Required time with trainer prior to driving solo

That is exactly what it is. You utilize your GI bill as a "On the Job Training". You use 1 month for each month you utilize it of your benefits. Yeah its nice, but if you have plans for your GI bill already, I wouldn't do it.

 

Yup, that it is. There are always ways that you can maximize. Another is also do NOT forget that you have PELL grant money as well each year that you can maximize out to I think 5600 or so. That is more free money that you can qualify for that helped me out a couple times!

 

I would recommend getting the most training you can from a trainer that knows what he or she is doing. Reading Schneider's home page it looks like any driver with six months can move up to driver training. If you see this do yourself a favor and run. The best training you should get is from the company you'll be working for. All the truck driving school is going to do is make sure you get your CDL. Sure they will cover the basics but your real training starts with the company. Trust me when I say that your best opportunity to learn is going to come from a company and not a school. Those pre-hire letters do not mean all that much. A driver can have disqualifying items and still have a pre-hire letter then when that driver shows up they say sorry we can't hire you. That school will not care that you can not drive because all they want is to be paid.

I don't mean to be so negative but I believe you need to be cautioned on where you sign and who you pay. This site is very helpful in helping you. Just take more than one person's recommendation so you'll know the info you're getting is true or not. Then it's still best to check on the school and/or yourself.

You should plan on having 6 months worth of living money so you can get your training and go into the job you like not worrying about how you're going to live. When I came out of the service I walked right into a job. But I had a few years commercial experience And the CDL schools were not in place like they are today. I still had to work the low paying jobs and had to wait for a better job to open. I've heard good things about Schneider's Tanker Division but that's what I like to do. You should still look around on jobs so you can pick the best for YOU. The more selections you have the better. Always remember the more you put into this type of work the more you'll get out. Good luck to you and have fun while you work. When you do that then you can plan your retirement and relax.

 

The experience required for trainers is pretty much the same anywhere, basically none. That's not unique to Schneider.

 

I found my trainer to be pretty good. He had been driving for 7 years and I learned a lot. With that said I could have used another week. The first two weeks we struggled pretty bad and was on the phone a lot with our DBL trying to figure things out.

I would rather have it the way we had it than how some companies do it. One has you team with another inexperienced driver for 6 months before you can drive solo and another requires 25000 miles with a trainer before you can go solo. The first pays 24 cpm to the truck and the second pays $500 a week until you get your 25000 miles. We started out making money.

We still run into new issues but now are starting to see some familiar places and know what to expect.