Feels like a mistake.

I've been wondering about this myself, why no one has mentioned them. They'd take me right now if I could afford the 4-weeks unpaid for their training (I can't, unfortunately).

 

I think it is a good company. I work for Univar USA in Los Angeles. I am piad by the hour with overtime after 8. I work Monday thru Friday. I start at 3am and I am done by 2:30 pm most days and home by 3pm. I get paid vacation time (1/52 of gross) for 4 weeks, paid sick days (12), paid jury service (unlimited), company paid retirement and full health, dental and vision for $140.00 per month for the entire family. I am approaching 84k so far this year as a company driver. So yes, that is what I consider to be a good company. And before anyone comments that I got this job because I've been doing this so long, I have never spent any time working for an OTR company.

I can't understand why anyone would work for free like they do? And they do work for free for part of their day. And don't let anyone tell you that the cpm is built into your pay. Garbage! Heck, OTR companies can't even pay their driver's for every mile they drive. That is just the tip of the iceberg.

Does that answer your question?

 

Yeah, it is garbage; but some of these guys are working in states where the labor laws aren't nearly as worker-favorable as yours. Your OT after 8 is state-mandated; and your $84k is more like $45k here in Texas, less in some other states.

Yeah, it's almost unfathomable that people work for peanuts; but the truth is most of the country gets paid peanuts, including zero overtime, because the labor laws favor the corporations and not the people. You got lucky, despite your local cost of living.

 

Hang in there man, you've gotta hang in. Job hopping is the worst thing you can do, right now and in the future. At least get the six months in and move on.

 

Check out the LTL, Local driving forum on this site. There are people getting local jobs, fresh out of school and you already have some experience. If they can do it why can't you?! Working locally will make you a better driver - you'll shift more, back up more, park more, dock more - skills that companies desire. Many local companies won't hire OTR drivers as they typically require more training than those that have been working locally from day one. Food service companies, soft drink companies are a good place to start.

It's not worth your time earning $300/wk, consecutive weeks - regardless of any contract you signed.

 

[QUOTE To the question about endorsements - I only have my ABCD right now. No hazmat/tanker/anything else. I'm not opposed to it on its face, but I wanted to stay away from it at first to try and make the job as simple and as straightforward while I learned and grew the basic driver skill set.[/QUOTE]

No offense to you or anyone else, but I really don't understand the logic with not getting the endorsements when you get the CDL..... I am in school and have my permit only, however I have all of the endorsements (doubles/triples, tanker, passenger) and have applied for the hazmat and should be good on that since I don't have any issues that would deny it. Now with that I have no desire at all to start out pulling doubles or triples, those darn things scare the **** out of me even driving next to one. Your hazmat endorsement can be a big bonus to you, it can make the difference between getting a load and sitting and waiting like your talking about having problems with. I hear new guys in class all the time saying " I don't want to haul hazmat, none of that for me". They seem to think they will be hauling military grade explosives or something like that, more likely you will just be hauling basic household goods that with the amount of the product makes it a hazardous load, normal everyday stuff you can walk into any Walmart store and buy with no hassle.

Really sucks to hear about your situation, and not that it helps you any but it is a good lesson for all of the new guys out there. A Class A license with no endorsements can really leave you in a bind, just not enough loads of toilet paper and dog food to keep everybody moving. Get those endorsements, make yourself available for any load you can get.

As for not getting home when you want/expect to be, get used to it. You and your company are in the business of moving freight, your dispatcher probably isn't going to go too far out of their way just to get you a load near your home with you just being a new hire with a few months of experience. Yeah I know it sucks, not being able to see your lady and being out on the road all of the time. It will get better as you get better and get more experience. There are great opportunities in this industry for those willing to deal with all of the problems.

As a few others have said, I don't think your outlook is going to change any by jumping ship to annother company, you will just have more debt to pay off from Schneider. Stick with it, get your endorsements ASAP and keep trying your best every day. Trust me (and everyone else on here) there is more money to be made than what your getting or there wouldn't be any experienced drivers out there, it would all be new hires that leave within 6 months after they just got tired of it and quit. You can make it work for you like they have, just gotta do it right.

 

Excellent post, CharlesS, especially regarding the need to get all your endorsements to maximize the loads you can haul and the jobs you can apply for.

Regarding the issue of home time, like the OP I constantly hear even from veteran drivers the complaint that their dispatcher or their company failed to get them home "on time". Folks, it isn't as if your company or your dispatcher can magically pull a load from out their backside at will in order to get you home. They aren't going to deadhead you home from a long distance. Therefore they can only get you home on time if there are available loads to get you there on time. Period.

For this reason I expect to be home on time +/- two or three days. If I absolutely positively MUST be home on a particular day I set my home time to start three days in advance of that day and then still sweat about it AND worry that they actually get me there "on time" and then have to lose income from being home too long.

This IS the nature of trucking, OTR in particular.

 

There are thousands of jobs available right now in the Trucking Industry. When you are new you have fewer choices because of Insurance regulations. The mega carriers will hire anyone because they do not mind the higher rates or are self insured. Put in your six months and then move on. Just think of it like marriage. You are going to get XXXXXX everyday for the first six months and then about 2 times a year from then on.

Try not to hurt anyone. Listen to those who know more. Help others when you can. Don't take risks but don't be afraid either.