Prime, W/S, Swift

Stupid question but...what does W/S stand for?

 

Watkins Shepard Trucking out of Missoula, Montana.

 

I posted this already on my own thread about new info for Watkins Shepard, but I thought it might be useful to some of the people here. Lynchmob and I have already talked, so he already has this info.

However, JahB, one of us has been misinformed. I have had several phone conversations with the lovely recruiter at W/S, and I was informed as of 3 days ago that they DO NOT have a finance company they work with. I was told prospective students are on their own. They either show up with cash, and/or get their own financing/grant. I was told they do absolutely nothing to assist a prospective student to get their financing in order other than provide the financial insitution the requisite information about the training and the guaranteed job they offer once you graduate with your CDL.

I'm not sure who you spoke with or when. Obviously, their policy is new, as of July I believe. Maybe my info reflects another change in policy. It's just my misfortune that I didn't pursue a position with them sooner. I am in no position to qualify for a $5000 loan. I also cannot get a grant because my wife makes more than the grants allow. They now charge $4695 for their CDL training, and they only provide lodging. Meals are totally on the student. You can effectively figure at least $5000 for a month for training + meals. Maybe more depending how and what you eat. They have kitchen facilities that you can use to cook, and they also have 2 cars for student use to run errands, go to Walmart or the grocery store, etc.

Unfortunately, the money alone will probably rule them out as an option for me. I'm totally bummed about it, but I understand their position. They had so many students who took advantage of them by using their in-house financing to get their CDL, and then quitting their driver position in a short time and defaulting on their loan payments. The company was actually losing money on student training. Combine that with a down economy, and a company has to do what they have to do. They decided they would get out of the banking business. Now they neither finance your training, nor help you pay it back. They once had probably the best deal in the industry for newbies. Their payments were only $40/week, and they paid all but $15.

A special thanks to all of you who screwed up their great deal for the rest of us. You must be so proud. I'm sure you're a credit to your current employer (if, in fact, you found anyone to hire a liar and a thief).

 

No, it just means I'm planning for the worst case and hoping for the best. Of the two options you and I discussed, my ace-in-the-hole is a no-go. I spoke to my old man and his advice was maybe I should look for employment that doesn't involve trucking...lol He sotra doesn't get it. He had one employer his entire working life. Today's job environment doesn't compute with him, especially the pay-for-training to get the job part. lol Anyway, he's out as an option. I'm going to check out a few places tomorrow, both locally and online and see if I'm even close to getting a grant. Traditional (gov't) grants aren't going to work, my wife makes too much money.

I'm also going to call my recruiter and pick her brain to see if she has any ideas. I want to find out if JahB is right and they are working with a finance company. Who knows, if that is true I might be able to qualify with someone they are working with because they would obviously understand the situation and know that I will be employed when I graduate with my CDL. That could be a good option if true.
If not, I'll just have to see if I can find a charitable grant. I do have five daughters after all! I'll check in with you tomorrow and let you know what I find out.