Hi I am new here and have some questions about the trucking industry, training schools and trucking employers...

We live in NV and my husband has decided to go to trucking school to become a truck driver as this is something he has always wanted to but never persued till now, he is by trade a master mechanic and slot tech but with those two professions, he wasnt getting what he wanted out of it so moving foward, he has now decided to persue trucking driving as his career...

My questions are simply because we want to make sure he goes in the right direction as far as schooling and employment goes. what he can expect and not expect, what he needs as far as reaching his goals and making this a life long career. I would hate for him to waste more valuable time persuing yet another dream just to come out empty handed if you know what i mean!!

He is scheduled to attend Southwest Truck Driver Training here in Las Vegas, NV sometime around mid Oct, he got a pre-hire from Werner Enterprise to work for them after his schooling. I have done some research and found alot of negative feedback on Werner which now has me very concerned. The school said that they are one of the best and hardest companys to get hired on at so I am a bit surprised that they would have so much negative feed back, is this something we should reconsider? Perhaps request another trucking company for him to work for? Does anyone have any insight on the school he is going to attend?

Also for spouses of truck drivers, how do you handle your spouse being away for days or weeks? I mean right now Im willing to pack his bags and send him packing but down the road I am sure its going to have an impact on me as I have a 4 and 2.5 yr old to care for, both boys and both very active...and both of which I am with 24/7....

How is the medical insurance, how is the pay, how are the benifits and how are the advancements like pay increase or even promotions to like a trainer?

What are the things he will need while being on the road since i know he will get lonely or will he be driving with others? I am sorry I have so many questions I am just trying to prepare myself on what to expect and not expect and also for him as well. We have been married for 20+ yrs together for longer and never have really been apart from eachother (which is why im ready to send him packing lol) but i know it will be different when he is gone......thanks for your help Deanna

Well about werner to start with,yes there is alot of bad things that been said about them.Werner has over 10,000 drivers and they cant make everyone happy.Werner is a start,what I mean by start is its not easy to find a real good trucking company out there that takes in newbies.Most training companys like werner,swift,us.express,etc are know as "starter companys" which means lot of people get the training and get some exp and then moved on.Once you have at lease 1 year exp,doors will open for local trucking jobs.There are better otr companys out there,but you need anywhere from 3 to 6 months exp or more.Im also going to werner but im not plaining on staying long unless they give me good miles.The first year is always the hardest,and it will take awhile to get use to not being with your love ones and not being home every night.Trucking is not just a career,its a life style.Good luck keep us posted.

wow thank you for replying to me i thought maybe I might have posted in the wrong place I wasnt sure,,, after all the reading and most of which are negative, all I know is all my fears are setting in and he hasnt even gone to school yet, I can handle him being gone in fact I think it will do the both of us good for him and i to have some space between us after all we been married for 20+ yrs but I do know its going to be an adjustment as well what now really has me worried is the conditions he will be in i mean having to deal with nasty people smelling people and most of all the pay??? he is our only provider right now so now im concerned with how much he will make because with him gone im not sure how im going to work with two small boys i dont leave them with babysitters or day care..both hubby and i dont trust people with them...is the pay really that bad? i hope to find more postive in this in the end at last you are positive about it so thats a start...good luck to you too

Werner as long as you have a pulse and not many traffic issues you will get hired.

They are not that hard to get into.
You can also look into May trucking they have a terminal out in pheniox az They are a better smaller company under 1000 trucks I belive.

Werner may be the hardest for those school graduates to get on with but don't trust schools . I recently read a post by a school graduate that couldn't find a job because of a DUI . No kidding ! Do you think the school didn't know when they sign him on the DUI would make it next to impossible to get a job ? What kind of household income do you need ? Don't expect much over $30,000 a year for a couple of years and that's for working 65+ hours a week .

Well I have read and read and read and I have to say I have major doubts here about the whole trucking industry in itself with very little positive so go on...I have told my husband all the horror storys i have read on here and he just doesnt want to listen, because he is going on what others have told him, therefore, I guess he will be one of those that will learn the hard way, only problem is, it will have a major impact on our finances and family ... guess i will need to get a job and care for my children by myself just to support his dream! thanks for all your relies everyone

30 gran a year is not enough to support a family of four much less the less then 30 gran, we were under the impression it would be 30 gran with the possibility of more for just the first year and then it would increase as time goes on with experience depending on the company he works for...

He said that he just needs to do 4-6 months with werner to get the experience in and then he will move on to another company. we are paying for the schooling ourselves, along with help from unemployment, so werner is not funding us, will this make a difference?

I just sent you a link to trucking co. You can not PM yet, but check out that co. I do not drive for them, but in my opinion they would be a lot better than werner.

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My childhood dream of becoming a truck driver turned into a nightmare!

He'd be better off starting with a company he plans on staying with longer . That record of leaving after a few months will stay on his record for quite a while . While other companies may hire with 4 to 6 months experience the better companies want over 2 years OTR .

My suggestion.Go to a truck stop and get the truckers connection and other employment books. These are located alot of times near the entrance doors.I would try a Pilot,Flying J or TA truck stop.Those are national truck stops.
These books have pages and pages of ads from trucking companies.I think you said you live in NV. KLLM might be a good option for your husband. How often is your husband wanting to get home? I think KLLM could get him home every weekend.They have decent pay too. I would skip Werner. I have a friend that works there.He is a trainer and agrees,unless you get on a dedicated account with werner.You will fall into their flex pay. Sometimes can be as low as .26 cents a mile.
DO NOT TRUST TRUCKING SCHOOLS!! They get referral fees from trucking companies to direct students to their companies.
Do the research now! Once you bounce around to different companies a few times.Alot of places won't hire you. GOOD LUCK!!

Hello Deanna,

I've been driving for 2 years now and I'd have to say that there is definitely a lot to learn out here driving over the road, much more than what your significant other will learn at the CDL school. If he is a quick learner and utilizes good common sense with safety in mind he should do well out here. I started out with Werner, driving in the Dollar General dedicated fleet and it was hard physical work, but the pay was probably the best as far as what one could make with Werner when looking at 1st year earnings. If he drives in Werner's 48 state OTR fleet he wiil more than likely be paid .26 cpm which makes it very difficult to make a decent pay check especially if he doesn't get very many miles per week. Just as other posters have said, Werner is a training company with drivers coming and going every day of the year, with many of those leaving with a bad experience and an overall inaccurate picture of the trucking industry, I will say though not every driver will or has had a bad experience with Werner. I for one stayed with Werner for a total of 8 months, 2 of which was training time and the other 6 pulling their Dollar General loads. I finally had to leave due to the physical pain to my back and knees from unloading the trailers and when I was given the option to transfer to the 48 state OTR fleet with a pay decrease down to .26 cpm from .32 cpm I politely declined and left the company. Not even a month later I was accepted to the company I currently drive for and haven't looked back, all is well and I am making .42 cpm having only been here for 15 months and I average 2800-3000 miles a week which makes for a good pay day. Everyone has to start somewhere and to keep things positive just as in my case, once you have put in at least 6-8 months you can definitely open doors to a better opportunity. As you mentioned in your post, you are paying for the training which is a very good thing, cause that way you will not be obligated by contract to stay with any one company, but as in any career job hopping can be detrimental to future employment so better to at least try and complete one year if he can, then move on to bigger and better. This job can definitely put a stress on family life, so the stronger the trust and understanding in your marriage the better off you will be while he is out here driving. Good luck and tell tour husband to keep an open mind and not to get caught up in all the negativity he will encounter out here driving, because no matter what career you choose there are always those that can't be pleased and will try to bring others down with them.