Good video, Good info. I too have worked at various mega carriers over a 26 year period and many small companies. I think your opinion is biased a little towards mega carriers. I think mega carriers are good for people who are set on remaining company drivers and smaller companies are more geared towards people who are free thinking individuals that are more socially adept as opposed to the closed corporate culture of mega carriers. Mega carriers also view drivers as a liability where smaller carriers view drivers as their most prized and most valuable asset. You get more chances to make mistakes at smaller outfits instead of the mega carriers typical "3 strikes you're out" criteria. Smaller companies care more about your personal time (for example); smaller company will accommodate taking off the next day as opposed to mega carriers telling you to give them a 3 day notice of days off. With the popularity of lease purchase over the years, someone who is ready for ownership should never drive for a mega carrier because of the cutthroat corporate atmosphere that they will encounter due to the perceived threat of your fleet growing to eventually takeover the mega companies assets. I know this is true because I managed two bigger companies before and when we had a lease purchase program in place, we would intentionally put barriers in place that would benefit the company, not the lease operator. In the old days I would have agreed with you but in today's world where credit is easier and smaller companies taking advantage of national accounts with major vendors, it's an even playing field all the way around
Michael, with all due respect I have to say I completely disagree with every point you've made. To be clear, in 15 years I've worked for a few megas and a couple of very small companies with 5 trucks and 11 trucks respectively. Here is my take from my experience: 1) "smaller companies are more geared towards people who are free thinking individuals that are more socially adept as opposed to the closed corporate culture of mega carriers" - that's utter baloney. Truck driving is truck driving. When you're out on the road you're making decisions about time management, safety, routing, and all sorts of other things whether you're at a large company or small. I wasn't allowed to be a "free thinker" any more at a small company than a large one. And more "socially adept?" I have no idea what being socially adept has to do with the size of the company. 2) "Mega carriers also view drivers as a liability where smaller carriers view drivers as their most prized and most valuable asset." That too is utter nonsense. How do you think the large carriers have reached the level of success they've had? By treating everyone like garbage? By viewing their people as a liability? Come on. 3) "You get more chances to make mistakes at smaller outfits instead of the mega carriers typical "3 strikes you're out" criteria" - again, utter nonsense. How do you figure a small company has the "opportunity" to allow you to make more mistakes? Their finances are tighter, they're not self-insured, and they have far fewer customers than a large carrier which means losing customers is often far more painful to a small company. If anything a small company will require you to have experience because they expect you to perform at a higher level. 4) This is one of my favorites: "With the popularity of lease purchase over the years, someone who is ready for ownership should never drive for a mega carrier because of the cutthroat corporate atmosphere that they will encounter due to the perceived threat of your fleet growing to eventually takeover the mega companies assets. " - Seriously? You think that one man leasing one truck from the company itself is a threat to take over a company with thousands of trucks? That's just funny right there.
Some ppl can't handle the "'Trucking Truth"'..Great Info. I agree with you about the wider variety of work avaiable at these "Mega Carriers", you can do long haul or short haul, flats , dry or Reefer. they are a great place to learn and they do offer more when it comes to benifits. I guess everyone has a different experience. some good, some not so much. I think it really comes down to YOU and how you see yourself in a particular company, what you are looking to acheive, how hard you are willing to work, how you get along with management and dispatchers. what you are willing to put up with and where you draw the line..Its really all comes down to your attitude.If you are positive it will follow you through whatever you encounter. But if you are negative, then everything becomes an obstacle..This is just my take on this.
I really enjoyed this video and learned a lot , I'm thinking about driving for TMC flatbed , I have many years of safe driving under my belt , do you have any thoughts on TMC ?
TMC is an awesome company. They do hold their drivers to a very high standard, so be aware of that. They're run by former military and they have a lot of former military in management. They'll treat you like gold and they're a fantastic company but be prepared to perform at a high level and definitely act like a professional. The whole "telling off the boss" thing isn't going to fly with those people.
US Xpress was a great company! I enloyed working there. I worked out of the Colton, CA Terminal and then out of the Salt Lake City Terminal. Great equipment too.
Yeah, they really were a great company. I ran OTR for a few years, then Midwest regional for a couple year, then I did the Dollar Tree account for a year. That last one was rough! Great company though.
Really appreciate this video, as I am hoping to get my CDL this Winter. Any opinion on paying my way thru a private school in my area, versus obtaining my CDL thru a large carrier's driver training program?
Yeah, interestingly enough I just wrote an article last week about this exact topic called *"Why I Prefer Paid CDL Training Over Private CDL Training"* and you can find it here: www.truckingtruth.com/trucking_blogs/Article-3844/why-I-prefer-paid-cdl-training I also wrote an article a while back called *"Private Schooling Versus Company-Sponsored: The Basic Differences"* and you can find that here: www.truckingtruth.com/trucking_blogs/Article-3738/private-schooling-versus-company-sponsored-training-the-basic-differences Finally, I'll give you one more. Our truck driver's career guide has a section called *Choosing A Truck Driving School* and you can find that here: www.truckingtruth.com/guide-pages/chapter3/ Hope this helps!
