freight handler

truck driver

driver

management trainee

diesel mechanic

Southeastern Freight Lines

If you don't mind mandatory unlimited overtime, late nights, and invasive religious culture in your work day then this is actually a really great place to work but it's not for everyone.

The official hours of operation are M-F from 1 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. with 15 minute breaks at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and a 30 minute lunch from 5:30-6:00 p.m. but the job requires mandatory overtime so quitting time is more often around 10 or 10:30 p.m.  There is an option to start work an hour earlier for additional overtime hours but you will not be able to leave an hour earlier if you do this.  Also, if you clock in an hour early but finish work an hour or more early (such as on holidays) you will not be paid overtime even if you leave early on a different day later in the week as overtime is only paid for more than 40 hours worked in a week.

Morning shifts are not available and you are not able to change the time or length of your lunches or breaks.

Pay is based on a combination of speed and accuracy and can be extremely lucrative.  The lowest pay level is still higher than most data entry jobs.  No phone skills or customer interaction is required, this job is purely data entry.  You can earn the ability to listen to music, audio books, podcasts, etc. while you work but you can lose them for weeks at a time if your performance fails to meet specific metrics.  The dress code has recently become very relaxed and comfortable.  Jeans and t-shirts are acceptable on all but 2-3 days per year on average.

Work is extremely independent.  You have to be very self-disciplined to succeed because there will be no one standing over your shoulder making sure you work but if your metrics don't meet the requirements at the end of the quarter you will be penalized appropriately.  The location is convenient but parking can be a struggle if you don't arrive early.

Five personal days (paid sick days) and five vacation days (paid) are given for first year employees.  The number of vacation days increases with time (10 days for 2 years etc).  There are no weekend hours and major holidays are off with pay.  If a holiday like Christmas Eve/Day falls on a weekend you will receive the nearest week day off with pay (i.e. if Christmas eve is on a Saturday and Christmas day is on a Sunday you get the Friday before Christmas and the Monday after Christmas off with pay).  Thanksgiving is off as well as the Friday after.  You can also earn points through performance that can be used to purchase unpaid time off, lunch extensions, late start or early leave passes, etc.  You can also use your points to buy snacks but it's not really worth it in my opinion.  There are restricted days where time off is not permitted and there are times when the company allows double or even triple off (meaning they allow more employees to take the same day off than usual due to low expected work volume).  

This company has a very strong Christian culture and utilizes the services of a corporate minister that visits every desk one day per week (usually Thursday) for a brief social chat.  I found this to be a detrimental distraction from my work and opting out of these visits can be difficult depending on your supervisor.

Work can be tedious and boring and the job requires sitting for long hours in really uncomfortable chairs.  You have to be able to focus for long periods of time without distraction or restlessness.  Many highly social individuals find this work difficult because the working area is extremely quiet and there is very little social interaction except during break times.  Many of the employees are introverts (this job is IDEAL for introverts and, as such, attracts a high number of them) so the social environment can feel cold and exclusionary but I found that the vast majority of employees are quite sweet and friendly if you make the effort to get to know them.

Training for this position can be very difficult and the turnover rate among trainees is much higher than I've seen with other companies but once people graduate from the training process and are hired, they tend to stay.  Turnover among employees tends to be much lower than most other companies I've worked for.

The biggest challenges, in my opinion, are the overtime and the late shifts.  The insurance benefits are decent but not great in my opinion though some of my former co-workers were very happy with them.

I work as a forklift operator. A typical shift starts at 5:00 p.m. when I clock in, inspect my forklift, and gather my handheld device and manifest from the middle desk. From there, I head to my first trailer and begin unloading freight. Throughout the shift, I move freight safely and efficiently while following company procedures.

One of the biggest things I have learned from this job is the importance of patience and doing things correctly. When I first started, I often felt rushed, but I learned that management values safety and accuracy over speed. I also had not operated a forklift in several years, so this job helped me rebuild my confidence and skills while getting back into the rhythm of operating equipment.

Management has been one of the best parts of working here. They are kind, understanding, and encouraging. They provide constructive criticism when needed, but they do so in a way that helps employees improve. They also make an effort to treat everyone with respect and seem genuinely happy to see their employees each day.

The workplace culture is positive and supportive. Employees are trusted to do their jobs without being micromanaged, which creates a sense of responsibility and independence. The team environment encourages learning and improvement.

The hardest part of the job is adapting to the different working conditions and maintaining efficiency while staying safe. Temperatures can vary greatly depending on the weather, ranging from very hot to very cold. However, with the proper gear and preparation, these challenges are manageable.

