Many trucking companies train and hire people who want to find good, high paying, and competitive work. Many shipping companies in Utah allow you to walk in the door, train at no upfront cost, and pay you up to $50,000 a year. Sounds good? You can get your CDL and a job all in one place. Just like everything that sounds good, there are pros and cons to a trucking company training you.
Remember that nothing in life is free, and that includes trucking. A trucking company will train and hire you, but they expect something in return.
CDL training is not free. Weigh the costs of each option. Remember that most trucking companies do reimburse you the cost of what you paid to an independent trucking school if you drive for them.
If you can’t get a loan for a truck driver training program, check out a company training program. These programs may be a great opportunity for you. Another pro to having a company train you; you are guaranteed a job when your training is complete.
Look far and wide at the best trucking companies in Utah and decide what are the premier trucking companies are that train and hire you. Weigh the options of being legally contracted to work for only that company for a few years. Once you are in the truck and if you find you hate the trucking lifestyle, you can’t just quit. Trucking companies’ contracts vary, and it’s important to read and understand the terms of your hiring.
An inexperienced truck driver should stay with their first company for at least one year. But, two is better, and three would be awesome. Trucking companies frown on drivers who hop from one trucking company to another. It is expensive to hire a new driver, and after too many jobs within a short time, trucking companies will not hire you. They frown on drivers who jump from one company to another.
Note that if you leave the trucking company hired and trained you, the remainder or cost of the training they provided you will be due when you quit.
Pros of training with a trucking company include no upfront costs, you can earn a paycheck faster, and it is an easy process.
Cons of company training include you must sign a contract and be attached to the company for several years, costs may be higher eventually, and you will be away from home for long periods.
You may also want to consider the best express trucking companies in Utah and where you are training. Think about what that company operates and where you will drive. If you are interested in different trucking, then look at specific types of companies. To be a long-haul driver, consider those companies.
Other things to consider is how often you will be home. You also need to think about where the company operates. Check out the pay and benefits. Apply to different trucking companies then decide what company you like best.
Trucking is more than a job; it is a lifestyle. You will live, eat, sleep and breathe trucking 24 hours a day when you are on the road. It is essential to find a company where you will be happy.
It’s important to note that whether you are considering company-sponsored CDL training or a stand-alone trucking school, shipping companies in Utah are always short on drivers. They often make things sound so much better than they are. Think about if trucking schools get a kickback from the company you choose. Don’t let anyone talk you into something you are not ready to do.
Day in the Life of a Trucker
If you are thinking about becoming a truck driver or you want to see what it is like to be a driver, go on a trucking ride. Or, you can read about a day in the life of a trucker in this illustration.
“It’s now Friday afternoon, and I am sitting in a truck stop in Salt Lake City just off the interstate at a nice-looking truck stop. I’m relaxing in the sleeper of my semi-truck waiting for the Qualcomm to beep indicating I have a new email telling me I have a load to pick up.
I drive a T-600 Kenworth truck and pull a 48′ flatbed trailer behind me. It is a newer truck, and I enjoy the challenging work associated with a flatbed. Beep… Oh good a new message. I look at it and the load assignment is great. I’m picking up a load in Ogden, Utah and delivering the load to Eureka, California in northern California. I am amazed at the length of the trip, over 1,000 miles.
My appointment time is for 7:00AM in Eureka which is 500 miles away. It will take me about 7 hours to get there. So, I get headed out of the truck stop and make my way to Interstate 80.
I arrive in Eureka at the truck stop, and it’s a fairly nice truck stop, clean and quiet for the most part. It’s late in the day and the parking lot is full. I have a hard time finding a parking spot that is open but finally another driver pulls out of a spot and I pull in. It is a tight spot to back into. I get lined up on my spot and wiggle my way in carefully.
I finish my log book for the night and make a bowl of Dinty Moore beef stew in my microwave. I am trying to save money by not eating in overpriced truck stops! I pop in a DVD and watch a movie as I lay in my small bed.
Beep… Beep… Beep my alarm is sounding. I think to myself “OMG, 5 AM already.” My turn for a shower. I grab my shower bag and head into the truck stop. I go to the fuel desk and ask for a shower, the attended gives me the key and I head to the driver’s area to get a shower.
You just never know what you will get when you use a truck stop shower. The only thing you can count on is that it will be steamy and hot when you get out because the exhaust fans just seem to never work. Nothing like having your new clean clothes damp when getting dressed inside a room about half the size of a cracker box while dodging the random hairballs that lay on the slick floor.
After my refreshing shower, I grab a breakfast sandwich and head out to my truck. I arrive at the shipper along with 5 other trucks. I walk up to the office and give them my pick-up number and information. The guy loading me informs me it will be a little while before they can load me. I say “OK” and head out to my truck (as a truck driver a little while means an hour.) An hour passes by and they wave me up to the loading area.
I pull up and they tell me to stay in the truck. I am picking up a load of pipe. After about 20 minutes a huge forklift loads a stack of pipe on my flatbed trailer. Thirty minutes later he finishes, I use three chains to hold the load of pipe down and then pull into the load securement and tarping area.
I use 10 nylon straps to finish tying the pipe down, next tarp the load. Most loads are tarped for various reasons and the tarps are about 65 pounds each, some loads are over 13 feet tall. I am sure that you can imagine how much fun it would be to have to carry them on your shoulder while climbing up a tall load. I spread the tarps over the load of pipe and tie the tarp down with bungee cords.
I get paid a fee for tarping and I am great at tarping. If tarping is not done right the air will blow under the tarp and make it look like a giant balloon. I walk in and wait 10 minutes for my paperwork to be printed, I sign it and I may go.
I catch up my log book from loading and then plan my trip. I only may drive 11 hours by law each day and then must rest for 10 hours.
I’m now departing the shipper at about 10 AM, I drive for about an hour and then stop to tighten down all the straps and chains holding the pipe down. As you drive later all the bumps and vibrations cause the load to settle, in doing so I notice I have a flat trailer tire, so I head to the nearest truck stop to have the trailer tire repaired.
I arrive at my destination, walk in and am told it will be about two hours. I wait in the truck until they are ready. I weigh my truck and trailer on a truck scale.
Total hours on duty today either driving, waiting or working outside the truck is at least 12 hours, and I have earned $13.83 an hour.” (https://cdl101.com/life-of-a-truck-driver/).
Check out the trucking industry and what it’s like to be a truck driver. Research the best trucking companies in Utah as well as the trucking industry and remember trucking is a lifestyle, not just a job.
