Schneider Oil Field Truck Driver Jobs/ The Texas shales and beyond

Discussion in 'Oilfield Trucking Forum' started by Rockdoctor, Jun 4, 2012.

  1. JahB

    JahB Road Train Member

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    I'm looking forward to steady income so I can pay off my student loans when I graduate next summer. I suppose there will always be people smarter, cooler, and richer than me to look up to for advice on important issues like world trade, petro-corporations and oil governance, let alone high level finance and politics out there driving trucks for a living.

    Heck I don't need to learn nothin' when there's so much wisdom ready to get dumped on me if I mention I work for Schneider. Maybe I should drop out of the stupid MBA program I'm taking, and not incur any more student loan debt. What the heck do I need that for, when all this wisdom is right there sitting behind the wheel of a truck in the oilfield someplace ready to tell me the TRUTH. ####.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 8, 2012
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  3. JahB

    JahB Road Train Member

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    Metalforce, they pay relocation on some jobs in some locations for experienced drivers. Is one year enough? Ask 'em. Can't hurt.
     
  4. wowo6057

    wowo6057 Light Load Member

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    Hey Jahb
    I am now in talks with a recruiter and hope to be in State within a short while. Rockdoctor made me think another way and I hope to jump in near SA some were, I think Ceuro or something like that. Will report in when it becomes final.:biggrin_25520:
     
  5. SJ1985

    SJ1985 Bobtail Member

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    I spoke with a recruiter and they will help with up to $2500.00 in relocation cost if you have 6+ months of experience. I am planning on putting my six months in running western regional out of So Cal and then making the trek to TX early 2013.
     
  6. kdc1899

    kdc1899 Light Load Member

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    You may be on to something kid. When you need answers on how the real world works just ask folks who are living it daily. Those theorists up in them fancy schools; well.... Those who can't do; teach.
    :biggrin_25519:
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 8, 2012
  7. Rockdoctor

    Rockdoctor Medium Load Member

    Let's cover some of the physical/health expectations for landing your job at Schneider and some of the physical demands of the crude hauling account...

    After you apply and once you are offered a position, you will be expected to take a hair follicle test. They will be looking at any activity going 4 months back. Also if you have had any prescription changes since your last DOT physical they will need you to take a new DOT physical exam.

    The first day you arrive at the Operating Center you will perform an agility test. One by one you will go into a large room with a doctor. This room is set up like an occupational therapy room. There will be balls, weights, and other types of items they use for tests. First the doctor will have you sit while they take your blood pressure and pulse. DON"T WORRY if it is a little high. Everyone gets a little nervous their first day on the job. Next you will be given a set of tasks to perform. If you need to go to the bathroom DO IT NOW or BEFORE YOUR blood pressure reading, as once you begin the agility test you can't stop. These tasks include tugging on a rope, pushing against a weight, lifting a box of weights, carrying a box of weight over a distance, stepping up and down on a step. After you perform each task a reading of your pulse and blood pressure will be taken and recorded. If after any task you exceed a certain level for your weight and age you are considered to be a risk. Out of the 12 in our class no one failed. Ages in class ranged from low 20's to early 50's. Weights ranged from very thin to obese. The main thing is to remain calm and don't psych yourself out.

    The first day at the OC you will also be expected to climb up the ladder of a tanker, walk along the catwalk to the front, walk along the cat walk to the back, kneel down in the middle to simulate opening the dome lid and then climb down the ladder. Remember you go up and down the ladder facing the ladder, as one person tried to come down the ladder facing out.:biggrin_25520:

    I've been asked about the ages and types of people on my account. I personally know a guy who is 23 years old and I was trained by a guy in his mid 60's. There seem to be more people 40 and over on the account than younger. Also I would say we have about 8 women who work on our account. Most people seem to be in decent shape although there are some who appear to have snacked on more than a few Big Macs over the years while working OTR.

    Schneider seems to worry a lot about sleep apnea. They have been asking people to take surveys so they can find potential problems. There is a ratio of neck size to body size they also use to locate individuals who may need further scrutiny. They ask people who appear they might have a problem to perform a sleep study. You will have to go to a lab and be monitored for sleep apnea during an 8 hour sleep in the lab. If you are found to have sleep apnea they will provide a machine for you to sleep with at home which is supposed to fix or alleviate the issue. I know one individual who had the sleep study preformed on him, found to have issues and he uses the machine while he sleeps at night.

    As far as physical demands on the job, as I have mentioned before climbing the ladder to get on top of the tank seems to be the hardest thing to do. Dragging a 50 pound hose up to 7 feet across the ground and lifting part of it to attach it to the tank is next. Otherwise it is a cake walk. There is a 120 pound girl on the account who lifts the hose and attaches it, and I have even seen her hook it up for a few male newbies who could not get the handle to click and make the attachment.
     

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  8. Rockdoctor

    Rockdoctor Medium Load Member

    I was contacted today by someone who wants to get onto a Schneider energy account which requires 6 months experience but they are right out of CDL school. I know some CDL graduates have been told they can go onto a Schneider account which excepts newbies then transfer over after 6 months. There are energy truck driving jobs and OTR jobs available. Schneider is one of the few trucking companies which will hire a CDL graduate and let them drive a tanker. This situation may not be the best route for everyone but thought I would mention it.
     
