Job Placement

Lifetime Job Placement Assistance
IITR provides its graduates with lifetime job placement assistance. In addition to maintaining records of job referral requests, IITR also invites recruiters from local and national trucking companies to the school. During these visits, the recruiters share information about the industry and their particular company. It is not uncommon for students to have multiple job offers before graduation, but IITR makes no guarantee of a job. Because job placement is relatively easy, we encourage our students to research and choose the trucking company that best suits their needs rather than accept the first offer.

Since most jobs are filled quickly, especially local ones, it is very important our students keep the school informed of their current address and phone number after graduation. All graduates will receive periodic follow-up placement inquiries following graduation to document job placement.

In addition to our placement service, students and graduates are encouraged to use their own initiative in seeking employment. For those seeking reemployment, call the Director of Job Placement for an office or phone appointment.

IITR requests that all graduates notify the school once they have actually gone to work for a trucking company, again after 30 days of work, and again after they have been on the job for 90 days.

IITR's reputation as a Northwest leader in training qualified, responsible, job entry level drivers puts our graduates among the most sought after entry level drivers in the industry.

Take the wheel of a career with a future, driving for industry leaders such as:

American Transport Central Refrigerated Service, Inc. Central Oregon Trucking FedEx Ground Food Services of America Gresham Transfer Glacier NW

KLLM Marten Transport Stevens Transport TWT Transport US Xpress Waste Management Werner Enterprises Yellow Truck

PRE-APPROVAL
IITR has a program we call pre-approval. We have several employers who participate in this program. If you would like to be pre-approved for hire before you attend, it is possible. See the Director of Job Placement for details and a pre-approval flyer.

Employment and Earnings

The trucking industry expects to hire about 80,000 new drivers every year for 10 years according to a survey by the American Trucking Association (ATA).

Women and minorities may have even greater opportunities.

Improvements in equipment have greatly reduced the need for drivers to be "big and strong" to operate a tractor-trailer.

Wage scales differ from region to region and also depend on the kind of freight carried. Annual earnings in the $35,000 to $45,000 range aren't unusual for over-the-road drivers. Some experienced, specialized drivers make $60,000 a year or more.

TYPES OF TRUCK DRIVERS
Local: Operate light to heavy trucks. They may be in pick-up and delivery operations, route-sales, or both. They have more contact with customers than long haul drivers and usually make many stops or deliveries a day. Local drivers are generally paid by the hour.

Long Haul: Operate heavy trucks and may be gone from 1 to 3 weeks at a time traveling to many different locations with no set schedule. Long haul drivers are generally paid by the mile.

Line Haul: Operate heavy trucks on what is called a "dedicated run." They operate from determined points, often on the same run. Line haul drivers are generally paid by the mile.

Owner Operators: Operate equipment they own. Often, owner operators will only own the tractor and they will pull a trucking companies trailer. Sometimes they will own the tractor and trailer and will lease the entire rig to haul freight for a particular company, or broker. Owner operators are generally paid by the mile.

Class B, CDL Drivers: Operate smaller trucks usually on local runs. Class B, CDL drivers generally do not make as much money as Class A, CDL drivers.

Trucking is a very diverse industry. When you think about it, most everything we buy came in a truck at one time or another. Even if it was shipped by rail, plane, or ship, it was probably delivered in a truck.

If you have questions about truck driving careers, contact the Director of Job Placement.