Schneider driving training only 7 days, really??

Appreciate the responses. Think I will hold off then and look at going with SNI. I was going Freymiller because at this point, the only way I could go SNI is paying for a 4 hour refresher where as Freymiller will hire me anyways. Reason is it's been a year since I got my CDL.

 

Good points. I actually forced my TE to teach me everything about workflow and wouldn't let him do anything on the Qualcomm without also telling me what he was doing. It was a HUGE help and also had a side effect of me being terribly bored for most of week 3.

 

I was pretty much the same way. He went to do something on the Qualcomm and I was backing him up. Wait a minute. Let me do that. And. What are we doing and why? I wasn't out long with my TE. 4 days to be exact. So I didn't get into it all that much. There was a lot to learn so I still forgot a couple things. But I was the same, way in front of the rest of the class.

People that aren't getting miles I feel there is a reason for that. My biggest problem is running out of hours to get more miles. But I've been vocal and complained when things didn't go my way. To the point of I really thought that I was on the verge of getting fired because I got "verbally loud" (they called it) on the phone once. I've been home a day late on every time at home request. Not that big a deal. If I want to be home for something I ask to be home the day before. Simple. If they get me home early I'll take an extra day and make it up later. But that hasn't happened yet.

I don't think the training is a result of the turnover. But I could be wrong. Honestly, with a company as big as Schneider they're probably bringing in anyone with a pulse. That doesn't mean that they are forced out on the street when not ready. But the high turnover could include those that simply don't make the cut, those that probably shouldn't have been hired or driving trucks in the first place and those that find out being away from home this much isn't for them. The interview process isn't face to face. It doesn't go into very much. A guy I went to school with was clearly a slow learner. But very eager to learn. I could see that he would struggle with all of this. It's not just driving a truck like people think. Heck, I thought that too. There is route planning, knowing when and where to park, time management, people skills, sense of direction, paperwork, Qualcomm, HOS and DOT regulations on top of just driving. It's a huge responsibility. Not for everyone. And probably very hard to determine who it's for and who it's not for. Taking that all into consideration, 100% turnover doesn't surprise me. Unless I'm thinking in surprised it's not 200% lol.

@Rocknroller4 not to be rude or mean, I don't know your situation. A red flag to me though is that you've waited a year to get into this after going to school. Personally, I think of you're not in your own truck and feeling solid about your position, it may not be for you. If you need a babysitter, you're not a grown up. This is a lot more mental than it is physical. Ask any seasoned truck driver, they know it all. And they're extremely over weight. Proof at the bottom of the bottomless pudding jar!!!!

 

Any number of reasons for a delay. Many of which involve him stepping up and putting this on hold. Food for thought.

 

Oh yeah. Most definitely. I knew when I wrote it it sounded mean. I really wasn't going for that. I went back before posting to add the part about not trying to sound mean. Personally, it doesn't bother or affect me. I meant it from a company stand point. A guy I went to school with after graduating had to take in his grandkids. I guess because of an ugly divorce his daughter was going through. However, our school told him that when he was ready to go they would do a refresher course for him for free. I thought that was pretty stand up of them.

 

Part of the reason I put it off for so long was because the truck school I went to left a bad impression (it was one of those 3rd party..charge 4k for 4 weeks schools. First mistake). Then there was the period of time where I made the mistake of researching it all online and made me think if this was the career for me. Also personal things I won't go into..mainly health at the time. I am 33. No career. Worked mostly janitorial, fast food and retail work. I tried college and hated it. Now I owe student loans, live with the folks, and literally have just a CDL. Try living off the wages of cleaning toilets or flipping burgers.

 

I completely understand man. Sounds similar to me. I had a great career. Made great money. Got hurt on the job. Long story short I shattered my left elbow and ruptured my L4 L5 and herniated my L5 S1 discs in my back. At the age of 28 with a wife and 2 kids. I moved to office jobs that were less physical. Sold cars. Was great at it. Made decent money (much more than truck driving). But hated every second of it. I hated the bosses over my back. I hated the long hours. Decided if I'm going to work 14 hour days, what's the difference in going home to sleep than just crashing in the back of a truck and having freedom. I'm much happier. Don't get me wrong, it can be frustrating. But much happier. So far lol. The only way you'll know if it's for you is to try it out. It works for me because there is more appreciation for family time because there's less of it to an extent. I talked to the wife at night for an hour or so. Text back and forth with the kids and talk here and there. So far it works for me.

 

That's an awful injury and sounds painful. Especially at that age. Would put a halt to a lot of things. I hear a lot of drivers getting bad backs or knee joints. That's cool you did it for the freedom and family. Never been married here nor kids but I can understand doing whatever job you have to do just to keep them happy and healthy. My health problems are asthma which already limited me to what types of jobs I could take. Completely understand the boss thing too. I get annoyed with the nitpicking which is what turned me to trucking. I just want to do honest work, take home honest pay, and have a place to call my own. What is frustrating about trucking? roads and traffic? I hear a lot of issues about pay.

 

I'm being paid on the low end because I just started. .32cpm I figured out my miles driven to pay which is not completely accurate. 17k miles in 2 months @ 32cpm is 672 gross. I've had good weeks and bad weeks so that's average. I don't think my lowest week was below 500 though. But that doesn't mean you'll do that. Like I said before, I feel there is a reason for low miles. Not knowing what you're doing, not complaining when things are bad or just plain bad luck. I could be lucky but traffic is rarely an issue. But that is where route planning comes into play. Knowing what places are bad with traffic and what times to go through them. Some times you don't have a choice. You just have to deal with it. Roads are crappy lol. Most are decent. But any road through AR is pretty horrible and any back county road in MO and KY are too. In those states if you see a farm on your left and right you're in for a fight with the steering wheel. Just take it slow and safe. The most frustrating thing to me is dealing with the office. I just "graduated" from my 90 day DBL to a regular one. She seems to remember things a little better. My original one was great. He just had too many drivers that I hardly talked to him. Always dealt with some newbie (like me). New leading the new just doesn't work. Multiple times I've hit a situation where I've gotten caught up at previous customer that I wouldn't be able to make delivery on time. I've called and they said they'd take care of it. Only once have they rescheduled the appt. That means you're late in the receivers eyes. If you would have been there over the unload time to begin with plan on being there the rest of the day. They'll be rude to you and put you on the back burner. They don't care (if they ever did) about you anymore. They're not paying for you to sit. They could care less how long you sit. But there are plenty of other things. That seems to be the best understandable reason right now.

 

Pay structure
Long hours
Traffic
Micromanaging
Stressful

How do you feel about your driving? If you already have a CDL, I'd go with a somewhat reputable training program rather than Swift/CR England "I'm going to train you while I'm sleeping back here" $80/day for months type crap.

If you don't squander away your cash you can pay off your loans and get some money saved up in a reasonable amount of time.