The best things in life are never the easy ones.
If anyone has been following me for any amount of time, you will know that I have been working on getting a job in the trucking industry. If you are new to my plight, you can catch up real quick over at the blog I set up here: http://truckingwanderlust.blogspot.com
When I first started on the adventure, I had a company in mind right from the get go. They were flashy and cool looking on paper, their posters on the wall of the school were full of color and big eye catching words and the recruiter I had gone through had a few big old toy trucks with their logo on the sides of em. The product placement was beautifully done. So in my mind, I was set to try and go with said company.
Once I got to my last week of school, I called the company up and set up my orientation date. Everything went swimmingly, they set up my date told me where to pick up the bus ticket and sent me a list of "Things I would be needing" to bring with me. The one thing that stuck in my head was that if I wanted "home time" I would have to request it 8 days in advance prior to time off. When I heard that I didn't think too much of it, but it did stay stuck in the back of my mind like a pebble in a shoe. When I graduated, I took a few days to recover and then really took a close look at the school itself by looking up reviews and testimonials on a pretty big trucking forum.
What I found scared the hell outta me. What I originally thought was a good company was more like a corporate chewing machine. Everyone started out with the same story I did, but as time went on the company would start to evolve into sneaky dealing. One of which was to push the Lease to Own trucking format on new drivers to the industry. Now, I am not against possibly being an Owner/Operator. However, I have an issue of pulling wool over people who are switching industries or are just coming of age to get into trucking and have gotten their CDL then turning around and showing them a glittery illusion about being their own Boss and making tons of money if they own their own truck. What ends up happening is that the person in question finds that until the truck is actually paid for, they are getting NO MONEY to live on or to even maintain the truck in question. The majority of it is going to the monthly payment and insurance. What ends up happening is that the truck goes into default, the the company takes back the truck and pays it at a lower rate. So when they are advertising their fleet of hundreds of new trucks, thats how they are acquiring them.
I was terrified that I had made the wrong choice of companies to work for and as my wife had said, I should have done this research earlier on. Be that as it may, once I found out that I wasn't going to go there, I started looking for a new place to go. I found in my searches on the forums for company 1, that one other company kept popping up and I kept seeing really good things being said about them. So I contacted them and have been working for the last 2 weeks, going on 3, to get an orientation. The reason it is taking so long is that there are certain pre-requisites that needed to be met. A DOT Physical, a complete employment history, a background check etc. All of which I don't thing company 1 ever really did. They were just anxious to get another body in the door where this company wants someone who is able to function to a capability to maintain standards set before they walk me through the door.
What this has taught me is something that is always been said, but never really put in an example that are brickheaded enough for me to really pay attention to.
Nothing worthwhile is ever easily acquired.
I think that because of all this extra work and hoops to jump through, I will appreciate the company I am trying to get into MORE than the first one. They are making sure I am worthwhile of a risk as a student driver to take on and train to be a better truck driver, they are also making sure that I have all the information and notice of things I need PRIOR to even setting up the orientation date. All I am waiting on right now is 1 fax from a Doctor I went to 3 years ago for a sleep study I did. Once I have that, I will be able to move on to the next step of employment.
In the end, this is all about getting paid, this I understand. For me though, I would also like a company that treats their employees like an extended family. When you feel appreciated, you tend to have a better work ethic. I worked in that type of environment back in the 90's when I worked for a ISP. We were all family and even though we had some people we didn't get along with, when it came down to it, we had each others back. I hope to be lucky enough to find that type of environment again as I am switching trades once more. The reason I changed trades ultimately comes down to the fact that I am a technical joe amongst many technical joe's. Where I live, there is nothing for work in my field. Being that I learned everything I know about computers simply by necessity and doing what needed to be done vs. going to school for it, puts me at a disadvantage. No certificate, no company is willing to take a chance on me to send me places to work on technology. That's fine and I can understand that. There are a lot of other joes out there that are more qualified and playing the certification game. As time went on and I had a job/contract that allowed me to travel to different states, my wanderlust kicked in to high gear. I want to be out there driving or flying to new places and seeing new things. I am truly all about the journey and less about the destination. Plus I have always been a believer of finding what you love to do and figure out how to make money from it. The progression was pretty easy.
When I was in HIgh School I was interested in computer programming. Unfortunately, they didn't offer that in my High School, the closest they had was electronics. Once I started failing that class and hating the teacher, I saw the writing on the wall and changed my major. I went into Culinary Arts. It was the one course that I had the highest grade in when I went through it. Being in a trade school, you have to have a set amount of hours in that major, I was behind by a full school calendar year by the time I changed majors. So I did every after school event and every extra function that was going on. I graduated as a cook and went into the cooking industry for 5 years. I still had a love of computers and I was hating working every weekend and every holiday as a cook. When the Internet boomed in the 90's, I checked out the ISP I was going through and got a part time job there. They liked my work so much that they offered me a full time position 3 weeks later. So I took the chance and changed trades from cooking to technical. Fast forward 17 years later and here I am changing trades yet again.
My Grandmother always considered herself a Jack of all Trades. She did just about everything. She once told me that she enjoyed being an expert in many different things than being a professional in just one. This way she felt that she could offer more to the people that she cared about in the long run. I find that philosophy comforting and fulfilling. To be able to help where I can in some way shape or form lets me feel useful and needed.
