The question for a trainee shouldn't be "how much am I paid" or "how long do I have to stay with a trainer...when can I go solo". It should be "How and where do I get the training that will best suit me and prepare me to be a safe and accomplished driver while giving me the best avenues to a career of MY choosing.
True to an extent, I think a person can find a happy median. Cfi/cwtl traines solo only, the trainer sits in the jump seat tge entire time. I personally did not want to train while team driving. I also felt a mileage pay was better than a flat rate especially since you will most likely be paid mileage pay after training. I don't like being forced into a contract for training either. Cfi/cwtl only required you to pull one load and they paid approx half or a little more of the cdl school. Also Stevens has a very low mileage pay in my humble opinion. Of course I seem to have higher standards than some newbies.
I doubt anyone would consider a driver sufficiently trained after pulling one load. In addition, school is another matter. I held much higher standards when I hired drivers for my company. And training is not cheap. So a flat rate is what is common. Most companies pay a flat training pay and the mileage rate Stevens pays is about the average for most training companies. Some pay more, some less. The lowest I've seen out there over the last year is 0.22. The most I've seen is 0.30 to start.
No I agree with you completely but it the wanting and anticipation of Being in your own truck now what do you mean by grad fleet and regular fleet. One more question are you at risk of losing ur truck if more to few days at home or are they urs in a sense of ur always gonna be in it till u upgrade of that makes sense
Stevens has three stages of training in it's program. First, O-1 where you are with a trainer for a minimum of 5 weeks, second O-2 where you are either with a finish trainer or with another student for 3 weeks, and finally grad fleet where you are solo for three months and 15,000 miles. The concept of the finish trainer is you are suppose to run the truck as if you're solo, but the trainer is there to watch over your shoulder and advise. If, for instance, you forget to put your trip plan together, they will remind you. If you have a procedure question, they will show you how to find the answer. In student to student, the other O-2 alternative, you both figure it out together. Grad fleet is solo with a lot of hand holding. Your DM is more active in helping you run your loads. i.e. they will go over your trip plan with you before you roll. They will remind you of procedures. I don't remember the exact numbers but, as a company driver, if you are off more than 10 days (that number is from a foggy memory) you must clean out and give up your truck until you return. You'll likely be assigned a different truck. Home time is normally 5-6 days at a time. If you are a L/O, you can be out as much as you want. You're making the payments.
Company policy for company drivers is 5 days off, you can take more than that if you like, but they want you to clean out the truck and leave it in Dallas. You will get a different one when you get back.
