nstschool-blog

[nstschool-blog]

Every occupation has advantages and disadvantages. When deciding if driving a truck is a good career fit it is best to weigh carefully those disadvantages and advantages against your likes, dislikes, and what you know about yourself.  Do you like to be by yourself? If not, long hours without people while driving may not be comfortable. Is patience one of your virtues, because loading and offloading may be an exercise in patience since what is imperative to you may not be to the shipper. You will fit into their schedule, not the other way around. So what exactly are the advantages and disadvantages of a truck driving career?

Disadvantages of truck driving can include:

A lot of time alone, unless you are team driving or you have a rider it is just you behind the wheel.  This can get lonely and make one feel isolated.  It can take effort to stay connected with family and friends especially when gone for long cross country hauls.

Delays, delays, delays can be frustrating and inevitable.  Accidents, lines to fuel, slow shippers or recipients that seem to operate in a timeless universe, bad weather/road conditions causing extra time from point A to point B and of course construction all mess up time tables and cause extra time to be spent.

No parking left at the truck stop or rest area that is relatively clean and nice, so sleeping happens in your cab or in the berth parked on the on or off-ramp, or in the Walmart lot.

Sleeping when not tired, awake driving when tired.  

Rapid season changes, for example, leaving snow falling in the mountains and a couple hours later being in the balmy coastal tropics.  Flannel or T-shirt?

Bad food, or at least food that is bad for you such as heavily salted prepared food, or greasy spoon entrees that taste good but are heart attacks on a plate.

Yucky stuff, that can offend your senses or your morals such as dirty showers because of heavy use, streetwalkers plying their trade in the parking lot of truck stops.

Weigh stations, logbooks, regulations, and physicals and just plain paperwork that takes extra time and organization, or can entail large fines.

Advantages of truck driving can include:

Riders, coming on some of your runs where a wife, girlfriend, friend, children or even pets can come along and see part of the country with you while you are working.  

Job stability since trucking school in Tacoma is a growth industry and the demand for truck drivers is projected to go up. It is a stable career with a lot of opportunities.

The job is important to others.  Almost everything that is bought and sold is transported eventually by trucks, this includes necessities such as food and medicine.

Quick training that is inexpensive compared to college or trade school,  Most people can earn their CDL training in Tacoma in less than two months, and some companies offer programs that let new drivers earn while they learn. This leaves far less debt and expense than college or vocational school generally does.

Some trucking companies help new drivers earn their CDL and endorsements.

If working for a company, some have benefits such as insurance and retirement plans.

Pretty much left to manage your truck as you see fit. Unless you have fines or tickets or accidents you pick up and drop off your loads. What you do, how you structure your time is up to you.  

The best advantage is the chance to see the country while earning a comfortable living.  

If driving a truck is the career path you choose, it has serious benefits as well as drawbacks like any other job.  The biggest disadvantage seems to be loneliness while the biggest advantage is being able to see the country while getting paid to do a necessary service.

Regardless of what you are hauling someone, somewhere wants it and the way it gets from the manufacturer or grower to the individual or store is via truck.  These are some of the advantages and disadvantages of a truck driving career.

[nstschool-blog]

So you want to be a truck driver and you need to figure out how and where to get your CDL A license. What factors are important when you are choosing a truck driving school? Let’s take a look.

Factors to Consider

Your CDL training in Tacoma is a critical step for your future. Choosing the right place for you to acquire this training is one of the biggest decisions you will make on your way to a career as an over the road truck driver. So what are your considerations?

1. Location

How important is the location? That depends on you, but you might have to move to find the right school. If you live in a rural area it might be harder and you might have to move to the city. Or you may only have one school nearby to choose. Most cities have numerous truck driving schools. Under those circumstances, if you only have one choice you might have to either move or make a long commute daily. If you keep your day job then you would have to commute every night. Consider how this will impact your learning abilities.

2. Curriculum/Instructors

Who are the instructors and what is the ratio of instructors to students? This information will tell you a lot about the school.