  9. stanman63

    stanman63 Light Load Member

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    schneider is really raping you guys and the industry!!! he!! i take home more than you guys make in a week!! and do two drilling rigs a day!! they are trying to drive the market down, with the wages they are paying you guys!!but i dont see them lasting out here this is a whole new world!!!
     
  10. JahB

    JahB Road Train Member

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    WASHINGTON/OREGON border
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    kdc1899,

    Just for the record, I'm a middle aged, early-retired IT network designer and consultant, as well as a consulting firm owner. I've driven trucks before, as a VACATION.

    Indeed, I may be on to something....like getting my MBA to support my NEXT career after taking some time off to have fun. This job with Schneider? A great stepping stone to starting and running yet another highly profitable business before I retire at 62 in a few years......so, where are you headed?

    Those who already know it all, and won't or can't learn, punch a clock.

    wowo6057 - awesome, best of luck to you! We're hoping to move to the S.A. area with SNI next year, if they'll let me, after working in Midland for them a while. Gotta show 'em you can do the job where they need you first, I reckon.

    As for Schneider as a job opportunity, I can't think of a whole lot of better opportunities (a few, Halliburton, Key Energy, and others ar about as good) for a newbie to get into the oilfield and make that money. While it's true an experienced guy can maybe/probably make more working for one of the other oil service companies, (but I'm talking about newbies) and they'll let you run yourself and make as much money as you can for as long as you can, they do it by letting you think you can work 90 - 100 hours a week indefinitely. Knock yourself out, get it! More power to ya.

    For me as a relative newbie, it's about certainly securing a job when I show up without risking living out of a motel for a few weeks while I knock on 6 or 7 doors at terminals a day with my shiny new CDL to find an entry level job running a vacuum or water truck vs. having a well paying job doing something a little different, that may be paying me less than I "could" make, if I was "really willing to work" at one of those other highly magnanimous companies taking such good care of their drivers, unlike Schneider.

    I know there's LOTS of companies paying newbies more than $15 an hour to start, right? Oh wait, no, there aren't. You do get time and a half overtime at those companies though, heck, almost all you can eat! 100-120 hours a week! Let's say for reasonableness though, that it's an honestly manageable five 14 hour days, or six 14 hour days a week, just to compare apples to apples...that's about $225 to $340 a week better than Schneider, when you're getting all that overtime money, and heck, you can even work an additional 4 - 6 hours a day for 18 to 20 hour days, sleep four to six hours and get back at it every morning, and make HUGE money, right? Right.

    Life is cheap (apparently, it costs 200-300 a week to own one outright), so get it while you can, right?

    OK, enough sarcasm. Schneider's a decent opportunity, especially for a new driver. Really, you aren't likely to do as well at ANY OTR company in your first year at 25 - 30 cents a mile, plain and simple. In fact, if you can find an OTR company that's paying the equivalent of .30 cents a mile running you 3500 miles a week as a newbie, you should probably keep it to yourself.

    Oilfield work is dirtier, tougher running on lease roads, and more challenging than running the interstates, and it's a lot less sitting behind the wheel running down the road 500 miles a day (if you're lucky) for 4 to 6 weeks at a time. You go home, (granted for maybe 10 hours a day) you go to work, not a lot of time to yourself, but you do get some time with the family. EVERY DAY. It's your life - do what you want with it.

    I leave for Dallas and then Midland in a week, so I'll let you know how it's going; good, bad, or indifferent, as it goes along. There won't be any blazingly inspiring stories about how I turned in 100 hours this week in six days and grossed almost $2000 while sleeping a whole 24 hours in six days, so it will be about the work, and about the job, if anyone thinking about doing this is interested.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 8, 2012
    hunnydew and joelyblonde Thank this.
  11. Rockdoctor

    Rockdoctor Medium Load Member

    Yeah I'm REALLY being raped. Help me, I can't deposit all this cash fast enough. What's that Schneider, you want to DOUBLE my quarterly bonus? You want to pay me back 100% of the money I paid to a CDL school for training? You want to give me thousands of dollars to relocate. It's lightning today so I can't even get a half a load done but you want to pay me like I worked a whole day. AAAAAAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhh, I can't take all this rape. LOL!

    Last time I checked this is America and we run on capitalism. Who do you think drills all these wells you visit, mom and pop outfits? No they are multi-billion multinational corporations. I find it funny that these people crying about a big trucking company are profiting off the wages paid by multinational oil money which is subsidized by the government with big tax breaks. Spare me!

    As far as Schneider lasting in this industry, guess you didn't read my first post on this thread. The account I am on has grown from 2 trucks and 4 drivers to 70 trucks and 140 drivers in one year. Schneider's business is up 26% this year and they are giving most all of the credit to the energy field jobs. The client I work for is now the 3rd largest bulk customer. Sounds like a winner to me.
     
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