My husband is thinking of becomming a truck driver. Woud he pay the hotel or does he sleep in the truck? what about the meals. What do you think about Schneider company? With Schneider are you locked in? and do you have to pay them back the cost of schooling?

while he is at the trucking company say for training, the company pays for a room he will share with another guy. sometimes they will pay for 1 meal, sometimes 2 meals per day. each company is different.

when he's on the road, he gets a sleeper truck. he pays his own meals.

you can be "locked in" with any company, so careful reading of any contracts is recommended.

Do you know anything about schneider? Are they good? Do they lock in?

Schneider has a fairly good reputation as a starting place and a company to work for. Like many others, they offer their company training in return for a commitment to work for them for a set period of time, usually one year. The new driver will be gone from home whil attending the schooling that provides him wih his initial training in the truck, and then will spend a period of a month to six weeks riding with a training driver who will put the polish on his driving skills and will teach him specific company procedures and provide him with some experience in handling life on the road away from home. how much the new driver will get home diuring that period varies, could be weekly or it could be very minimal during that time.

The first year is a process of learning for the driver, and they will be away from home more than some people are used to, usually on a 2 week out and a couple of days home schedule. The companies plan loads for a driver to run with and schedule his home time based on the driver's request for hometime and the availability of freight going to or near that area. The entire first year is a learning process, and there will be peaks and valleys along the way.

After the first year, some drivers move on to a different company in hopes of bettering themselves, and quite a few stay on with Schneider. I know of at least 4 Schneider drivers within a few miles of my home and they have all been there at least 5 years, and my neighbor 2 doors down has been there for the 12 years that i have known him.

Take a look through the forum in the "Good company / Bad company" sections and you will find quite a bit of info concerning them. Take what you read with a grain of salt, and you should be able to make a decision.

i never worked for schnieder. i couldn't bring myself to even fill out an application. but, i do have 19 years of experience, which is why i won't work for them.

on the other hand, they are among the better companies for newbies/students to work for. they do have a contract for training, but i am not familiar with it, other than someone signs on the dotted line and lives up to the agreement he signed.

getting in schnieder might be hard, as they might be selective in who they hire. if your hubby got accepted, he's lucky. he should do fine, then if he wishes, he can stay after the contract is fullfilled, or he can leave.