newbies,would you do it again
- Thread starter garebel
- Start date
Yes!
We left good paying jobs with benefits when our kids left home. We first tried the truckload carriers as drivers and quickly figured out that was not for us. We learned a lot there which I believe led us to appreciated that much more expediting.
When we hear complaints about dispatchers I still laugh when I think of how it was with US Xpress.
As far as we are concerned Expediting is the cream of the crop and the niche for us. To go back to a 9 to 5 ho hum job would be like a nightmare.
I am sure there are jobs we would leave expediting for but it would sure not be what I would consider a "normal" job.
We left good paying jobs with benefits when our kids left home. We first tried the truckload carriers as drivers and quickly figured out that was not for us. We learned a lot there which I believe led us to appreciated that much more expediting.
When we hear complaints about dispatchers I still laugh when I think of how it was with US Xpress.
As far as we are concerned Expediting is the cream of the crop and the niche for us. To go back to a 9 to 5 ho hum job would be like a nightmare.
I am sure there are jobs we would leave expediting for but it would sure not be what I would consider a "normal" job.
It takes a "special" kind of whacko to do this expediting gig...
Hows the trim down coming Linda? Am I going to recognize you next time face to face?*LOL*
This lifestyle is something a person either thrives on or they absolutely hate it and look for any excuse to get out. Be it the carrier, the truck, their owner, the regulations and the list goes on.
The other question is off topic!
The other question is off topic!
Diane and I are not newbies now but were when we left our white-collar professions to become rookie expediters. We did not get into trucking because we had to. We got in because we wanted to.
I have been self-employed most of my adult life. Diane was a Minnesota state employee with a salary and benefits package similar to those enjoyed by most state employees. We gave that up to become expediters.
The only insurance benefits we have now are those we purchase and they don't come cheap. The only retirement income we expect to receive later will come from whatever money we put away now, and we never feel like we are putting away enough (social security will be gone by the time we are old enough to receive it).
Would we do it again?
Yes, absolutely yes!
That's our answer. Note that a lot of the people who would say no may not respond to your question because it may be less painful to remain silent. As with most business opportunities, there are those who are happy and successful in expediting and a greater number who enter this business and live to regret it.
EDIT: I just read your old posts and realized you are thinking about driving a cargo van. Our yes-to-expediting answer does not apply to you. If Diane and I were expediters in a van, we would not be expediters for long.
I have been self-employed most of my adult life. Diane was a Minnesota state employee with a salary and benefits package similar to those enjoyed by most state employees. We gave that up to become expediters.
The only insurance benefits we have now are those we purchase and they don't come cheap. The only retirement income we expect to receive later will come from whatever money we put away now, and we never feel like we are putting away enough (social security will be gone by the time we are old enough to receive it).
Would we do it again?
Yes, absolutely yes!
That's our answer. Note that a lot of the people who would say no may not respond to your question because it may be less painful to remain silent. As with most business opportunities, there are those who are happy and successful in expediting and a greater number who enter this business and live to regret it.
EDIT: I just read your old posts and realized you are thinking about driving a cargo van. Our yes-to-expediting answer does not apply to you. If Diane and I were expediters in a van, we would not be expediters for long.
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panthercub
Seasoned Expediter
I left a full-time gig, bought a used Sprinter, and jumped into expediting. Lasted 3 months before the used van I THOUGHT was in good shape showed it's real colors. If I had known what I was buying, and that it would put me in debt to this day, then no, I would not have left my full-time job. But not because I didn't like expediting. There are so many variables, so many things that can work for you or against you. Lesson learned.
I'd answer, but I'm not a newbie anymore. The very nature of the question makes it virtually unanswerable. Newbies don't know enough about the ups and downs of the business to make an educated answer, and those who aren't newbies have obviously made the decision to stay in the business. If a newbie answers "Yes!" then nothing bad has happened to them yet, and if they answer "No!" then something unexpectedly bad has already happened to them and they're already second guessing their career choice.
bobwg
Expert Expediter
What is a newbie? less than 6 months? less than 1 year? less than 2 years? does previous experience hauling regular freight count? just wondering I will have 1 year expediting Nov 3 but came to this with 20 years experience driving big trucks hauling regular freight so I guess I am still a newbie to expediting answer yes
I will have 1 year expediting Nov 3 but came to this with 20 years experience driving big trucks hauling regular freight so I guess I am still a newbie to expediting answer yes
What is a newbie? less than 6 months? less than 1 year? less than 2 years? does previous experience hauling regular freight count? just wondering
Bob as much as this industry has changed in the last 10 years...we are all still newbees...just when ya think ya know it all..someone changes the rules...the learning curve never stops...
