Schneider newbies= lack of training

Its pretty stressy at first for sure, for me it was like when my mom threw me in the deep end of the pool to teach me to swim. But it does get a lot easier, try to relax and realize the person just needs someone to vent and complain to. That doesn;t laugh and say welcome to trucking. But its not a big end of the world deal, part of the job is learning how to budget your time. Try to relax and not reinforce his early fears, he might or might not quit after a few months, a lot do. Either way its a good real world experience for a young person.

 

I think a good idea would be to at least get him hooked up with some experienced truckers. Maybe some guys off of here. Doesn't sound like he knows a lot about trucking.

Most truckers stay out on the road for at least 3 weeks at a time. And only get home time when a request is put in a few weeks in advance. They don't send them home for 34 hr restarts. The trucking company is worried about moving freight not getting him home for his 34. How long has he been out so far? Doesn't sound like it's been out long at all if he only had 3 days training and just started running.

I believe schnider gives 1 day off for every 7 out but he wont get that every week.

Im sure there are guys on here that would be willing to guide him.

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Hey southpaw, that's a good post but most of all it's true. We are proud to have you as a truck mate.

 

The start is always the worst part. Once he gets done experience and pay raises, it'll all become worth the time out. Just starting out, he really doesn't need to be worried about pay. His main concern should be to learn any and everything to ensure safe operation of the CMV.

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2 weeks out isn't bad at all! Usually the longer you stay out the easier it is to make good money. When they route you home then they have to find you a load to get you back out again. That can take time depending on where you live. It's easier for them to get some guys home because they live on a good freight lane. If you live in the middle of nowhere then it will be a lot harder to get you home.

You will hear a lot of guys say that trucking isn't a job, it's a lifestyle. This it why. You have to like being out on the road wandering the country. It's a good job for people that don't have much family and don't mind if they see their friends often. The last american cowboy if you will. But there is another side to the story.

Depending on where you want to live, there are trucking jobs where you get home every night and can have a family life. I live in NJ and you can find jobs like that all over! You can also make really good money around here and still be home every night. Food service guys in my area make $80,000- $100,000 a year! They work their butts off but are home every night and get paid well.

Tanker drivers don't work as hard but make $50,000-70,000 around here. And they are home every night. And don't worry, it's really almost impossible to blow up one of those tanks. Actually the more product you have in a tank the safer you are. Because it's the vapors that can explode. But those guys are very safe and don't have to run as hard. Very few drivers have died by a tanker truck. I've seen a few trucks burn up but the driver is long gone before that happens.

So don't worry about your son being gone for long periods. Consider this his boot camp. He will get the short end of the stick a lot fot the first year. Won't make much money. But if he keeps his nose clean and starts researching companies in his area after a year a lot will open up to him. Just tell him to stick it out with that company for a year because most goid jobs want a year experience.

You should also be very proud of your son. There are a lot of grown men that couldn't do what he is doing right now. Even with a mentor by their side. There are guys that come on here and cry about the stupidest things. Cry to their companies every 2 minutes and then give up and go back to working at Mcdonalds. It sounds like your son is doing it the right way. He is keeping his mouth shut, figuring things out himself and becoming a strong man! The first year will be hell but tell him to stick with it and he can have a good career. So be proud of him and tell him you are. And be proud of yourself for raising a boy that can take care if himself better than a lot of grown men out there.

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Also buy him a smart phone that is hot spot enabled. Load talkpack on it( thats the app where you will find truckers forum) and give it to him the next time he comes home. Its the best trucker tool that any new trucker could have! Where else will you find 1000s of truckers all willing to help your son succeed. And if he gets one hotspot enabled then he can run his laptop off of it and not worry about truckstop wifi.

Most truckers say verizon gets the best coverage. Of course some will say no but the biggest majority say verizon.




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I hope this dont come off the wrong way, but if he took the keys and drove away knowing he wasnt ready, thats his fault and at just as much to blame as Schneider for letting him go. There are too many other companies out there that provide longer training. Some companies make it mandatory that you fulfill 30,000- 40,000 miles of "training" before you are cut out on your own.

 

Just a couple thoughts:

The first couple weeks are going to be really rough. I know that your son has already experienced this by the way you have been describing things.

After that it'll start getting a little easier. Yeah, there are gonna still be a lot of ups and downs. A big thing for me was finding stuff to do in my idle time. It helped me relax and not focus on my job 24/7. I missed being able to play some computer games during my downtime like I would do when I was home, so I saved up a bit and bought myself a nice laptop. I have mobile internet too so now when I'm sitting, I can play some games, browse the web, etc. Like right now, its the end of my day, but I'm not really tired yet, so I come on here and browse this forum for a bit like I usually do every night. Just like I could be doing at home. For a little while, I'll be able to forget that I'm even in this truck.

You mentioned his first truck being a piece of crap - yep, its gonna be. And he'll probably be stuck with it for at least 3 months. I was in my starter truck for at least 4. I did my best to make it comfortable for me and was pretty content with it. Then one day when I was stopped at an OC they called me up and gave me the keys to a very gently used truck that looks and feels almost brand new.

It's just going to take some time for things to smooth out. I'm the kind of person that likes to jump right into things and have them go the way I am expecting it go. With this career, that won't happen. I learned that real quick.

I would suggest your son make an account on this forum and share some of his adventures with us. I've been doing that in my own thread and it has been extremely helpful for multiple reasons, I can vent, I can get advice from others, and I can see that others are having the same issues as me sometimes. It was, and still is, more helpful than I would have ever imagined.

The last (and the most important) piece of advice I can give is keep in touch with your son. When I first started, for probably the first two months I would call home and talk to someone in my family every. single. night. I would let them know where I was, where I was headed, how my day went, etc., etc. I'm so grateful to have a caring family and to have been able to do that, because honestly if I didn't, I would have given up. And that is no joke.