Question about New company Orientation

I just finished orientation and was assigned a trainer and hit the road the next day. They put me up at a hotel so I could meet the trainer at the terminal. Fortunately I came prepared with complete road kit, including my food bag with enough to eat for a couple weeks so I can survive on "lack of paycheck" until the second pay cycle...

... which brings up another point. Note that payroll for trainees is often delayed for a week. Therefore, you may not get a "full" paycheck for TWO weeks. I know that my first direct deposit will be in two weeks, and the first deposit will be tiny because there will only be three driving days on it. For those of you who are low on funds in the first place, unless you want to take a company advance (maximum $100 per week that costs you at least $5 in Comdata fees), you need to plan on surviving on a couple dollars a day. Bring your own food.

 

Thanks for that info, deann. I'll bear that in mind and take the advance (as necessary) when I use my CD card for fuel.

Following up on the issue of getting paid while you are training, I'd like to share an interaction I had with a trainee I met last month that had been out for two weeks (with a different company). I met him at a truck stop and he was upset because he just got his first paycheck onto his Comdata card in his second week on the job, and it was something like $75. It sounded like (similar to my new company) the pay period only captured a few days of his first week on the job, and they hold back that payment for a week. This was covered in our orientation class and we were advised to be frugal for the first couple of weeks to get through that financial dry spell.

He was wondering how he was going to live on $75 for the next week, let alone send any money home to his family. He was looking at a $5 personal pizza, but couldn't afford to spend $10-20 per day to eat...

... bring your own food. Walmart is truck accessible on the road. Stock up on bread and sandwich stuff, fruit, canned goods, nuts, etc. to reduce your cost of living to the bare minimum. That's really the only way to survive and thrive as a trainee.

 

Yep.... bringing your own food is your best bet! Not only for saving money but for staying healthy too! Fruits, veggies etc.... I also buy a lot of those Progresso and Chunky soups. They are really good and healthy for you! You can eat them cold or run into the truck stop and pop them into the microwave. Believe it or not another good place to find cheap food besides Walmart are the dollar stores. I often get really good stuff cheap!

On a side note.... if you are taking advances off of your card make sure to take the full amount all at once. Otherwise they charge you like $3 every time you use it. That really eats up your advance so take the whole thing out at once. Some truck stops like Pilot will wave the fee if you are getting fuel. So try to get your advance right after you fuel.

 

I second the Dollar stores as a great place to get cheap food. Canned goods, etc... I even found one close to my home last week that had produce.

I'm now in the 2nd week off my food stores (starting with orientation last week). Initial food stock cost $80 and I spent $20 yesterday at a Walmarts. I still have enough of the staples (oatmeal, canned tuna and chicken, nuts, dried fruit, etc.) to last at least another 2-3 weeks. I figure spending another $20-30 per week for replenishing fresh produce and juices.

The thing is, my mentor/trainer doesn't stock anything but energy drinks. He will only eat at restaurants. This requires stopping three times a day for meals (I eat in the truck). I'm figuring that when I become a solo driver, after training, I'll be saving 1-2 hours per day in my 14 for not having to stop to eat.

When I drive I don't eat a meal beforehand. I eat a banana and have basic snacks as needed. I fill my thermos with hot water and make my own coffee (better than truck stop coffee). I don't prepare a meal until my 11/14 is finished. This keeps me more alert. My mentor is frequently fighting fatigue, between his over indulgence in caffeine and heavy meals during the day.

When I finish my shift I'm hungry, eat a meal, and I'm ready for the bunk.

 

Lepton, sounds as if you should be doing the training!

Personally I wouldn't put to much faith in what your trainer is telling and teaching you! Sounds as if he hasn't figured it out for himself quite yet!

From what you have said I can tell that you are going to make it out there and do pretty well for yourself.

Good luck man, drive safe out there!

 

Thanks, chompi.... but I have a long way to go with other aspects of driving and especially learning the ropes with the company Qualcomm system. My trainer has really helped me so far with the finer points of double clutching and showed me how to set up my angle backs to hit the mark almost every time (I'd been getting lost with my pivot point before he showed me how to set up correctly). No doubt the training will help me when I get into my own truck... can't wait.