Are the instructors management personnel or professional trainers who have never lived the OTR life? This would not be your best choice. Instructors should be current or former truck drivers with life experience in the field and not just head knowledge of the rig and driving. You want to learn from someone with hands-on experience and preferably years of it. Before you decide on a school ask to speak to the instructors.

The typical student to instructor ratio is 1-4. Obviously, anything lower is better, but you learn when others in your group are taking their turn in the truck. Anything above a 1-4 ratio, however, is not acceptable.

The curriculum should last at least 4 weeks with 3 weeks of hands-on experience. You can’t get a CDL in a week and be an accomplished and safe driver. There should be at least 160 hours of instruction and 200 hours is best. With both classroom and driving instructions at the end of the time, you should be able to drive, turn around, back up, manage logs, read maps and GPS, and understand federal, state regulations and rules of the road. You need actual BTW drive time as well as the simulator. At a good school, you will get at least 27 hours behind the wheel. Observation time in the cab watching another driver is equally valuable.

3. Type of School

You can go to a private school or a school-owned or sponsored by a truck company.  A private school should have someone to assist you in getting any financial aid you are eligible for – grants, scholarships, loans. The trucking company schools will have your tuition paid for by the company but you will have to work for that company when you are finished with school.

Licensed – states license schools that meet their requirements for staffing, training, facilities, and curriculum.

Certified – Licensed by the state, inspected by valid third party and graduates pass US DOT standards for the industry.

Accredited – Meets standards set by the accrediting agency.

Unaccredited – does not have to meet any standards.

4. Cost and Finances

When you factor cost and look at your finances keep in mind several things. In addition to the cost of the school – factor in the cost of your commute, parking permits, gasoline for a 5 day a week 4-week commute and any additional supplies you might need like pads, pens, etc. You will also have to pay for the DOT required physical and drug testing.

If you go to school-sponsored by a truck company you will have a contract to work for them for a certain period of time, as they are paying for your schooling. Be sure that you can live on the salary they will pay you when you are licensed.

5. Reputation/Web Site

What kind of reputation does the school have? What kind of reviews and testimonials can you find? If they have a website what is it like. The website is a window to the school. Is it clean and concise or is it messy? Is navigation easy and straight forward or the whole thing messy and hard to follow.

6. Job Placement

At private schools, you won’t walk into a job when you are finished as you will at a trucking school in Tacoma. So you need to know how good the placement office is at that school. What is their placement rate? Do they guarantee placement? Be sure you know.

Take your time, look everything over and then you will be able to make the best possible choice for now and for your future career.

[nstschool-blog]

Are you looking for a career in the trucking industry or just a job? If your answer is just a job, then this article is probably not for you as we explore the possibilities of a long term, rewarding career in the Trucking industry.

From the beginning of your career, as you take 4-6 weeks and spend $3-5,000 to get your CDL A license, to wherever you decide to end up – managing, supervising, owning your own trucking company, there are amazing opportunities to be had.

Starting a Career in Trucking

The first thing you need to do to get started in a trucking career is to attain your CDL A driver’s license. This license allows you to drive any kind of commercial truck up to and including an 18 wheeler, and that is where you start your career. You start by getting experience driving a big rig, cross country.

Getting your CDL training in Tacoma is really fairly easy. This is especially true in the Seattle-Tacoma area with all the trucking schools there and all the different opportunities for financing your education. At many of these schools, tuition is paid for by the company you go to work for after you graduate. For others, there are grants and loans.

The time and money are minimal for the reward in your second and third year of driving. How much money you make driving depends upon the routes you pick and how long you are willing to be on the road. Do you want to be home every night? Do you need to be home every weekend? Those needs cut into your potential earnings. If you are flexible and love the open road then the sky’s the limit in terms of earnings.

Non-Driving Jobs

There are also non-driving jobs available in the industry and these are usually on the job training type situations or you want to get out of a truck and come inside. The opportunities exist for:

Dispatchers

Recruiters

Schedulers

Technicians and diesel experts.

Supervisors

Managers

Logistics staff

Storage facilities staff                    

The Basic Job – OTR Truck drive          

When you are looking at the basic job after training for your CDL license, we have already said that the over the road driver who doesn’t have to be home every weekend makes the most money. This doesn’t mean that you will never be home, just that you won’t be guaranteed to be home every weekend.