That is for sure! We have been out here ten years and we still say often "Wow I did not know that!"
We live in a world of change and each day we still feel as if we are Newbies!
chefdennis
Veteran Expediter
I didn't walk away from a job where i wa "employed" by someone else as i have and still own several businesses. What i did was turn over some of the daily reponsibilities of those busineses to others and trat this business and run it daily asin, i am on the road with the rest of those out here.
Would i do it again? You bet i would....but maybe not for the same reasons you or alot of others would as we all have different wants and needs...But for all of my personal reasons, I for sure would do it again....And while i have been out here for almost 3 yrs, I still consider myself a "newbie" especially since I just started with a New Carrier...so the learning process starts all over again.....
Would i do it again? You bet i would....but maybe not for the same reasons you or alot of others would as we all have different wants and needs...But for all of my personal reasons, I for sure would do it again....And while i have been out here for almost 3 yrs, I still consider myself a "newbie" especially since I just started with a New Carrier...so the learning process starts all over again.....
I would say less than a year. It takes 6 months just to figure out what the heck you're doing in expediting, regardless of how much previous regular freight experience one has. After 6 months you at least start to become comfortable with the fact that every day and every load is different, and you begin to know what to expect. After a year you're a veteran where there shouldn't be very many totally unexpected surprises and you have a good handle on how to do the day-to-day job. A newbie is someone new and largely unprepared. After 6 months to a year you're no longer new and you should be better prepared. If you're still totally ignorant and wholly unprepared after a year, you're not a newbie, you're just stupid and incompetent. You'll never learn it all, and even if you did, half of it would change tomorrow. But after a year you have the experience with which to handle the problems and the unexpected.What is a newbie? less than 6 months? less than 1 year? less than 2 years? does previous experience hauling regular freight count? just wondering
greg334
Veteran Expediter
You never stop learning but I said before and many agreed with it that five years is where you stop being a newbie and actually know something.
I also think that there is also a point to be made about the company. You won't surely learn everything but the companies who are more open about the work, how they get it and so on with the ability of the contractor being able to leverage all of it, both the contractor and the company are in a win-win situation.
I know my former company still keeps a lot of secrets to themselves that would help everyone but again they also don't care.
I also think that there is also a point to be made about the company. You won't surely learn everything but the companies who are more open about the work, how they get it and so on with the ability of the contractor being able to leverage all of it, both the contractor and the company are in a win-win situation.
I know my former company still keeps a lot of secrets to themselves that would help everyone but again they also don't care.
nightcreacher
Veteran Expediter
Ive been expediting,not in a straight truck or van,but tractor trailer,for over 25 years.As the industry changes you sometimes always feel as a newbie.
When I first became an owner operator,I was hauling produce from the west coast to NY and doing air freight back to California.The air freight was actually better paying than the produce,and after a couple years of doing this,a friend introduced me to expedite.Was thinking of the conventional way with a straight truck,but with a tractor,it just seemed better,since I could haul every size load.
Would I do this again,yes, and even though there have been many reasons to quit over the years,the best part of my trucking career came in expediting.
When I first became an owner operator,I was hauling produce from the west coast to NY and doing air freight back to California.The air freight was actually better paying than the produce,and after a couple years of doing this,a friend introduced me to expedite.Was thinking of the conventional way with a straight truck,but with a tractor,it just seemed better,since I could haul every size load.
Would I do this again,yes, and even though there have been many reasons to quit over the years,the best part of my trucking career came in expediting.
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Regarding newbies, veterans and business success, there is no substitute for experience and there is no substitute for intelligence.
You can be very smart and study and learn nearly everything there is to know about bicycles, the people who ride them, the rules of the road and how to ride one yourself. Your knowledge can even grow to exceed that of most bicycle riders. But until you actually become a bicycle rider and complete several rides over various routes in varying conditions, you will lack the experiential knowledge that is thereby gained.
On the other hand, it is also possible to be a bicycle rider of ten years and still be dumb as a box of rocks and have a skill set that makes people wonder how you managed to stay alive as long as you have riding like you do.
As with bicyclists, so too with expedting.
Note that most (not all) of the work we do in expediting can be quickly mastered. How may bills of lading do you have to do before you know how to do the next one well? How many times do you have to use a ratchet strap before you know how to use it well the next time? How many times do you need to do a thorough pre-trip inspection before you can do the next one well? How many times do you have to drive in rush hour traffic or over a mountain pass before you feel competent when doing it again?
