Avoiding the Road to Nowhere

"If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan.  And guess what they have planned for you?  Not much." (Jim Rohn)

When I read this, my first thought was, "well, that sounds just like the trucking industry!"  You can get seriously singed if you're not careful about:

• which cdl training school you go to
• which company sponsored cdl training program you choose
• which company you go to work for right out of the gate
• which leasing or owner operator program you choose

Without doing your own research or having someone in the know protect your interests, you'll be following someone else's plan, and guess what they have planned for you?  Not much.

The bad news is that you really have to do a lot of research and it takes a lot of time.  And if you're like everyone else time is often a precious and scarce commodity.  Even though you may be starting a new career it's sometimes just too tempting to take shortcuts and not do enough due diligence.

The good news is that there is an alternative!  And that's us....we've done all the due diligence for you.  But we'll get to that in just a moment.

For students especially, the road to a successful professional truck driving career can be very treacherous and downright deceiving.  Many trucking companies that offer company sponsored cdl training have little or no interest in whether or not new drivers make the grade and stay with them for any length of time.  In fact, it's just the reverse.  Their business model and method of operations for students is structured to push them towards failing.  Ridiculous, isn't it?  But that's how it is.

Many trucking companies prey on students and use their ignorance of the industry to their advantage, because the company makes a serious profit in turning over drivers - bring them in and move them on out.  The end result is that too many cdl class a licensed drivers suddenly find themselves on the road to nowhere .....

So, how do students know whether to go through a company paid cdl training program or attend an independent cdl driver training school?  How do recent cdl graduates know which company to go to work for?  How do experienced otr drivers know what better jobs are out there?  How do you know how to plan your career as a successful professional tractor trailer driver?

I'm so glad you asked.  And because we've got the answers you know you've come to the right place.  We are specialists in a very importnt area of the trucking industry - we are career advisors, career planners and job placement experts for otr professional drivers.  We are not employed as recruiters by any one trucking company, and that's an important claim.

What we are is objective in evaluating trucking companies and the trucking industry as a whole....and we are impartial in our career planning and job placement recommendations.  We give you honest and reliable information to help you make important career decisions.  We know there is a lot of good, bad and ugly out there .... and we know where the good is and where it isn't.

We are Trucking Careers of America ... we are all about helping drivers plan their career for short-term objectives and long-term goals.  Career planning can begin with the first decision you make after graduating, it can begin with choosing the first company you will go to work with.  It can begin at any point in which you feel your career has hit a snag and you need to step back and re-evaulate.  It can begin at any time....in other words, it's never too late.

Planning your career and following your career plan continues well into the future taking you along a career path that will lead to better opportunities ... a better lifestyle and a more rewarding career.  And if there is a planned or unexpected interim move you need to make halfway between here and there, we can help you with that as well and keep you on the right career track.

You've heard the expression, "you can't get there from here" ... in the trucking industry that often is true.  We see it all the time.  Drivers who made a wrong decision or were treated badly by a trucking company find themselves trying to figure out what to do next....sometimes they are having a serious problem just trying to save a fledgling career.  Fortunately, we are able to help the majority of these drivers.

Road to Nowhere

With the proper career planning and direction you can get to where you need to be so that you can get to where you want to be. There's an old adage that says in so many words, that successful people realize they can't know everything and so the smart thing to do is surround yourself with others who know what you don't know.  It's all about avoiding the road to nowhere....

The Biggest Decision of Your Truck Driving Career

For many, your first year as an otr driver is going to

bring many new opportunities, exciting changes - and

perhaps a few serious challenges.

There is no way around it - you have to pay your dues to earn the right to move up the career ladder as an experienced otr driver. Perhaps the second biggest career decision you make is selecting the right company to work for after graduation from cdl training school.

So, what is the first biggest career decision you will have to make?

The first biggest
decision ....

The biggest and most important career decision you will make is sticking it out no matter what company you went to work for, and no matter how tough it gets! Get that all-important one year (or more) of OTR driving experience under your belt no matter what it takes!

You've heard the expression "forewarned is forearmed"..... doing you research and diligence can make a big difference, but if you have not done diligent research on cdl driver training and trucking companies, and you went to work for the wrong company, don't leave and become just another statistic.

If you leave before you've completed that first year, you may be sabotaging your professional truck driving career. If you couldn't go the distance on this job why would any other trucking company believe that you will last with them? These are just some of the repercussions that can occur: