Pros
It is a bittersweet review to make. There are a lot of things here that are good, maybe I should start with them. The management is kind and forgiving, the dispatcher I had was friendly and wonderful and I never had a hard time getting a reload. The equipment was nice, and so were the terminals. Working in Dry Van was a good start to have here, the training was nice. It wasn't too hard to get home, and they were understanding that, as a brand new driver mistakes and a pinch of damage here and there was par for the course. I really do consider the culture and teamwork here to be an outstanding aspect of the company.
Cons
However if you are new you should fully expect to make less after training than you did during it, for most new drivers something will happen, and your safety bonus will go away for a while. Only the top 10% of drivers going for low idle time ever get the fuel bonus so say goodbye to that as well unless you think you're gonna be a top 10% performer right off the bat. This means that at the start, if you aren't getting a lot of miles because you're new you can fully expect your paychecks to be around 400-500$ for two weeks because that's what mine were when I was getting around 1,600 miles a week. I've gotten better and usually hit around 2k, so that now with my 6cpm 6 month raise and the occasional safety bonus coming in I can get about 600-800$ in take home a week. This is enough for my needs, if not more than enough. However in part due to their health insurance in order to have full-time status you need 2,500 miles a week, and they don't hire part time workers. So if you put two and two together it really comes down to, make more miles or you're gone, though they never directly say as much. Personally, I am willing to admit my inexperience likely plays a large part in my inability to hit 2,500. But it seems you only need to have one shipper or receiver delay you 4-6 hours a week. In order to shoot down any hope of getting that mark. My hopes as a driver really are more in line with part time work. I wish to be home on the weekends, even at the expense of income. They said from the point of hiring that being home on weekends was completely doable but due to my miles being low I can't ask to go home without some comment about not making enough. So my working life now is fully summarized by being gone far longer at a time than I wish, like 3 weeks instead of 1, (even two was okay with me) ever chasing miles just to try and keep my head above water, being stressed about making it farther or being faster and all while trying not to let my stress cause me to make any mistakes, but knowing that at this point any mistake could be the last straw. Of course this rush is even worse when I'm trying to finally make it back home, which is all I really want so I can maintain my relationship. Effectively, as close as this job was to perfect, ultimately it just doesn't quite fit. I'm doing my best to try and survive long enough to finish out my first year in a little over two months so I can leave with a half decent resume and perhaps find designated part time work, but I'm not even sure that I'll make it. Credit where it's due if you are an experienced driver, and don't consider getting the maximum amount of cash possible your #1 priority, then you likely could come here love it and work right to retirement. Personally I wish I could stay, I like the places and the people, the pay is good and the equipment nice, but I just can't make these miles, nor can I stay consistently under this much pressure and this much of a rush. I know I need to leave because working like this is a recipe for trouble. I'm not entirely sure what else I'll do because I know that living on the road and rarely going home is how this industry works, but unfortunately I don't have any other skills or talents. These were my reasons for why the company doesn't work as a long term employer for me, but if you're already able to make these mileages I can't see anything that would make this not the perfect place to work. Other than perhaps pay, but I can't imagine anyone at any company not wishing they earned even more. In the end I have to say I feel more like I failed them than vice versa.