is hiring, USA Truck, Werner, and several others are hiring. Stay away from TMC, McElroy and CT Trans unless you want to run flatbed. I love flatbed but it's not for everyone. I just left Werner because I went to the orientation and stayed in a hotel a week waiting for a trainer. Never got one so I came home. McElroy and CT were on a freeze but with the weather clearing and the temps rising they should start back up soon. You can always run a straight truck.Arrow was also hiring, as well as H.O.W. Check with US Express and Covenant. None of these companies are expediters but thats the only way you can get any "relevant" experience. These companies out here look at you as a rookie driver and a serious danger unless you have 1 year OTR experience. A good friend of mine was turned down for a job because he didn't have any OTR, he's been driving since 1990 yet they didn't see 19 years of local driving as "experience". Good luck and let me know if I can help in any way.
Maybe you can use this site to find an owner that is willing and able to take a chance.

Tennesseahawk · Mar 24, 2009

The reason of the lack of jobs in trucking is two fold:

1) Level of freight going down can't sustain the number of trucks out there.

2) The people losing their jobs, and seeing trucking as a "step down", but still making money. They are flooding the market now. Newbies are seriously in the dredge of the industry... kinda like the inlaws who are welcome, but only in the tent in the backyard.

I'll be sure to rally a bunch of trucking idgits and invade the tech sector when the economy recovers.

Scuba · Mar 24, 2009

It's no longer a drivers market and companies know that there is a glut of well trained and seasoned drivers out there. So it makes sense to hire someone that has a track record it’s business that’s all. Like one of the other posts said there are cut backs everywhere. I have a buddy new driver he has been waiting for 3 weeks for a truck with Warner everyone wants teams he is waiting for another driver that is out of his area central FL

Crazynuff · Mar 24, 2009

Companies don't always want experienced drivers . Some have dropped the starting rate for new drivers to $.26 a mile . Many pay less for dedicated runs that let a driver get home often . But you have to look why companies are hiring . Right now Conway has over 140 drivers that finished orientation and will wait 3 or 4 weeks for a truck . Did they hire them because they expect to increase their fleet size ? No they hired them because they know over 100 drivers will quit within the next month . I have read many posts by drivers that get less than 1,000 miles a week . Many drivers quit when they have a few weeks of that and can't pay their bills .

XTeam · Mar 24, 2009

dancorn said:
Just completed driving school and got Class A license with hazmat and tanker endorsement. Have applied to about every OTR carrier. They all want experience except for England who wants $900. Ha! The expedite companies also want experience. How the heck can you get experience when no one will take you on board.? What am I missing here? I have no background or legal issues.
Any suggestions?

Welcome to EO !
Some expedite companies require experience. If that is the case, through a company's recruiter, they most likely will be able to arrange for you to take a Truck Driving Competency Test. This is a quick driving test and may cost about $100.00. It will be given in a straight truck. This may be at a truck driving school near you or near the company. When a recruiter sets you up with a truck owner, be careful as truck owners that will take someone with no experience may be either difficult to deal with or have trouble keeping drivers. You really need to interview the truck owner. You are classified as an Independent Contractor. The recruiter may give you a few truck owners to call. Give the truck owner a good idea of who you are and how eager you are to get to work. After good ratings showing dependability etc. and at least 4-5 months experience, if you need to change truck owners you will find that more owners will be interested in you. As far as straight truck driving, team driving with the money going to the same family is best. Another option is for the recruiter to help you find someone to team with, he will know if he has a truck owner looking for a team member. The truck owners are leased on with the company so it is the recruiters job to help the truck owner. Remember that you will have an agreement with the truck owner so use your intuition and ask pertinent questions. Be careful of
companies who will train you in expedite trucking for lots of money.You can do this yourself through a little initiative on your part. Good luck and stay positive!
Linda

davekc · Mar 24, 2009

I believe the poster is looking to drive tractor trailer. If he goes to a straight truck, that isn't going to help him much. Since he already has his class A, I don't know why he would pay $100 for anything?
I would look at the companies mentioned that are hiring to achieve your 6 months verifiable. If you are unsuccessful going this route, then I would would search out a owner operator with their own authority and proceed that way. They likely won't have the same requirements that a carrier would. Especially if they haul their own freight. They may not pay a ton of cash, but you are needing that 6 months experience.

dancorn · Mar 24, 2009

Some helpful information from most responses. I want to drive a truck. Straight or T/T. Either OTR or expedite will be fine. I have applied to about every company you all have mentioned but no luck so far. Most say the 3 months to 2 years of experience rule is due to insurance requirements. Is this true or just BS? I would gladly pay the $100 to take Truck Driving Competency Test but that has not been offered yet.

Davekc: How best to find an Owner/ Operator like you mentioned? If you know any O/O wanting a newbie co-driver ask them to call me at 662 706 7027, Thanks.

ACEofSpades · Mar 24, 2009

Dancorn where are you from?

dancorn · Mar 24, 2009

originally from KY but now in Northeast MS

Jack_Berry · Mar 24, 2009

i would be interested to know why cr england wants $900? certainly can't be the phys/pee test.

dancorn · Mar 24, 2009

Jack_Berry asked; "i would be interested to know why cr england wants $900? certainly can't be the phys/pee test."

Their charge for training, they said.

Jack_Berry · Mar 24, 2009

you are fresh from school, what do they want to train you to do? orientation should be no charge. is the plan to be solo in a t/t or team? if team then there is time with a trainer who gets paid by the company.

like scuba said, its a carriers market right now, even schneider has stopped hiring newbies and is looking at experienced drivers.

dancorn · Mar 24, 2009

From their site www.crengland.com/truckingjobs/index.jsp?page=student_overview

"TRUCK DRIVING JOB OPPORTUNITIES
SCHOOL REFRESHER OVERVIEW

CR England has a school refresher program that has been designed to train individuals who have graduated from a certified truck driver training school, other than a CR England driving school; or, has a valid class A license with no recent tractor-trailer driving experience. Tuition for the school refresher program is $995. A down payment of $500 is due upon arrival at the school. We do accept MasterCard, Visa and DiscoverCard. The remaining balance can be financed and payroll deducted. "

youngsamuel · Mar 24, 2009

Dancorn your age is also a factor. My insurance is sky high for a person under 25 yrs. old. How old are you? Do you have family? I ask because I have a truck with 2 yrs left on the lease and I now have another child on the way. So strong economy or weak I am looking for a driver, but if you have young children it is not good. I just want to make good on my lease. If you are over 25 pm me and we can talk further. I have a driver of my cargo van you can talk to.