Within this basic position, different companies have different types of jobs. Some like biohazard, flatbed, and refrigerated trucks require some additional training and come with some additional pay and benefits. Here are just a few of the different types of over the road truck driver positions at different companies.

Local

Regional

National

Flatbeds

Yard Junkie

Team driving

Car Hauler

Dump Truck

HazMat

Delivery and Install

Owner – Operator

These jobs can pay a wide variety of salary, bonus and offer many benefits, even for the entry-level driver. Let’s look at a few examples:

Company A – At this company, an experienced driver can expect:

$50,000 -75,000 year depending on experience.

Bonuses

Medical, vision, and dental insurance.

Life insurance.

Retirement plan.

After 60 days, paid vacation.

Bonuses for hazmat or flatbed.

Excellent equipment – refrigerated and non-refrigerated.

No touch, no life system.

Company B – Entry level with CDL A no endorsements and just out of training: Some companies pay by the mile or straight salary with bonus This company pays the right out of school driver

25 cents a mile for the first 6 months,

5o cents a mile after that

Guaranteed minimum of paid hours.

Yearly increases

Bonuses

Tuition reimbursement

Health and life insurance

401k with 10% match

5 cent mile additional for hazmat

5 cent mile additional for flatbed

This is an excellent starting packing for the driver right out of school. This is an over the road non-local no-touch job. You might or might not be home weekends. The company does not promise that.

Company C – With two years’ experience in over the road national routes this company offers:

Starting salary average is $75,000.

No-touch; Drop and Hook.

You call the shots on being home – when you want; as long as you want.

$6000 sign-on-bonus.

Paid Orientation.

Monthly Safety Bonus.

Brand new equipment.

On the road average 3000 miles per week.

Annual pay increases.

Matching 401k.

Health, vision, dental, long and short term disability insurance.

Paid vacation.

AD&D  and life insurance.

Driver referral bonus of up to $3500.

Climbing the Career Ladder

For these types of drivers who want to eventually get out of the truck and into the building, there are several career steps in all companies that they can aspire to and prepare for. Some of these we previously mentioned. Others might include CDL instructors if the company also runs a trucking school in Tacoma which many do.

Management opportunities are there for those who wish to pursue their education with college or advanced degrees.

[nstschool-blog]

Now that you have made the decision to become an over the road truck driver, you need a CDL or special drivers license that allows you to drive tractor-trailers. If you live anywhere near the Seattle-Tacoma area, you should consider getting a CDL from a Tacoma Trucking School. Why Tacoma instead of Seattle? We have researched the truck driving schools in the area and both Seattle and Tacoma have several exciting and quality schools to offer. Just a half-hour or so southwest of Seattle, Tacoma is a beautiful place.

Why hassle with the big city when you can train in such a tranquil and nature-based area? You don’t have to live there to enjoy it. Just spend a month of your time training there for your CDL. Tacoma has so much to offer when compared with the booming city of Seattle. Here are just a few:

Benefits of Tacoma

You don’t have to live there to go to school there, but if you are looking for a place to settle into, you are not going to find much on the west coast as affordable as Tacoma. Housing prices in Seattle and Portland are increasing all the time, while in Tacoma you can get more for your money. Business, youth, and innovation are flocking to Tacoma. Get in now ahead of the rush.

The great outdoors awaits you in Tacoma. Mount Rainier is so close, and you can hike, climb, ski and much more. Tacoma is one of the most beautiful places in the country and even if you don’t live there, enjoy the awesome views while you train.

Then there’s the food, the nightlife, the art…downtown Tacoma offers as much sophistication as any major city in America. It is a traditional international waterway city with a wide variety of food and activities. Don’t forget the coffee! Don’t worry about Seattle. Tacoma is the real coffee capital of the Pacific Northwest.

Tacoma’s Driving Schools

Even if you fall in love with Tacoma, you’re here to learn how to drive the big rigs and make some good money in the very near future. Do the driving schools in Tacoma offer the same features as the ones in Seattle? Is it worth it to drive that extra 30 miles to go to school in Tacoma instead of Seattle? We think it is and here’s why.

