Question:
I've only been lurking here for a couple days. The more I read through the posts, the more questions come to mind.
One of my main concerns with starting a new career at 40 is picking the right company that works well for them and me. It seems guys do change from company to company, but it would be my concern to get a bad work history by doing that.
Are there companies that drivers start with as a newbie and stick with for a long time? Typically who are these companies?
Is it just expected in the business that a driver is going to make these changes after a certain time frame?
If you had to start from new as a pro, how would you do it?
I've been in the music business for years and driving a tour bus is sort of a long term dream. Anyone know much about how to get into that?
As a 40 year old guy with zero tickets, zero accidents, near perfect credit, steady work history so far, and can pass the DOT physical and drug testing, will I have a choice of where to work right off the bat?
What questions should I be asking other than these?
Thanks for your comments and answers. Have a safe trip!

Answer:
If you do your research and stay away from the sh*ttier companies like Swift, C.R. England, Central Refrigerated, Prime & Covenant, you should do OK in this industry.
To keep your sterling Credit Rating intact, DO NOT enter into any of the 'Lease/Purchase scams' that any company offers.
U.S. Xpress, Roehl, Marten and Schneider seem to be a few of the better companies to work for.
Remember, while checking out different companies, make sure the companies have what YOU want.
Go hang out at a local truckstop a couple Saturday afternoons and talk to some of the drivers from any of the companies you're interested in working for. Get the info from someone that actually works for them, NOT just what the Recruiter tells you.
Use the "Search Feature" at the top of each page to search for threads about any company you're interested in.
Good Luck.

Answer:
I forgot to add...............
Come back and ask as many questions as you need to.

Answer:

Hoss pretty well covered them. Also Trans AM has a pretty good rep for a newbie hiring company.

To a certain extent it is. The industry "standard" for a good work history seems to be something like 1 job per year or so, and an excellent work history is no more than 3 jobs in 5 years. There are many reasons for the job hopping. Two of the largest seems to be that 1) Not every company out there is made for everyone and 2) Money. Often times, in the first year or two especially, a driver can sigificantly increase his wages by going to a different company.

Your personal history, as listed, will not hurt you one little bit. Other factors as to where you can go are:
Where you live as companies do have hiring areas, and
Where you get your CDL from. It is important to choose the right school if you do not want to be locked into a contract for employment by having a carrier finance/fund your schooling. I would reccomend that if you are going to go through a private school or tech program that you contact the carriers you are interested in working for before you put down any money for school and make sure that they hire from that school.
On the matter of companies. Other than the big ones that we have mentioned there are smaller, harder to find, companies in many areas that take new drivers. Look in the Sunday papers in your area, also check the phone books in your areas for trucking companies and do some research.

Before you take the big step of actually going to school you need to ask yourself if this is something you really want to do. Can you and your family handle you being gone for up to 6 weeks for initial training, and then for 2 or 3 weeks at a time for OTR (long haul).
Next sit down and make a list of everything that is imporant to you from hometime, health benefits, rider policies, pet policies, type of freight you want to haul (flatbeds, reefers, dry van, etc), pay etc. Dont be afraid to be ticky with your list and then research companies to find out who offers what you want or comes closest to it.
Finally, or maybe this should be first. You really should have enough money saved to cover all of your bills for at least 3 months. Your income is going to be in short supply while you are in school and in training. If possible get yourself as debt free as possible.
Here are a few web sites that may help you with obtaining info to help you with making your decisions.
www.truckschoolsusa.com
www.newbiedriver.com
As Hoss said. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have.
Answer:
GeetarMikeS I would suggest Crete Sounds like you are the kind of new driver they are looking for. If you contemplate going to work for Crete Call them before you chose a school so you can find a school that Crete acknowledges as a good school and will hire out of. I have been driving for them for 10 Years and we have drivers who have been with the company for 20 and 30 years. I do not be reluctant to recommend them as a company to start with and stay with.
Keep us posted on how things are going for you.Do the VI maintain your following distance maintain your lane position observe the speed limit observe the things around you and keep good records
Safe driving to you.
Joe


Answer:
From another post by you, I think you are in Missouri.
If so Trans Am and Crete( Crete,Shaffer,Sunflower) would be my first choices.
Excellent advice to look at the big picture. If memory serves me correctly Trans Am will start you at .30cpm. Look at the pay scales of the companies you want to work for. Stevens will take quite a few years to get you to .30cpm.
A good friend of mine works for Willis Shaw Express, and loves it. I have rarely heard anything bad about them.

Answer:

Whats up with "Covenant".Can you shed a little light on that company ???
I am a newbie,"student/graduate",fixing to orientate with them.

Answer:
Covenant:
Would low pay, long hours, poor treatment of drivers, and mostly junk equipment qualify for an answer?Sometimes you have to dig through a lot horsesh#t to find the pony.

Answer:
""Get the info from someone that actually works for them, NOT just what the Recruiter tells you""
Hoss ask a bunch of Prime drivers about the company,a newbie would go to prime if he talked to their drivers.
I talked to a bunch of werner drivers before going to work for them,none of them had a negitive word to say about the company.
Once i was inside the company,it was a whole different story in the drivers breakrooms.It was like wow,you people need a union.
As a greenhorn I recieved lots of expert advice from long time drivers,like
"'The union would never work,they would just close the doors"
"They are all the same"
"It's what you make of it"
"you need to pay your dues"
"the other companies are worse"
"you can't make no money as an o/o"
Many drivers are either total retards or to embarassed to admit getting screwed daily is the best they can do.