In the end, isn't that what we all want?
When I first started on the adventure, I had a company in mind right from the get go. They were flashy and cool looking on paper, their posters on the wall of the school were full of color and big eye catching words and the recruiter I had gone through had a few big old toy trucks with their logo on the sides of em. The product placement was beautifully done. So in my mind, I was set to try and go with said company.
Once I got to my last week of school, I called the company up and set up my orientation date. Everything went swimmingly, they set up my date told me where to pick up the bus ticket and sent me a list of "Things I would be needing" to bring with me. The one thing that stuck in my head was that if I wanted "home time" I would have to request it 8 days in advance prior to time off. When I heard that I didn't think too much of it, but it did stay stuck in the back of my mind like a pebble in a shoe. When I graduated, I took a few days to recover and then really took a close look at the school itself by looking up reviews and testimonials on a pretty big trucking forum.
What I found scared the hell outta me. What I originally thought was a good company was more like a corporate chewing machine. Everyone started out with the same story I did, but as time went on the company would start to evolve into sneaky dealing. One of which was to push the Lease to Own trucking format on new drivers to the industry. Now, I am not against possibly being an Owner/Operator. However, I have an issue of pulling wool over people who are switching industries or are just coming of age to get into trucking and have gotten their CDL then turning around and showing them a glittery illusion about being their own Boss and making tons of money if they own their own truck. What ends up happening is that the person in question finds that until the truck is actually paid for, they are getting NO MONEY to live on or to even maintain the truck in question. The majority of it is going to the monthly payment and insurance. What ends up happening is that the truck goes into default, the the company takes back the truck and pays it at a lower rate. So when they are advertising their fleet of hundreds of new trucks, thats how they are acquiring them.
I was terrified that I had made the wrong choice of companies to work for and as my wife had said, I should have done this research earlier on. Be that as it may, once I found out that I wasn't going to go there, I started looking for a new place to go. I found in my searches on the forums for company 1, that one other company kept popping up and I kept seeing really good things being said about them. So I contacted them and have been working for the last 2 weeks, going on 3, to get an orientation. The reason it is taking so long is that there are certain pre-requisites that needed to be met. A DOT Physical, a complete employment history, a background check etc. All of which I don't thing company 1 ever really did. They were just anxious to get another body in the door where this company wants someone who is able to function to a capability to maintain standards set before they walk me through the door.
What this has taught me is something that is always been said, but never really put in an example that are brickheaded enough for me to really pay attention to.
Nothing worthwhile is ever easily acquired.
I think that because of all this extra work and hoops to jump through, I will appreciate the company I am trying to get into MORE than the first one. They are making sure I am worthwhile of a risk as a student driver to take on and train to be a better truck driver, they are also making sure that I have all the information and notice of things I need PRIOR to even setting up the orientation date. All I am waiting on right now is 1 fax from a Doctor I went to 3 years ago for a sleep study I did. Once I have that, I will be able to move on to the next step of employment.
In the end, this is all about getting paid, this I understand. For me though, I would also like a company that treats their employees like an extended family. When you feel appreciated, you tend to have a better work ethic. I worked in that type of environment back in the 90's when I worked for a ISP. We were all family and even though we had some people we didn't get along with, when it came down to it, we had each others back. I hope to be lucky enough to find that type of environment again as I am switching trades once more. The reason I changed trades ultimately comes down to the fact that I am a technical joe amongst many technical joe's. Where I live, there is nothing for work in my field. Being that I learned everything I know about computers simply by necessity and doing what needed to be done vs. going to school for it, puts me at a disadvantage. No certificate, no company is willing to take a chance on me to send me places to work on technology. That's fine and I can understand that. There are a lot of other joes out there that are more qualified and playing the certification game. As time went on and I had a job/contract that allowed me to travel to different states, my wanderlust kicked in to high gear. I want to be out there driving or flying to new places and seeing new things. I am truly all about the journey and less about the destination. Plus I have always been a believer of finding what you love to do and figure out how to make money from it. The progression was pretty easy.
When I was in HIgh School I was interested in computer programming. Unfortunately, they didn't offer that in my High School, the closest they had was electronics. Once I started failing that class and hating the teacher, I saw the writing on the wall and changed my major. I went into Culinary Arts. It was the one course that I had the highest grade in when I went through it. Being in a trade school, you have to have a set amount of hours in that major, I was behind by a full school calendar year by the time I changed majors. So I did every after school event and every extra function that was going on. I graduated as a cook and went into the cooking industry for 5 years. I still had a love of computers and I was hating working every weekend and every holiday as a cook. When the Internet boomed in the 90's, I checked out the ISP I was going through and got a part time job there. They liked my work so much that they offered me a full time position 3 weeks later. So I took the chance and changed trades from cooking to technical. Fast forward 17 years later and here I am changing trades yet again.
My Grandmother always considered herself a Jack of all Trades. She did just about everything. She once told me that she enjoyed being an expert in many different things than being a professional in just one. This way she felt that she could offer more to the people that she cared about in the long run. I find that philosophy comforting and fulfilling. To be able to help where I can in some way shape or form lets me feel useful and needed.
In the end, isn't that what we all want?