Less crowded schools equal more personal attention.

More committed financial institutions in a smaller community to support your needs for financial aid and loans.

Highest quality training – there is no drop off in the quality of training from Seattle to Tacoma.

Support in almost any language. Classes are taught in English, but translators abound in Spanish, Moldovan, Punjabi, Russian, Punjabi, and Turkish.

You can find a school with classes at day or night, with Hazmat and Bus endorsements available.

Every one of these schools will give you the freedom of the road in a great career. Most of them accept the GI bill

You will find placement assistance and financial assistance at almost all of Tacoma’s CDL schools.

Hands-on training – you’ll spend a little time in classroom training but the bulk of your 4 weeks in hands-on – in a truck. Your classes will include: Control Systems, Hours of Service, Vehicle Systems and inspections, shifting, baking, braking. Coupling and uncoupling, night driving, speed management, spacing, Hazard awareness, emergency maneuvers, extreme driving conditions, skid control, maintenance, logs, reports, trip plans and reports and personal health.

For most of Tacoma’s trucking schools, this is a four week program and at the end you have a CLD class A or class B. Many of the facilities in Tacoma are more up to date than in Seattle and feature such things as coffee bars, comfortable and spacious class space and many even have truck simulators. This is real-life training that can be scheduled around your real life. This allows you to enjoy all that Tacoma has to offer while training.

Consider getting a CDL from a Tacoma Trucking School and starting on a path to a great career and a $50,000 a year job.

[nstschool-blog]

You have decided the time is right to move on with your dreams for the future. Those dreams include getting your CDL and becoming an over the road truck driver. You are excited and with all the Tacoma trucking schools, you are sure you will find what you want and need.

The only issue is how will you pay for it? What does it cost to get a CDL and what is the payback? It can be a very expensive proposition for some people, but there is also good news for others. It all depends on your background and what driving school you choose to attend.

The Seattle – Tacoma area is a home base for a large number of truck driving schools with a variety of programs for financing and various levels of quality and job placement programs. The financial considerations for someone wanting to attain either a Class A or a Class B CDL in this area range from full payment of tuition, to scholarship, grants, loans, and free training.

We will look at each of these different possibilities and what they could mean to anyone wanting to get a CDL in the Seattle – Tacoma area. In addition, the good news is there continues to be a serious need for CDL and over the road truck drivers nationwide, but particularly in northwest Washington state, a major shipping hub for the U.S. No matter how you do or don’t personally finance your CDL truck driver trainer, the reward once you have your license will be well worth the time, effort and money.

Questions to Explore

Before you look at how you will finance your CDL, you have to know how much it will cost. Tuition is only one aspect of what it will cost. Even if tuition is free, as it is at some company-owned or supported schools, there are still other expenses. These are the questions you must first research:

The schools closest to you in the Tacoma and Seattle areas.

What do these schools charge for tuition?

What are the additional expenses such as books, tablet, supplies?

How long does the training take and what CDL will I have when completed – and A or a B?

Is the school private or public?

Is the school certified?

Is the school owned by or subsidized by a specific trucking company?

Does the school offer financial aid assistance or assistance in finding it?

The answers to these questions are critical to ascertain how you will pay for your Tacoma CDL training. Each of the answers to these questions impacts the kind of financing you can get. Vocational public schools also offer CDL training and knowing what kind of school it is can affect the grants and loans you can get for that school. If the school is not certified or accredited than government support for your training will be out of the questions.

Let’s look at the possible answers to these questions:

What do these schools charge for tuition? – this is dependent upon whether the school is public or private, a vocational school or owned by a trucking company. Tuition can run from anywhere from $3,500 to over $5,000.

What are the additional expenses such as books, tablet, supplies? Depends on the school.

How long does the training take and what CDL will I have when completed – and A or a B? Depends on the school.

Is the school private or public? This determines some of the types of financial assistance that are available.

Is the school certified? Must be in order to get any government assistance.

Are there scholarships available? These may be offered by a variety of sources including truck companies, private institutions, and associations. These do not have to be paid back and is based on need or merit.

