Watkins & Shepard

I've seen so many good things about Watkins Shepard... How could they possibly be this good.. Wouldn't everyone be trying to drive for them? Are they super picky about who they hire?

 

Their wash-out rate is pretty high at their 10 day orientation. The program is very fast paced and the emphasis on driver skills is paramount. Watkins & Shepard is a medium size company with about 800 trucks on the road. They use paper logs. I see many people struggling with trip planning and the mathematics involved.

The fact you need to have your CDL prior to arriving weeds out a great deal of people looking for company training.

If you've paid for schooling on your own and arrive with a great attitude, Watkins & Shepard is a tremendous company. Companies like Swift with 16,000 tractors on the road will certainly have more postings here on TTR.

It all depends on the kind of company you want to work for.

Becker

 

If you passed the mountain drive, you will get hired.
The log & trip planning exercises are designed to see if you crack.
It's a stress test.
Play along. Show up every day. Do your best. Get your hat, and your keys.
Even the instructors will tell you that they do not expect you to remember the vast majority of what they tell you.
After 2 or 3 load assignments, you will have it down...or you won't.
The most important item you will need from training is that little piece of paper with the qualcomm macros on it.
Tape it to the dash and wait for the "beep!".
..and keep the red binder handy.....
You will be fine.

 

Basically they'll hire anybody with a CDL regardless of experience level, provided you can pass the road tests and classroom work. It's like trucker boot camp. You get through orientation and that's it...on your own after that. I passed right out of driving school and ended up doing 6 months with them, my personal experience being moderately positive. Based on some of the crap I've heard about life at the big-big companies, they're a better than average company to get your feet wet with. You'll learn lots because it'll be your first trucking gig and you'll be on your own from day 1.

 

So what are they looking for on the mountain drive?

 

It's simple. They want to see if you can drive up a hill and shift properly without stalling, and then back down with proper downshifts and use of the jake.

 

I live right atop that hill (Evaro Hill). I get to watch the students go by while I'm home. I've been thinking of putting up signs to cheer them on.

 

You Should Man!!!!

 

Yeah something to aim for!

 

Notice, he said downshift while going down a hill. Contrary to what we were all taught in CDL school, downshifting is not only possible on a down hill, but easy and done by WS drivers every day of the year. Once you know how to do it, it's a piece of cake!