Well...if you feel like you really must enter this downtrodden industry make your first stint a short one (like a year but it will feel like a decade) with an outfit like Schneider then look for a better job.Share your number one tip for rookies just starting out!
Go back to school. Get a good education. Pick another profession.Share your number one tip for rookies just starting out!
One thing about the military is that if you do it right you don't have to retire with low income and no decent skill. If you play it right you can come out with a highly demanded skill that you were paid to learn. Just a couple of ideas...Avionics (airplane electronics) good demand, decent pay, not too bad work. Heavy equipment operator, electrician, plumber along with many other construction trades. That in addition to being a vet would make for a good resume.At one time i wished I would've put 20 years in the military but then I would've retired with a low income and no decent skills.
Check and double check your hooks. Never assume anything off of the sound. Visually check it every time. Dropping trailers is one of the most common rookie mistakes. Watch over head wires and low bridges, another common mistake. And do a proper pre-trip, nothing like being out on the road with your lights not working correctly. And slow it down. Don't be pressured by a dispatcher to hurry. It's not his life on the line. And carry an extra pair of underwear and pants and an empty Gatorade bottle just in case nature calls at the worse possible time. Ask Big Dave about that. He has soiled himself on many occasions. Daves motto is "never trust a fart" .. That's pretty sound advice.Share your number one tip for rookies just starting out!
I enlisted in the USMC when I was 18 years old with an aviation school guarantee. I was trained to be an aviation metalsmith.One thing about the military is that if you do it right you don't have to retire with low income and no decent skill. If you play it right you can come out with a highly demanded skill that you were paid to learn. Just a couple of ideas...Avionics (airplane electronics) good demand, decent pay, not too bad work. Heavy equipment operator, electrician, plumber along with many other construction trades. That in addition to being a vet would make for a good resume.
1) learn well in school. be like a sponge and absorb as much as you can.Share your number one tip for rookies just starting out!
Rubber side DOWN!!!!!Share your number one tip for rookies just starting out!
Arrogance and complacency will destroy you. Listening to the Old Timers is very sound advice. Learning humility is very important. Don't become a know it all and discount what the Old Timers say. They have seen things you couldn't imagine. Most have learned the hard way. If you listen to them you can save yourself a lot of grief. You don't have to learn the way if you will just listen.Keep in mind that a truck is a workhorse not a racehorse. I know a young man who tried the O/O side of trucking twice & filed bankruptcy both times. A friend of mine who was a successful O/O for over forty years tried to help this young man get started. The young man wouldn't listen to advice from an experienced driver. He insisted on racing from truck stop to truck stop with everybody on the road. By the time he paid off speeding tickets & increased insurance premiums he didn't have funds for fuel, truck maintenance & repairs. The 'OLD MAN" told him to run the speed limit to get better fuel mileage & better tire life. The old man was trucking before the young man was born. So my advice is to listen to those who have done this for a while.
What the hell are you smoking ????Still kinda fun for me. I don't dread going to work. Don't really like the long commute. Feel kinda overpaid for no more than I do but that's a good thing