The most enjoyable part of the job is the level of trust and support provided by management. I appreciate being able to work independently while still having access to guidance and feedback when needed. I also enjoy operating the forklift and seeing my skills improve over time.

Southeastern Freight Lines is by far the best company I have ever had the privilege to work for. I can say without a doubt that this will be my forever job/company. At Southeastern Freight Lines I feel like a team member rather than just an employee. The company, management, associations, etc. treat each other with the utmost respect and truly value one another. This is instilled in every employee as the company lives and stands by its culture (value each other completely, integrity, servicing, continuous measurable improvement, and belief/alignment/teamwork). Their culture truly makes this company worth working for. 

As an Account Manager my role is to promote sales by gaining new customers and growing the existing customer base. On a daily basis I will visit customer locations to map their supply chain, confirm the transportation modes and carriers they are utilizing, quantify the size of the opportunity, and identify any inefficiencies. I then brainstorm on Southeastern Freight Lines solutions that could be implemented to win additional business, reduce inefficiency, and/or extend their shipping reach. Once implemented I then act as a product knowledge expert/shipping consultant for the customer to help maintain or grow their account. 

I primarily sell Less then truckload services. However, I also handle Truckload, Cargo, and TMS services.

The best part of the Account Manager role is the teamwork and assistance that I receive from the Service Centers. When working with a customer I know that I have the full support of the operations to service the account once the opportunity has been won. The customer will receive the utmost care and will be satisfied with the level of service they receive. I truly appreciate knowing I am selling a superior service that I can stand behind. 

The hardest part of the job is being on the road and not being able to respond to a customer right away or having lack of access to the needed technology. However, this can be overcome with proper organization and getting familiar with Southeastern Freight Lines systems. 

14 hour days for straight time without notice. They understaff to keep costs down. Most of their senior drivers haven't driven harder areas and were given easier runs which means you as a new driver to the company you'll be working longer hours to cover pick ups in other areas so they arent complaining. If you out produce them they'll whine and will be given their way. You'll spend 2 hours a day waiting for theirr top notch equipment to load the log and manifest only to half the time to find out the driver that used the truck the day before was too tired from their 8 hour days to log out or management was too busy bragging to each other about whos jobs are harder to properly load the information. This means as a new driver not only will you be supervising the loaders, dispatchers and management, you get to accept blame for bad/ missing /wrong paperwork and freight so they don't have to! Most of their drivers don't pre trip equipment or report when they damage anything. As a new driver who will be slip seating you get the blame for any mistakes. Senior drivers blow off stops constantly especially if they decide they arent coming in the next day.
They have an efficiency system they post weekly. Trainers don't teach you everything so when you make a mistake its typically because of that. Management then makes it a point to make sure everyone else is aware that you made a mistake. If you decide to leave make sure its not somewhere one of their employees worked at because they instruct their other workers to bad mouth you.

No where is perfect. The Cassel family truly cares about their people and what they’re doing with their company. Unfortunately I do not believe that all individuals working at SEFL do. A few bad apples can ruin the good ones over time if not removed… I believe now is a time where the tides are turning. With the economy changing, high customer expectations, technological advancements it’s evolving almost too fast for the next generation to adequately grasp onto and understand from the previous generation. Everything rises and falls on leadership and it’s at a point of critical decision making where enough stress can break anyone and plant bad seeds that will cause long-term effects.
This company overall cares for their employees. The nature of the job requires sweat and mental focus. Not a lot of room allowed for error. There is long term reward if you give a honest days work and do the right thing, you will come out on top over everyone else. There is opportunity to grow and become someone at SEFL.
Feelings and emotions aren’t a factor when it comes to missing out on time with your family which, fairly, if it effects your job performance it falls back on you. I believe more time-off should be given to third shift workers as they work Monday through Saturday (6 days / wk). The pay is really good for all positions.

Very fast paced, like any LTL carrier. Exceptional job security. Like every company in any industry, it varies by location as business needs and business cycles vary from place to place. They are profit driven, as they should be and they are growing so expect some growing pains and some typical disconnect between expectations and reality. 
While we are all being told that trucking jobs are in jeopardy, this industry in general would benefit from renaming the city P&D driver to something else when posting, etc. While they may someday not need drivers on some future highways, city driving is going nowhere soon. 
It is apparently hard to find people to fill these jobs. This company will pay you 60-90K to run a route in the city, plus a strong benefit package. The industry is overtime exempt, always has been. That means you will continue to be paid your regular hourly rate for all hours worked. You will work hard, you will handle a lot more than the steering wheel. If that isn't for you, if LTL isn't for you, then so be it but this company hauls more pallet freight than most companies. They have road drivers here too and they make bank, pulling trailers overnight from one service center to the next. 
A lot of people want to have a laid back job and are okay with a laid back salary. As for me, I want to earn all I can while I am at work and I don't mind some physical work. 

A typical day involves me arriving earlier than the other dock workers on my shift as I am the only one able to drive a tractor trailer on my shift and it is my duty to pull trailers from the dock and back trailers to the dock so that the unloading and loading of freight can begin. After this I am mostly on a forklift and unloading trucks as they arrive and use a hand scanner to identify where the freight is routed to and place it on the appropriate trailer. I have worked both the inbound and outbound shift and therefore experienced working for two different supervisors. The supervisor for the inbound shift was 22 years old and just out of college so this led to great frustration as he was generally unfamiliar with the area, the routes, proper loading,and usually would not accept responsibility. This led to a toxic work environment for this shift as all of the dock workers had been there longer than him and had a better grasp of the proper procedures. The outbound shift was the complete opposite. The supervisor for this shift has spent 30 years in the field, easy to get along with, and a generally more relaxed environment. The hardest part of the job was working under the inbound supervisor. The most enjoyable part of the job was the satisfaction I received due to starting the job with no fork lift or tractor trailer experience and within a year I was able to improve and eventually master these skills.

Absolutely nothing special about this place.  In the P&D operation, expect to be rotated off once at least every other week.  When it is really slow (Jan-Feb) you may be rotated off twice in one week, however that it rare. On a typical day you will have 15 to 20 deliveries and about 4-8 pickups.  It's a go go go mentality so be ready to be pressured by dispatch.  My advice, one stop at a time.  Here at SEFL, they love young management, of whom a lot do not have experience, driving the company into the ground.  Linehaul is the only job I would recommend at this company.  It's laid back, no pressure and the pay is pretty good.  Management in this capacity, leaves you alone for the most part. They preach culture here a lot, but don't pay it any attention, it's just a punch line. They don't live the culture from the corporate level but expect you to do it.  If you just do your job, keep your mouth shut, don't get into any accidents and show up to work mostly on time, you will be just fine.  As a final note, Do not be an over achiever, it will only result in more work.  Do just enough to get by and you will have more time with your family. Those that want to be a super trucker get to work long hard days working late every night while those that do just enough are rewarded to be home by 5:30 to eat dinner with your family.  And for general information, seniority means absolutely nothing except for vacation and linehaul runs.

The overall company is rooted in a lot of good values at the top and they seem very genuine, which is rare.  Kudos for that, but it doesn't mean the individual work areas, in this case "service centers" are representative and live those.  It's going to be incredibly dependent upon who you are working for and with, and in this role there's the added wrinkle of having a dotted line report to someone offsite that just misses the mark.  A big problem is that the company values young, inexperienced (outside of this company or at least outside the industry) managers that typically rise from the operations side.  Most have a severe lack of trust and a healthy ego and if you've ever been in or around an outside sales role anywhere else it will be a massive shock at how they operate.  Oversight is great but when it's redundant then it is just desperation for control.  They exhibits a my way or highway mentality and there's a reason that hasn't paid dividends where I was. 

That said the drivers and all other staff are generally fantastic people to work with and for, they tend to care immensely about their quality of work and are willing to help you improve.  It's a shame otherwise. 

Southeastern looks like an ideal “retirement” job on paper. The pay is higher than most LTL companies, overtime kicks in after 45 hours, you’re home daily, and the benefits are solid. They also promote a sense of job security, pointing to the fact that they didn’t lay off employees even during the 2008 recession.

In reality, it’s a tightly run operation. Small mistakes can quickly turn into “corrective actions” or write-ups. While the pay is good, hours are closely monitored, so getting consistent overtime can be difficult—and it often feels selectively distributed. Honest feedback isn’t always welcomed, and speaking up can label you as a problem rather than lead to change. They may not do traditional layoffs, but strict enforcement of minor errors can create enough documentation to push employees out when needed.

Drivers work hard and play a big role in helping management and dispatch hit performance bonuses. It can feel like the frontline is doing a lot to help the company succeed, without always sharing equally in those rewards.

Overall, it’s not a bad company, but the constant pressure stands out. Every day is different, and you have to stay sharp and detail-oriented at all times.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Freight handler 5 salaries reported	$27.48 per hour
Truck driver 30 salaries reported	$87,310 per year
Driver 154 salaries reported	$87,360 per year
Management trainee 118 salaries reported	$55,000 per year
Diesel mechanic 47 salaries reported	$32.01 per hour

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