Originally Posted by sal

Hi .....Anyone have any information W/S ? Maybe Info. on their training or school. I'm looking for a good company to start out with and I haven't really herd any negative feedback on them. Would appreciate any information thanks

Do a search on Watkins/Shepard I saw four Treads about them.

catch danc...he's the w/s expert here

Howdy, I have been driving for W/S for 2 months and went through thier 30 day school in June. They are a great company to work for! The school was great and the safety record is good. I have run the mainly the western loop I15-I10-I80-I5-I90. It has been good. They have the miles and can pretty much run as much as you want. The instructors are great at the Missoula school. I love driving! I have also posted some on another thread about the school and training. so do some searching for it.

Originally Posted by efergstar

Howdy, I have been driving for W/S for 2 months and went through thier 30 day school in June. They are a great company to work for! The school was great and the safety record is good. I have run the mainly the western loop I15-I10-I80-I5-I90. It has been good. They have the miles and can pretty much run as much as you want. The instructors are great at the Missoula school. I love driving! I have also posted some on another thread about the school and training. so do some searching for it.

efergstar
Sounds like your happy there. How much is the school.... or do you have to sign on with them for how long ?? How Is the starting pay , their Web site doesn't mention any $$$ . Well glad to here there's one more good company out there. Good luck and thanks for the information.

Sal,

The cost of the 30 day training program for W/S at Missoula, MT is $4,000 and that includes transportation and lodging. You are responsible for your meals. A person can also have them finance the training with only $250 down at 7.75% and then the loan payments are approximately $40 a week for 104 weeks. As long as you stay with W/S they will make the first $25 of your weekly payment leaving you with a balance of $15 each week. If you leave before the loan is paid in full, any unpaid balance will be your responsibility to pay off. If you pay the $4,000 at the start of the training you are not under a contract to stay any set length of time.

The starting pay is .28 cpm for the first 6 months and they reimburse you $100 a month for tuition for 36 months. After 6 months the pay goes to .30 cpm for the second 6 months and then .32 cpm after the first year plus you get other bonus pay. They estimate your first year income around $45,600 and this is figured with a new driver driving 10,000 miles a month for the first 6 months and then 12,000 miles a month for the next 6 months. $3,400 ave monthly earnings first 6 months and $4,200 ave monthly earnings second 6 months.

Sal, I am quoting the figures and training information from a print out that was sent to me by a W/S recruiter.

Brad

Originally Posted by B-rad

Sal,

The cost of the 30 day training program for W/S at Missoula, MT is $4,000 and that includes transportation and lodging. You are responsible for your meals. A person can also have them finance the training with only $250 down at 7.75% and then the loan payments are approximately $40 a week for 104 weeks. As long as you stay with W/S they will make the first $25 of your weekly payment leaving you with a balance of $15 each week. If you leave before the loan is paid in full, any unpaid balance will be your responsibility to pay off. If you pay the $4,000 at the start of the training you are not under a contract to stay any set length of time.

The starting pay is .28 cpm for the first 6 months and they reimburse you $100 a month for tuition for 36 months. After 6 months the pay goes to .30 cpm for the second 6 months and then .32 cpm after the first year plus you get other bonus pay. They estimate your first year income around $45,600 and this is figured with a new driver driving 10,000 miles a month for the first 6 months and then 12,000 miles a month for the next 6 months. $3,400 ave monthly earnings first 6 months and $4,200 ave monthly earnings second 6 months.

Sal, I am quoting the figures and training information from a print out that was sent to me by a W/S recruiter.

Brad

Hey Brad thanks for that Info. W/S doesn't sound too bad

Originally Posted by efergstar

Howdy, I have been driving for W/S for 2 months and went through thier 30 day school in June. They are a great company to work for! The school was great and the safety record is good. I have run the mainly the western loop I15-I10-I80-I5-I90. It has been good. They have the miles and can pretty much run as much as you want. The instructors are great at the Missoula school. I love driving! I have also posted some on another thread about the school and training. so do some searching for it.

Does the freight for W/S stay busy or slow down in the winter months, if you have heard from other W/S drivers.

Originally Posted by efergstar

Howdy, I have been driving for W/S for 2 months and went through thier 30 day school in June. They are a great company to work for! The school was great and the safety record is good. I have run the mainly the western loop I15-I10-I80-I5-I90. It has been good. They have the miles and can pretty much run as much as you want. The instructors are great at the Missoula school. I love driving! I have also posted some on another thread about the school and training. so do some searching for it.

Would you suggest going to the W/S 30 day school instead of a Driving School if you decided to work for W/S.