Question:
have been searching for a job for a bit as will need to start work right after school.
it seems that every major carrier has stories of poor experiences, at this point
are there any "less'bad places to work.
could anyone comment on either wil trans or ffe i did a search not much came up, perhaps wording?
thanks all am not trying to be negative but do need to find work asap
is there a site which compares the compaies in a easy to read format?

Answer:
The thing to keep in mind is those negative carrier reports are one individuals experience with that carrier... which may or may not be an accurate report.
If you come across several reports all basically saying the same thing about a carrier then it may be a safe bet that is what is going on at that carrier.
Now, what one person doesn't like may not bother you at all. So you need to decide for yourself what is important to you.
Initially for newbies it is important to gain that first year of experience and hopefully do it with a carrier that won't treat you like crap. One of my definitions of "crap" would be not paying you enough to earn a living and keeping you out on the road too long for too little home time. Mind you... you will have to run to earn the experience and the pay but at some point one needs hometime to recharge the batteries.
Interesting article here:
http://www.highwaystarmagazine.com/careersfeature.cfm?ID=274

Answer:

Stay AWAY from Wil-Trans, it's a division of Prime.
Out of the two carriers you just listed, I would say to go with FFE.

Answer:
Comparing companies is pretty easy and you dont need a web site to do it for you.
Take a piece of paper and down the left side list everything you are concerned about, or want from the company you work for. List out things like hometime, pay, vacation, health insurance, pet policy, etc. What goes on this list is entirely up to you. (You can even do this on your puter using a spreadsheet or word proccessing program)
Then draw several columns , maybe like 4 on a standard piece of paper, and list out the companies you have talked to at the top of each column and write down what they have to offer you.
Answer:
the article suggested is a good one,i would recommend it to all who are searching.
thanks for the inof re prime/wil trans
re chart sounds good to make up and have printed out a list of questions it is just finding the time am away from home at school12hrs a day with commute time, although plan to stay with another student this week to save money and time.
it is so challenging separating fact from fiction when reading about the various carriers and as i've already discovered some recruiters will deliberatly mislead you hoping either you won't notice or decide you can live with the deception.
ive been accepted by a local company but am worried as there is no additional training i would follow another driver once then on my own and i don't feel confident enough in my abilities to be alone after one run through.
am thinking of volunteering to go on trips to learn but fearfull this would set a bad precednet in terms of free labour.

Answer:

Explain your concerns to your prospective employer and if he/she is okay with them (your concerns), jump on this opportunity. There are no secrets to driving a truck; go slow, ask questions and be careful. This is the way EVERY driver started out for many decades; truck driving schools have only been around for the past 20 years or so. BOL

Answer:
thanks john
i appreciate your feedback and will probably follow advice.
i thought i might benefit from training like schneider 's skidpads.
at the same time this company is less than 10 min from my house pays starts at $800 per week plus free health insurance, the company also ofers profit sharing and year end bonuses.Another plus is 3 of the owners daughters work/drive for the company so he is really commited to hiring women.
i also felt good at the interveiw because he said he is willing to pay a bit more for fuel to have drivers gas up at sturbridge mass for $1 more per gallon than put them at risk inHartford.
now the challenge is to parrallel park...
ps not sure about posting rules but if anyone in maine is looking for a driving job please pm me as this company needs 2 others right away...

Answer:

Assuming that you already know how to handle a skid in a car (does it ever snow in Maine? ), the entire SECRET to handling a skid in a truck is to PUSH IN THE CLUTCH. This allows the drive wheels to free wheel and gives you as much of a chance to recover from the skid as you'll ever have.
BTW, Schneider's skid pad training consists primarily of watching a 30 minute video and getting a couple of passes on the skid pad (one with a trailer, one without) IF the skid pad is functional.
Don't sweat it; you'll do fine.

