Student wondering about werner...

I'm baffled at how people can still come here, read over the wealth of negative werner information, and still without hesitation jump on board with them. I'm sure all beginner companies suck, but you can do a lot better than werner. The werner recruiter who came to our class gave proudly exclaimed we would make "in the area of $32k a year" Which isn't that bad, but not that great for the hell you have to go through.

Telling someone not to turn to trucking could be the same as telling them to give up on life. For some of us, there is nothing else. Like everyone else we want to be able to feed our families, and provide a life for our kids that we may not have had. Sure we could look for another job, maybe somewhere like McDonalds or Wal-Mart working for minimum wage, unable to afford health care for the family and being told what to do by that new barely 20 year old supervisor. No thanks, I'll take my chances being a wheel holder for someone for a little while.

 

So, like, just forget about the fact that over 85% will fail !!!!

Paint a nice rosey picture, travel the country, stay in nice hotels, make lotsa money !!

85%............think about that !!!

 

Everyone thinks they will make huge amounts of money owning a truck. The reality is that the vast majority will lose their truck, and many times everything they own, as an O/O. You don't go home, get out of the truck, and forget it until the next load. There is maintenance, cleaning, paperwork, thousands of things to keep you busy running your business.

If you pay for all your repairs and maintenance, you're mostly doomed right there. You have to pay all of your taxes, not just the portion you see on your paystub. You have no holiday pay, no vacation pay, no company paid health insurance. No company matched 401K. If you quit, get hurt,or breakdown, no money is coming in, but the payments keep coming. You can't apply for unemployment since you own your own business.

Most O/Os make less, many much less, than a low paid company driver, yet work much more. Werner has refrigerated, van, flatbed, and brokerage businesses to bring in money. They do pretty good as far as their bottom line. They get discounts on everything that the average O/O never could. This last year they netted just $10193.00 per truck. This includes all the money generated from services that did not require the use of their trucks, such as truck sales, and O/Os pulling their freight, so their per truck profit is actually much lower. Why do O/Os think they can lease a truck to these companies for .90 CPM and make more that them?

It's a pipe dream for most. There are some savvy O/Os with good business sense, and great connections, that do well, but not your average joe.

As far as company drivers and negativity. Wannabees and new drivers want to come here and get smart when someone tells the truth. Everything seems a fairy tale in the beginning. The reason many have to be so blunt, is that people have been told the truth, only to ignore it, then end up with nothing, including their home and family gone. The ratio of those that make it to those that don't is not good. Some will adapt, and love the drive. If things work out at first, the first few years are a blast as you see new things and places. After you've see most things, reality sets in. Some stay, some go.

The hard truth is spelled out to make those thinking of this business know the real truth and make an informed decision, not to try to tick someone off, or to solicite hateful responses from people that have never set foot in a truck, yet know it all. This paragraph is not directed at the person whose post I quoted.

New people need to hear the hard truth before they jump. I see photos from wannabes that show them with their new wife and babies. I get sick knowing that what they will be put through will most likely keep them from seeing their families more than 10-15 times a year. It hurts to know the babies will grow up without their dads, and many times the strain will cause the marriage to fail, or the driver will not make it, and come home with the family, and their finances much worse of than before.

Please come into this business with wide open eyes.

 

To the original poster, if you really want to drive pipeline, try Sunoco. They hire students out of certain approved tech schools and there may very well be some construction outfits in your area that will as well. Not every driving career has to begin with OTR if that is not what you are really interested in. Just so you know.

 

Pretty good thread, lots of good input! I still cannot fathom for the life of me why after the newbies read everything on this site about the mega-carriers they still go with them! I don't know maybe it is because it is so easy and they are all just lazy and don't want to put forth the effort of looking for a job! I know also these recruiters get them on day one in school and start the brainwashing. They show them pretty pictures of a brand new big rig going around a mountain pass. I think also since they have no clue what they are getting into that they are easily persuaded and do not know the important questions to ask and call the recruiters on their bluff. I think I am going to start a "pre-school" to truck driving school. Charge $150 consultation or even do it as a large group meeting. I think this would be more than fair considering they are about to drop $6000 on school. I can give them the low down and unbiased opinions before the recruiters have a chance to get to them. If you newbies are reading this would this be something you would go for? It would basically be a live "truckers forum". I could also have a truck and take them all for a ride and show them what to expect.
On that note, newbies do yourselves a major favor and stay away from the mega-carriers ie: Swift, england, werner, orange trucks etc... There are no excuses why you cannot get a really good job with a smaller more reputable company. It is pure laziness if you cannot accomplish such a simple thing. Make yourselves a list of want and needs. Get on the computer and go to town! Google trucking companies in the US and start checking on their websites their requirements and what they have to offer. Sites like careersingear and bigrigjobs are pretty helpful. You can also go to truckstops and pick up the little employment books. Another helpful site is OOIDA. They have really good information and links to reputable companies. Once you find some companies fill out the apps and send them. Don't wait to hear from them. They are not going to call you. You need to check DAILY with the companies that you have filled out apps for. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Then you will get a job with a really good company and you will thank CHompi for it! (LOL) Go with these mega-carriers or Rollover calls them "Bottom Feeders" (BFI) and you will most likely get the shaft. Now do it! Stop reading my blabbering and go fill out some apps!

 

Pls tell me another OTR trucking company that:

1) Takes you right out of school
2) Has lots of work for team drivers
3) Allows a dog inside the truck
4) Has a terminal in the central FL area

Those are the reasons me and my wife are going to go team with Werner, haven't found any other company with those options.

 

Markers, lived in Polk County long? Native myself.

 

I can halfway understand that, Markers. I wish you the best of luck with them, and hope the stories you get to tell about them are a far cry different from what we've already read.

 

For you and cabsav:
chompi put some direct things in his post. Look his post over. I sure did a couple months ago. Good, straight talk. Tear the trucking section out of the Yellow Pages and work it.

Also, find threads by OpenRoadGuy and chralb. One is called help a newbie wannabe trucker out or something like that. It covers a couple month period and should be required reading. It's very detailed.

My career horizon is set two years out, and know that a commitment I make must be honored regarding a schooling program, and then I will make a new commitment that will increase my income significantly. But, dues must be paid by me.

Look over lots of threads and more. Keep an open mind and do your homework and research.

Best,

Merlin

 

20 yrs. there's not a lot of trucking options around these parts, but werner has a terminal in lakeland, FL. So I'm gonna give them a try.