Nadta (crst)...steer clear...

That deserves a thanks.Anymore companies are so desparate for drivers that they're braking their own policies.I know there are way too many unqualified drivers on our hyws that got turned loose too soon and the companies don't care.Its all about loads and money.I blame a lot of that on the laws , more and more drivers can't get hired due to the carrier's insurance denied them so they take what they can get poorly train them.I hate to even think what this industry is going to be like 5 yrs from now.

 

I've worked at CRST for the past several years.
1. Horrible only if you think that most college dorms are horrible. Much nicer here than my previous college dorm.
2. Breakfast 4:30-6:30am. Always plenty. Cereal, fruit, toast, milk, coffee (24/7), waffles with 5 toppings on Thursday. Lunch is rotated between: cheeseburgers (very similar to a whopper), grilled chicken, sub sandwich, hot dogs, pulled pork and served with sides of potato salad, cole slaw, chips, etc. Lunch Saturday, dinner Sunday. Once again, in college Ramen Noodles were staple along with peanut butter sandwiches and cheap ice cream:>)
3. Training is certified by DOT. Typically 2 weeks to completion if everything is in order with your paperwork. Videos are mandated by DOT.

 

2 wks of training??...no wonder the industry is falling apart

 

Maybe he was a slow learner...............

 

I'm my opinion the CDL training was the only good thing at crst. Oh and people keep saying about bedbugs I never saw a single one when I was there and some people acted like they was huge and I just didn't notice them.

 

I agree with most of what you say the only thing I didn't see was the 40 a week

 

Oh my, how in the hell did my generation last. 3 to a room and bathrooms down the hall. In basics training we had bunk beds and slept 40 to room. Bathroom was down the hall, showers were 10 at a time. With no walls, or stalls and we had to buy our own shower shoes. And yup "surprise" inspections EVERY day.

 

I think the industry has actually gotten better in the training dept. I had very little on road training when I started except for in a strait truck locally . Day 1 you were expected to run teams & you either did what you were told or ended up on an off ramp thumbing for a ride. Whining to the company about your trainer might get you a bus ticket home but not much else.
Now potential drivers want vacation accommodations, Gandhi & Mother Teresa style trainers to train them & to be fed & entertained during their training. They pay rip off amounts so they can be micromanaged & hand held by dispatch & technology for 2200 to 2800 miles a week. What have all the changes in regulations & technology gave them? A median income that has not changed in 20yrs when adjusted for inflation & 33% less spending power . Why? More regulations means more trucks, more traffic & less miles per driver More tech means less money spent on payroll. OTR trucking companies are not charities & know what they are able to hire for the payroll they have. Mostly 3rd world immigrants & people who have few other options.
According to the most recent data collected by the BLS, current as of July 2018, what would have cost $20 in 1998 would now cost nearly $31.
Taken together, these figures indicate that while the average person is still making the same amount of money – when accounting for inflation – prices for many of the daily necessities have gone up considerably, which means that each dollar earned does, in fact, buy less than it did 20 years ago.

OTR trucking has become a vertical career move vs. a lateral move when I started. You can actually make the same or more money working unskilled jobs at the same level of hours without having to live in T/S & rest areas 10 months a year.

OTR is better then no job, but the job is just not a good career move unless you feel the need to travel around in a truck & pay for it in lots of wasted hrs of waiting for that box to tell you what to do.