Are there grants available? These can come from private organizations, usually with some tie to the industry. These do not have to be paid back either. There are also government grants like the Pell Grant and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Are there loans available? These come from financial institutions, usually local and usually in an agreement with the school.

Government guaranteed student loans through Federal Student Aid and interest rates are usually lower but these loans cannot be forgiven even in bankruptcy. There are also government grants through the Workplace Investment Act.

Are there tuition reimbursement programs available? Yes, through the trucking company you work for after attaining your CDL.

Is the school owned by or subsidized by a specific trucking company? Many of these schools either train for free and you go to work for that company, or they do it through tuition reimbursement. Either way, tuition is free.

Does the school offer financial aid assistance or assistance in finding it? Choose a school with professionals on staff to assist you with this.

[nstschool-blog]

Seattle, Washington has some of the best regional and over the road trucking companies in the world. The area has an abundance of highly regarding truck driver schools that provide Seattle with an abundance of qualified CDL drivers.

This makes for great business for Seattle and it makes a great hub for transport and shipping in the port area. Crucial to maintaining this success and the reputation of the industry is the safety record of the trucking companies in Seattle.

With so many Tacoma trucking schools in the Seattle area, there are plenty of drivers, but are they all safe drivers? The companies in Seattle need to be able to depend on their drivers and their safety on the roads. They need to know that their reputations and their financial futures are in good hands when their drivers take to the road.

How do the best trucking companies in the Seattle-Tacoma Port keep their companies on safe, legal and reputable grounds? They depended on their drivers, not only to be safe themselves but to make sure the other truck drivers on the roads with them were also safe.

How Drivers can Report Safety Issues on the Road

Seattle truck drivers have both the obligation and the right to report any violations of federal and state regulations and unsafe driving. It’s vital for the safety of all on the road that drivers are willing to do so. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or FMCSA is the agency responsible for enforcing and policing these regulations. They depend on the drivers to self-regulate.

There is a process that drivers can follow in order to fulfill this responsibility to both the federal and state regulators. There are many regulations and laws drivers need to follow and to encourage fellow drivers to do the same.

First in the state of Washington

There are many regulations regarding the size, weight, height, length, and width of a truckload in state law. Special permits are needed in the city of Seattle to carry oversized loads. Companies need to acquire the permits, but drivers need to live with the size regulations and exceptions.

It’s also important that any driver knowing of an unsafe load report it so that other drivers and auto drivers on the road are not in danger.

Washington state also expects drivers to know the weight limits of roads and bridges and their truck’s weight. They are expected to avoid bridges where their load would be too heavy and could cause damage or an accident.

Drivers are also expected to do the same with height regulations on bridges and to check those actual heights along their routes.

For Federal regulations drivers are expected to report unsafe driving, oversized loads not clearly marked, or even discrimination and service issues that violate regulations and laws. They can do this by taking the following steps.

File a formal complaint with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or FMCSA. This is relevant if you have experienced discrimination, harassment, or coercion to get you to violate regulations, especially those dealing with hours of service limits, drug, and alcohol testing rules, and CDL regulations. You can file at their website. The FMCSA will begin an investigation.

Call the Department of Transportation DOT – on the federal level.  Service, safety or discrimination violations from a company, including yours, should be reported immediately. Especially if those violations put or keep unsafe drivers, vehicles or companies on the road. You can call them anytime Monday through Friday from 8-8 EST. DOT will then begin their own investigation.

File a complaint with OSHA as a “Whistleblower” – If you are afraid to report safety or hours of service violations because you fear retribution from your employer, then this is the choice you will want to make. Within OSHA – the Federal Occupational, Safety and Health Administration there is a whistleblower provision. This allows you to report violations by your employer to FMCSA or DOT and it is then illegal for your company to retaliate against you. Of course, some companies still will do so, but this law means there are consequences for them if they do and protections for you.