The work we do as expediters is not difficult to learn or do. You don't need a college or technical school education. You don't need to be physically fit. You don't need to be a master of the social graces. You don't need to be popular or good looking. The barriers to entry into this business are very low because there is not much to it and nearly any able-bodied person can do it who can get a CDL and is ready, willing and able to live and work on the road.
Experience is not the difference between being an an expediter or not; or even the difference between being a good expediter or a bad one. Experience is more about a feeling of confidence and, in a small number of certain circumstances, continuing on where a less experienced expediter may be stopped. And, experience is not a broad brush. You can be on the road ten years and still be totally inexperienced in certain aspects of expediting.
For example, being expediters with several years of experience, Diane and I woke one winter morning to discover the truck would not move when I put it in gear. This concerned us because we were scheduled to arrive at a nearby pick up in a couple hours.
This has never happened to us before. The truck moved every time we put it in gear before. This was a new experience to us.
From reading, I had the book knowledge about frozen brakes and how to prevent them; but I forgot what I once new. When we parked for the night, I forgot to dry the brakes and they froze overnight in the bitter cold. While there is no substitute for intelligence, intelligence only works if you remember to use it. I forgot and got stuck because of it.
When the truck did not move, I did not know why. I have never experienced frozen brakes before. But coming into the business with a few years of experience under my belt as an auto mechanic, I knew how to troubleshoot a mechanical problem. That is not experience many expediters have. It is experience I brought into the industry with me as a newbie.
As I thought the problem through, what I had read about frozen brakes came back to me. My next step was to call an experienced driver for coaching about what to do next. I would not have known on my own (automobiles do not have air brakes), but by tapping into other people's experience, I was able to learn how to bust the brakes loose, eliminate the need for a service call and arrive at the pick up on time.
There is no substitute for experience.
There is no substitute for intelligence.
Experience and intelligence only matter if you remember and apply what you have learned.
The experience you benefit from does not have to be your own.
You can be very smart and study and learn nearly everything there is to know about bicycles, the people who ride them, the rules of the road and how to ride one yourself. Your knowledge can even grow to exceed that of most bicycle riders. But until you actually become a bicycle rider and complete several rides over various routes in varying conditions, you will lack the experiential knowledge that is thereby gained.
On the other hand, it is also possible to be a bicycle rider of ten years and still be dumb as a box of rocks and have a skill set that makes people wonder how you managed to stay alive as long as you have riding like you do.
As with bicyclists, so too with expedting.
Note that most (not all) of the work we do in expediting can be quickly mastered. How may bills of lading do you have to do before you know how to do the next one well? How many times do you have to use a ratchet strap before you know how to use it well the next time? How many times do you need to do a thorough pre-trip inspection before you can do the next one well? How many times do you have to drive in rush hour traffic or over a mountain pass before you feel competent when doing it again?
The work we do as expediters is not difficult to learn or do. You don't need a college or technical school education. You don't need to be physically fit. You don't need to be a master of the social graces. You don't need to be popular or good looking. The barriers to entry into this business are very low because there is not much to it and nearly any able-bodied person can do it who can get a CDL and is ready, willing and able to live and work on the road.
Experience is not the difference between being an an expediter or not; or even the difference between being a good expediter or a bad one. Experience is more about a feeling of confidence and, in a small number of certain circumstances, continuing on where a less experienced expediter may be stopped. And, experience is not a broad brush. You can be on the road ten years and still be totally inexperienced in certain aspects of expediting.
For example, being expediters with several years of experience, Diane and I woke one winter morning to discover the truck would not move when I put it in gear. This concerned us because we were scheduled to arrive at a nearby pick up in a couple hours.
This has never happened to us before. The truck moved every time we put it in gear before. This was a new experience to us.
From reading, I had the book knowledge about frozen brakes and how to prevent them; but I forgot what I once new. When we parked for the night, I forgot to dry the brakes and they froze overnight in the bitter cold. While there is no substitute for intelligence, intelligence only works if you remember to use it. I forgot and got stuck because of it.
When the truck did not move, I did not know why. I have never experienced frozen brakes before. But coming into the business with a few years of experience under my belt as an auto mechanic, I knew how to troubleshoot a mechanical problem. That is not experience many expediters have. It is experience I brought into the industry with me as a newbie.
As I thought the problem through, what I had read about frozen brakes came back to me. My next step was to call an experienced driver for coaching about what to do next. I would not have known on my own (automobiles do not have air brakes), but by tapping into other people's experience, I was able to learn how to bust the brakes loose, eliminate the need for a service call and arrive at the pick up on time.
There is no substitute for experience.
There is no substitute for intelligence.
Experience and intelligence only matter if you remember and apply what you have learned.
The experience you benefit from does not have to be your own.
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