Answer:
maineiac,
You going to find a lot of negativity in the trucking business. Ignore it.
-JHappy Dwellers Society
Company Driver Division

Answer:
dear john
nope don't see much snow here....have lots of skid experience in my jeep live over a mile in the woods down a long steep hill 90 degree turn at bottom and if miss the corner in the lake ,road is private and not plowed sanded or otherwise maintained so am well versed iin chain,ice removal ,ect but my jeep is the only vehicle i have to worry about and it's 4wheel drive....and in the unhappy event i go for an unplanned ride own another 4 wheel drive with winch and have come along...none of which probably helps in a big truck..except don't panic about sliding so much
am worried about winter driving even 4 wheel does not help on black ice and it can happen in a heartbeat up here....and hate to annoy anyone but some people with suv's are the biggest danger they don't grasp you don't stop in 4wheel.

Answer:

Take the job. Contrary to what some make it out to be,Driving is a
semi skilled job at best,it's not Brain Surgery. You can do it.

Exactly, I started as a Local Chicago semi Driver with about 4 days of
riding with another Driver.
Answer:

go for it
You should be more worried about what they would give you for a trainer,in many cases you are on your own,just have some brain dead person in the truck with you.
You have been shown the basic's and the rest is practice,don't worry about making time or worry about what the company will think,just take your time untill you get used to it and don't think your not doing good because the rest of the trucks are flying by you.They fly by me everyday and I have been at it a few days now
In trucking nobody has a stop watch timing you,don't worry about it,you will get there.
I worked at a temp agency and they sent me to a job,the place had all 6 wheelers and rented a trailer truck and needed a driver for it,so I went to make the run and they sent one of the young guys that drivers a 6 wheeler with me.I could tell he was bugging out on the 100 mile ride thinking I was the slowest damn drivier in the world.I wasn't taking every chance to gain a position in traffic or trying to push my way through traffic.i would catch him looking at his watch.
I knew the guy was going nuts and when we got there i asked him how long it usually takes him It took us an hour and 45 minutes,just like it takes him,I could tell he was one of those types that drives like a nut trying to make time,but it don't really matter on short local stuff.You can drive like a fool all day and not gain enough time to make a noticable differance.
We went to a staples ditribution center,they sure ain't going to get in no rush and if there was 3 trucks at the gate,we would have lost more time than we could have made if there was no traffic on the road and ran 70mph the whole way there.
It just don't matter running local,you can run like a crazy person all day and your boss won't notice any differance than if you take you damn sweat time.
Don't get in a rush and you will be fine.main thing is keep your following distance at all times.Always expect the fool in front of you to stop,even in the left lane of the interstate with nobody around for miles.
If somebody pulls out of a side road in front of you on a 2 lane road,they ain't going anywhere,they are going to make the next left turn,don't run up on them thinking they are going to step on the gas and go someplace,they are going to hit the left signal and the brakes.No they couldn't wait for you to get by and than pull out.
If somebody is passing you on the left and there is a right hand exit coming up,they are getting off,of coarse they couldn't stay behind you,they have to pass,cut in front of you and jam on the brakes to make their exit.
Truck driving is simple,expect them to do the stupidest things and leave them room to preform their amazing stunts.
and never think your going to teach some stupid SOB a leason,they have been driving for years and ain't one other person taught them a lesson yet,just let them go and don't worry about it.Be the most passive person in the world if you want to survive driving for long,yeh let everyone walk all over you,go ahead fools,you go first.
Stay out of packs of trucks,the one leading the pack is probably the dumbest moron in the world.Hotrod truckers are just accidents looking for a place to happen,you ain't out there to impress anyone,exspecially some dummy truck driver,who cares what they think.
Answer:
thanks zig,
appreciate the tips and totally agree some of those idiot things happen while driving a car...
i especially need to learn the part about slowing down it occurs to me even at home i'm always rushing about latley it's dawning what you said is so true racing about does not get you anywhere faster except pooped out.....multitasking is a nice way of describing chasing your own tail and not finishing anything...
thanks to you all appreciate all of the wisdom am learning here
have a great day

Answer:
zigzag has put truck driving into a nutshell though nothing says it much better than this:

One other thing; they teach this in the "Smith System".
Leave yourself an out!
Leave yourself an out!
Leave yourself an out!

Answer:
ziggy's tips are worth applying a sticky too so all newbies could read it,does anyone know how this could be done???