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Good video, Good info. I too have worked at various mega carriers over a 26 year period and many small companies. I think your opinion is biased a little towards mega carriers. I think mega carriers are good for people who are set on remaining company drivers and smaller companies are more geared towards people who are free thinking individuals that are more socially adept as opposed to the closed corporate culture of mega carriers. Mega carriers also view drivers as a liability where smaller carriers view drivers as their most prized and most valuable asset. You get more chances to make mistakes at smaller outfits instead of the mega carriers typical "3 strikes you're out" criteria. Smaller companies care more about your personal time (for example); smaller company will accommodate taking off the next day as opposed to mega carriers telling you to give them a 3 day notice of days off. With the popularity of lease purchase over the years, someone who is ready for ownership should never drive for a mega carrier because of the cutthroat corporate atmosphere that they will encounter due to the perceived threat of your fleet growing to eventually takeover the mega companies assets. I know this is true because I managed two bigger companies before and when we had a lease purchase program in place, we would intentionally put barriers in place that would benefit the company, not the lease operator. In the old days I would have agreed with you but in today's world where credit is easier and smaller companies taking advantage of national accounts with major vendors, it's an even playing field all the way around
Michael, with all due respect I have to say I completely disagree with every point you've made. To be clear, in 15 years I've worked for a few megas and a couple of very small companies with 5 trucks and 11 trucks respectively. Here is my take from my experience:
1) "smaller companies are more geared towards people who are free thinking individuals that are more socially adept as opposed to the closed corporate culture of mega carriers" - that's utter baloney. Truck driving is truck driving. When you're out on the road you're making decisions about time management, safety, routing, and all sorts of other things whether you're at a large company or small. I wasn't allowed to be a "free thinker" any more at a small company than a large one. And more "socially adept?" I have no idea what being socially adept has to do with the size of the company.
2) "Mega carriers also view drivers as a liability where smaller carriers view drivers as their most prized and most valuable asset." That too is utter nonsense. How do you think the large carriers have reached the level of success they've had? By treating everyone like garbage? By viewing their people as a liability? Come on.
3) "You get more chances to make mistakes at smaller outfits instead of the mega carriers typical "3 strikes you're out" criteria" - again, utter nonsense. How do you figure a small company has the "opportunity" to allow you to make more mistakes? Their finances are tighter, they're not self-insured, and they have far fewer customers than a large carrier which means losing customers is often far more painful to a small company. If anything a small company will require you to have experience because they expect you to perform at a higher level.
4) This is one of my favorites: "With the popularity of lease purchase over the years, someone who is ready for ownership should never drive for a mega carrier because of the cutthroat corporate atmosphere that they will encounter due to the perceived threat of your fleet growing to eventually takeover the mega companies assets. " - Seriously? You think that one man leasing one truck from the company itself is a threat to take over a company with thousands of trucks? That's just funny right there.
Some ppl can't handle the "'Trucking Truth"'..Great Info. I agree with you about the wider variety of work avaiable at these "Mega Carriers", you can do long haul or short haul, flats , dry or Reefer. they are a great place to learn and they do offer more when it comes to benifits. I guess everyone has a different experience. some good, some not so much. I think it really comes down to YOU and how you see yourself in a particular company, what you are looking to acheive, how hard you are willing to work, how you get along with management and dispatchers. what you are willing to put up with and where you draw the line..Its really all comes down to your attitude.If you are positive it will follow you through whatever you encounter. But if you are negative, then everything becomes an obstacle..This is just my take on this.
I really enjoyed this video and learned a lot , I'm thinking about driving for TMC flatbed , I have many years of safe driving under my belt , do you have any thoughts on TMC ?
TMC is an awesome company. They do hold their drivers to a very high standard, so be aware of that. They're run by former military and they have a lot of former military in management. They'll treat you like gold and they're a fantastic company but be prepared to perform at a high level and definitely act like a professional. The whole "telling off the boss" thing isn't going to fly with those people.
US Xpress was a great company! I enloyed working there. I worked out of the Colton, CA Terminal and then out of the Salt Lake City Terminal. Great equipment too.
Yeah, they really were a great company. I ran OTR for a few years, then Midwest regional for a couple year, then I did the Dollar Tree account for a year. That last one was rough! Great company though.
Really appreciate this video, as I am hoping to get my CDL this Winter. Any opinion on paying my way thru a private school in my area, versus obtaining my CDL thru a large carrier's driver training program?
Yeah, interestingly enough I just wrote an article last week about this exact topic called *"Why I Prefer Paid CDL Training Over Private CDL Training"* and you can find it here:
www.truckingtruth.com/trucking_blogs/Article-3844/why-I-prefer-paid-cdl-training
I also wrote an article a while back called *"Private Schooling Versus Company-Sponsored: The Basic Differences"* and you can find that here:
www.truckingtruth.com/trucking_blogs/Article-3738/private-schooling-versus-company-sponsored-training-the-basic-differences
Finally, I'll give you one more. Our truck driver's career guide has a section called *Choosing A Truck Driving School* and you can find that here:
www.truckingtruth.com/guide-pages/chapter3/
Hope this helps!
Really appreciate it.
15 years at Challenger. No issues, no problems that are not industry specific and industry wide.
You speak a lot of sense, with very little change this could be called LifeTruth not TruckingTruth