Before my husband even started Sage CDL training we started checking out companies for him to apply with. He has a couple of prehire letters to go to orientations but is still looking to make sure he finds the right job. While he has been in school it has pretty much been my job to find companies hiring new drivers and screening out the ones that he wouldn't want to work for based on his priorities.

The reason I'm posting here is to be sure we have left no stone unturned in the search. We have checked out the local newspaper for companies for months now. I have looked for companies on message boards and trucking sites. I have checked the local yellow pages too.

I'm going to list my husband's priorities in order of importance and see if you veteran drivers can give me any suggestions that we haven't looked into. Specific companies are okay but I don't think you can find any that have websites that I haven't already looked at. I'm really looking for places that I might not have searched.

Priorities:
1. Hometime-He wants to be home every week at least. He knows he has to put his time in somewhere to get experience. He would even be willing to work local to be home every night but we know it might not be possible.

2. Prefer Tanker or Van-Before he went to school he was okay with flatbed; but after he started Sage and talked to his brother who is a veteran trucker, he all but ruled out flatbed.

3. Pay-He's not becoming a trucker to travel. He has a family to support so of course pay is important but it's not the most important thing to him. He would like to get reimbursed for his tuition but we also know the companies that do that pretty much just take it out of your pay for the first year or two by paying less per mile. If the pay is better to go somewhere without TR he would consider. He is a "by the book" guy so he plans to run legal. Any company he works for will have to support that.

4. Benefits-definitely need affordable family insurance the rest is gravy.

5. Safety rating- he doesn't want to spend all his time at weigh stations being inspected and wants to drive equipment that is safe to travel in.

This is the first time I've posted a topic but I've been on here reading a lot. I know most of the time a few of you make fun of people and a lot of you are funny. I don't care if you make fun of me as long as you try to answer my question while you are doing it.

Driver info: Clean driving record, no arrests or convictions. CDL A with Hazmat, Tanker and Double/Triple endorsements. Already has passport if needed. We live in central Indiana. The reason we are searching so hard is because he wants to find a company that he can stay with long term not just for experience to go somewhere else. Sorry my first post was such a long one.

 

Kim does hubby want to drive OTR or local?

From what you have laid out in your above post. I would take a hard look at Schneider.

1. Schneider generally has one of the best reputations for starter companies.

2. The Schneider Shadeland Ave/Indy OC will make it easier to get home.

Central Indiana/Indianapolis is usually one of the prime hiring areas for the larger OTR carriers, as we are indeed, "The Crossroads of America."

 

Most carriers will keep their new drivers out from 2-3 weeks at a time until they get through training. Finding an otr driving job where you can get back home every weekend can be a challenge, especially starting out. If he needs to get back home several times a week, he may want to consider looking for something local. However, most local driving jobs require a year or two of otr experience. He might find something regional. There might be some companies who could use a yard dog driver. These guys move trailers around a manufacturing or distribution facility. They spend their day backing and pulling trailers out of loading docks.

 

From what you have laid out in your above post. I would take a hard look at Schneider.

I would take a look at Prime Inc. to.

 

Are you crazy? I wouldn't go to Prime if they was the last company on earth. I had a friend that worked for them, they are an outlaw company from what she and others have told me about them. I'd go to Schneider if I was you.

 

I have two friends that told me the oppisite. I guess everyone is diffrent. But I was just giving him another option to look at. If I had to pick, I would pick the big orange pumpkin. :wink:

 

Oh, sometimes I have been known to be crazy, but arent we all? :wink:

 

Yup no one is perfect or normal at all! I understand with giving him different options, it's better to have options. 8)

 

Options is all that we have, and if we dont share, then we are cheating /hurting to new guy/woman. If he want to get into tankers he really needs to talk to Cyniane. I think that I didnt spell that right. LOL

 

Cyanide. I spelled it right this time. :wink: