Watkins Shepard Short Training Period

I bet as long as you live within the range of miles allowed they feel ok about drivers taking the trucks home. Maybe it's living several hundred miles from any terminal that makes them nervous. Sure wish I could work there...maybe in a year or so I will... the safety lady said they have plenty of women working there, some even doing flatbed.

 

The recruiter that I spoke with told me it was company policy for the truck to stay at the terminal when you take time at home. They would not make any exceptions to their policy. I told her I lived 120 miles from the Vancouver, WA terminal and she said I would still have to leave my personal vehicle there and drive home and back to pick the truck up to go out on the route again. I guess that they take the security of their trucks and trailers seriously.

 

I know, Bonnie told me the same thing, that i was too far out to even be considered for hire. But we're seeing other drivers come on and post who are actually parking their trucks at their homes as we speak... and one of them is a guy that just got hired on. I have a feeling that once you get your own truck and start driving you might be able to park it close to your home. Ask the other drivers when you start driving. You are lucky.. At least you were close enough to get hired. I think she said 200 miles was the deal breaker. My feeling is that there might be some leniency once you get your own truck, just from what the others here have said on this thread. Bonnie also told me that for the first 90 days you have to pull a dry van. But after that you can go flatbed if you want.
She said that if you drive a flat bed they don't care if you bring the truck home. So you might consider doing that. Its only 3 months of doing all that driving to your house (if it does turn out to be that you have to park at the term). Then if you go flat bed you can take it home plus make more money

 

SWEEZE,

If W/S is out of your hiring area, I would seriously consider Gordon Trucking. They are a very good company and have a terminal in Medford and will let you park your truck at an approved truck stop for time at home. They also would provide good home time if needed because of their I-5 corridor runs.

I haven't been hired by W/S, I am only considering them as I have done many months of research on different companies and I like the training and not having to go out with a trainer for 4-6 weeks. If I go with them I would stay on the dry van side as flat bed work is too much work in the cold and wet of winter and the heat of summer.

Best of luck on your search.

 

I see....

Yes, Gordon is in Medford. And Interstate has a drop yard there too. But alas my funding fell thru. I was trying to get Job Counsel to pay for $3000 of it then my parents were going to loan me a $1000 for training at a community college here but the Job Counsel said I have had too many jobs in the last 3 years (4 jobs) then turned me down. Its really screwed me up. I fear I may have to go to swift. My last ditch effort is to try and apply for a loan at IITT trucking school and go there, but my credit isnt perfect and I wont ask my parents to co-sign. I may end up at swift. But if that's were I am forced to go, so be it...one day I will work at Watkins and Shepard. I get a good feeling from them and I always did want to live in Montana ........

 

If I were you I would apply for a loan at your Bank for a student loan. Then you could choose your training either through ITTR or company training.

 

lol... I know! I would totally go there but like I was saying above... they won't consider me cuz I live too far away from a terminal!

And I'm not far enough into this yet to move for them.

I am still working on my funding. I decided to go to a different Job Counsel. Next week I will have a different counselor. Now that I see just how they operate I do believe I can get that money out of them

I will then go from there. If things work out right I hope to be training on the Siskews in the winter by an old school teacher who likes to train women and that I feel good about (I had him when I got my forklift certification training).

I hope to end at W-S. Buy that time I will be well into it and would feel comfortable about moving.

If they'd have me, they would be my first choice, training and all.

 

Great post. Sounds very similar to the one I took at Schneider. Do they take your pulse after every exercise? Do you remember what the heart rate criteria was?

I left Schneider a couple weeks ago and am in the application process with W/S right now. Talked to Roxy today and they are just trying to get a hold of a past employer and I'll be scheduled for my Physical and Drug test.

So do I do the agility test above when I do the DOT physical and drug test or are these separate?