Indentured Servitude or $6,000?

JG, I’m sure that scenario plays out daily in the trucking industry. I know I have read comments where someone attends a CDL school and then gets tired of waiting for a trainer, or is not getting enough miles after training, so they bolt for the door. If they signed a contract to pay $x dollars if they do not finish the contract, they are obligated to repay that amount. I would not take a chance that the carrier would opt to just leave it go. And I did read one example of a similar situation where the carrier that did the CDL training refused to release any records until paid.

I’m not sure if it was in this thread or another on TTR but someone suggested I go to the Swift Academy to get my CDL, bolt for the door, and then immediately apply with Schneider. That person implied Swift does not care, but I have not seen any other comments that would verify Swift is in fact okay with this and I have not called Swift to ask them directly. The Swift Academy is a separate legal entity from Swift Transportation so maybe this is possible. It remains an option on my list, but I would never do this without telling Swift upfront what my plans are and making sure they are okay with it. The fee for the Swift Academy is $3900 so not a bad option, IF they allow that.

 

Hard worker has nothing to do with anything. And good luck 'maximizing your earnings'.
You will have very little control over your income, again, contrary to whomever is telling you otherwise.

Best way to find out is to go out and do it.

Would be great to see you start your own day to day thread reporting on your daily experiences as a driver, when it finally happens.
And when you do, here's how it will come down (even with Schnieder)......

1. For about the first two months (or less) you will be exited and thrilled to be 'the best driver that you can be' while all those other drivers that are rapidly disappearing around you just 'couldn't hack it'.
2. From three months to about six months of driving, you will be wondering, "Geez! I never stop grinding and I am making sacrifices 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; in fact, my whole life is now one big sacrifice...... and all for this piddly paycheck! I do beleive that I am getting screwed! By golly, I'm gonna stick it out and force things to get better"!
3. From six months to about a year, after the final stages of denial finally fade, you're going to realize... "I just can't hack it!"
4. Fade to black.

Keep us posted, please!

 

Even though Surfer Joe seems to be kind of a sourpuss, I do wonder as somebody who is getting ready to sign up for cdl school, why the turnover is so high. The statistic that I've read is 100%+, which apparently means nobody who starts at these places stays, which concerns me.

 

Surfer Joe, I have little doubt my first year will go pretty much as you have said, but I am writing off the first year and looking beyond that for what year 2 and on may hold. I have never taken a close look at the industry, but I am shocked at how so many of the megas are nothing more than CDL mills that just chew people up and spit them out, and it is nothing more than an effort to suppress their labor costs. It doesn't matter if people complain because there appears to be a line out the door of new recruits willing to undergo the same treatment.

I'm doing this mostly because it offers a schedule (seriously) that fits my needs for the next few years and possibly beyond. If I were interested in making more money than a trucker, I would just get a minimum wage job somewhere.

As far as a 'blog', I doubt I could do that but I have read through some on here and they are fascinating. I spent quite a few hours reading through all 3 (I believe) of DieselFuelOnly's 'blogs' on the good, bad, and ugly of Schneider. I'm not sure I could do what he did, but maybe I could tally how many hours I spent chasing Schneider empties during the first year.

 

I think he offered a realistic assessment, and yes, it is that bad. Congress and the FMSCA are regulating truckers and if they are really interested in safety, they would do something to shut down the CDL mills.

 

Well said.
And you are absolutely correct regarding your observations of a seemingly endless supply of new driver recruits for these 'Megas".

Maybe if more of us would warn these potential drivers of what is awaiting them then perhaps fewer of them would be willing to accept such exploitive terms?

Although there seems to be a rapidly growing supply of employees that are willing to accept anything given (or taken) from them, perhaps more drivers reporting on what they are experiencing with these large companies could at the very least give potential newbies a chance at a more educated decision.

Can the tide be stopped? Of course not, but perhaps a bit more knowledge could stem the flow; at least enough to the point where both conditions and pay were brought up to more favorable terms, due to the fact that fewer people might be signing up.