OSHA is charged with enforcing this part of the law. Once you file this complaint OSHA will act quickly to interview you, get the facts and open their investigation. If they find that you have been retaliated against they will take the case to a judge and ask that specific remedies be granted. You should file your whistleblower complaint with both the federal OSHA and your state OSHA office. You must file this complaint no later than 30 days after the retaliatory action was instituted by your employer.

You can see that all three of these remedies are concerned with safety on the road, hours of service by the drivers, CDL training in Tacoma, drug, and alcohol testing and drivers being pushed into unsafe situations by employers or customers.

Drivers can help keep their company safe, their company’s reputation and safety record unblemished by following the rules themselves and reporting any violations of these regulations.

[nstschool-blog]

What are the best trucking LTL and FTL companies to work for in Seattle? Are you a CDL licensed truck driver looking for a very good job in Seattle? Do you have experience with LTL and FTL Trucking? If you are living in the Seattle area and are an experienced truck driver, there are many opportunities for a great job with growth potential.

LTL and FTL Companies

Maybe you are familiar with LTL and FTL trucking companies and maybe you are not. Let’s quickly review the two types of shipping. Whether you are shipping around the corner in Seattle or across the country to New York, Seattle based LTL and FTL trucking companies have a lot to offer.

Most Seattle area companies will do both LTL and FTL while some will specialize in one or another.

LTL– Less than a load shipping. If you are driving an LTL truck you will be required to load a variety of customers parcels and deliver them to many different locations. Your truck may start out full but will become lighter with each delivery. Your company may have an excellent tracking system that you will participate in so that your costumers know where their materials are every minute. You will be entrusted with very high-value packages and each run may take longer than an FTL would.

With the LTL you have to adjust your load when dropping off or picking up more parcels or pallets. LTL drives may be on the road much longer between trips home than the FTL driver. All this means more work for you, more inconvenience for your family. You should look to be paid accordingly.

FTL – Full truck load shipping. If you are driving an FTL truck you will have one full load of goods from just one dealer. One customer to satisfy and one direct route to make. These loads will be delivered quicker than LTL loads. You will want to schedule an FTL for your return trip or drive an empty truck back.

What Companies Look For

First and foremost, trucking companies of all sorts are looking for safe, conscientious drivers with CDLs already in their pocket. Some companies will pay for your CDL training, but you are much more likely to be hired and hired quickly if you already have your CDL.

Experience in either FTL or LTL shipping or both. If you have logistics experience that will be a major plus especially for LTL companies.

Some companies want employees while others just want to rent your services and your truck. Some might need drivers experienced in either or both FTL and LTL. Your experience, your CDL and your driving record for moving violations will all be considered no matter where you apply.

Experienced LTL drivers are the most sought out type of truck drivers around the world. It is not an easy job, but it is a rewarding one.

Before you apply to decide if you want to work for a large Tacoma trucking school and company with thousands of truck or a small one with a hand of trucks. The cultures of these companies will be very different.

So if you get the job, know what you are getting into. The company will expect that you do. Know if you want to be a contract driver or a company employee.

What Companies Offer

Good Pay – for the LTL driver, yearly pay is usually somewhere around $53,000 to $55,000. The FTL driver is usually paid about $45,000 to $50,000 to start. Most new drivers get signing bonuses.

Signing Bonuses – these vary greatly depending on the company, the current need, the company philosophy and more. They usually run around $8,000 to $12,000.

Safety Bonuses – after you have driven safely for a while – many companies offer safety bonuses to LTL drivers because they know the job is not easy. These may be given once a year or so, sometimes every 6 months.

Paid Vacation/Holidays – some companies do offer this to their employees. Very few would off it to contract employee but check it out there are some.

Health Insurance – Again some companies will offer this, and others will not. Most if not all will offer it to their employees.

Guaranteed Work – The LTL driver will almost assuredly have all the work you want.

Hours/Schedules – The LTL driver will have more difficult hours and less time at home than an FTL driver.

Load/Unload – It is always questionable if you must load and unload. The LTL driver will have to readjust his load no matter what.

Some of the best jobs in the trucking business are in Seattle. This is because Seattle is a port, because Seattle has some of the best Tacoma CDL training schools in the country and because Seattle has some of the most progressive and innovative minds in the shipping industry.

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