Con Way Truckload

Well I got the green light from Dana today...I go to orientation in Jacksonville on Monday. Not gonna bother with greyhound, just gonna load up the f-150 and ride up there sometime sunday. Been by that motel a hundred times. I've stopped and eaten at the waffle house across the street probably just as many times.

 

Day 2 down. Road test today. 4 lefts, 4 rights, several stops, intersections and lane merges etc. Driving the 13 speed was nowhere near as anxiety filled as I thought it would be.(only drove 10's at school) Took all of 2 up and down shift series to lock it in. We watched a few more videos, signed some more docs regarding policies and procedures. Filled out insurance, direct deposit info. That's about it. Again, the instructor Mark is very informative and personable. Had a little time to interact with some more drivers.

 

Do the trucks really come with built in Sirius/xm?

 

yes they do

 

Day 3 completed. Orientation is a wrap. Some more policy review, Smith System training, a couple power points and videos. I was assigned a finisher and should be on the truck sometime today or tomorrow. As of yesterday evening he was in NH. Man am I excited. It looks like I am going to get a chance to go through Joplin right away as my finisher has a message that his new truck is ready for pickup between 8/3 and 8/10.
The XM radio thing is really cool. Also, all trucks are being fitted with a Navi System now so that's one more expense that we wont have. Also, we've been told that for the most part all 2009 and up trucks have an inverter already installed. My orientation trainer said that more than likely all of the new drivers will already have one on our trucks once we complete the finishing. (Another amazing perk) My class had 5 students in it and we all completed the orientation. 3 of us were assigned finishers yesterday and the other 2 were told that they should get a call by Monday with theirs. I cant wait to get out there.

 

Does anyone know what the orientation pay is, how it's distributed, and if the amount is the same everywhere?

 

I've heard from Christine (my recruiter) that the pay is the same everywhere but the number of days varies. She said that the orientation was 5 days in Joplin at a rate of $25/day plus they feed you lunch, pay for transport there, and hotel while there. In Taylor, MI the orientation is only 3 days. My instructor said the reason for it being longer in Joplin is because each department has a head that comes in and reviews that departments part of your orientation. (The presentations are longer) Also, it sounded like there are always significantly more people at the Joplin orientations meaning that it takes more time to go over certain paperwork, testing etc.
In Taylor, day two you receive $50 cash. Day 3, your company ATM/Fuel Card is activated and the last $25 is put on that. You can take your money off of it right then at the company ATM. (This same ATM card is also your Fuel Card that you will use whenever fueling at a Conway Terminal)

 

Also notable it this.
Unlike a lot of companies I spoke to, your pay while with your finisher is actually based on the miles you drive in any given week. You must satisfy 10,000 miles with your finisher. You should run at least 2500/week. (So it should take 4 weeks) Talking to trainers at the terminal, I did learn that a lot of them are running as high as 3300/wk which shortens your time with your trainer. Your pay/mile while with your finisher is $.26/mile. (That's $650-$830/wk depending on the range of miles) That's also far better than any other company I talked to in regards to training pay. ($300-$550MAX for 3-12 weeks (stevens = 12)
Instead of giving you a generic time frame on the road with a trainer, Conway ensures you actually drive miles. This is beneficial in that your time can be shortened depending on how you run, but your actual real life training cannot be compromised.
If you have 1 year or more OTR experience, you do not have to spend time with a finisher.

 

Im in missouri now at the crowder college getting some extra training and tests in before I get a finisher. They paid us 100 cash first day. 300 upon completion. They pay for everything.

 

That's BS...I live in Michigan about 10mins from Taylor ancient had to take a 24hr busride to Joplin how did u luck out