Training companies explained and some working advice you wish you were told as a kid

RickG · May 17, 2013

mje said: ↑

You mentioned that if you had stayed with the training company instead of moving onto a different company, that you would be making $10,000 a year less than what you are currently earning now.

Wouldn't it make more sense for the training company to increase the experienced drivers pay to prevent the excessively high turnover rate that the training companies currently have? This sounds like a case of being both penny wise and dollar foolish.

$10,000 a year less in both pay and benefits is not only financially hurtful to the experienced truck driver, but it becomes a "slap in the face" of an experienced truck driver who is risking his life and reputation, (along with the companies reputation), everyday hauling freight to keep the economy of the United States of America going.

God bless every American and their families! God bless the U.S.A.!
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Training companies pay trainees $300-$400 a week to drive over 2,000 miles a week teaming . They bill trainees staying less than a year several thousand dollars for training . The more trainees they turnover the more they profit .

born&raisedintheusa · May 17, 2013

RickG said: ↑

Training companies pay trainees $300-$400 a week to drive over 2,000 miles a week teaming . They bill trainees staying less than a year several thousand dollars for training . The more trainees they turnover the more they profit .
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Unfortunately, this REALLY and GENUINELY sounds like it is quite a racket!

HOLY MOSES!

MsJamie · May 17, 2013

Starboyjim said: ↑

Also, let's not be deceived by promises that don't add up. Nobody is going to pay a new driver $.41/mile out of school for OTR work.
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Prime does. Starting rate for reefer is 36 cpm, plus 5 cpm for driving a lightweight tractor, fresh out of training. Training pay is a guaranteed minimum of $600/wk.

roadlt · May 17, 2013

Most states have programs that will pay for your training if you are unemployed. You just have to dig around a little. There are some grants out there, if you want it bad enough, there are ways to get it done without being trapped by a company. Just dig around a little. You made it this to this board so, you can find things...

chompi · May 17, 2013

Pretty much agree with Rockstar.... sure a few individual results will vary but for the most part this is the true low down.

The only thing that I would add to that is yes, they have found what to do with their drivers once they have a little experience and have to up their pay.... Its called "leasing"! What they do is tell these new drivers that they are now experienced professionals and should be owner operators. They tempt them with a brand new, shiny truck with no money down and then hide the "less than trainee pay" that they are going to pay them behind the term "owner operator". They boost their ego's with the fact that they are owner operators and also flat out lie to them about getting home more, taking whatever route you want, taking whatever loads you want etc, etc.... Then when a driver does refuse a load their lease contract is suddenly null and void and are sent home packing! What???? I thought it was my truck to do what I choose? No, once you sign on the dotted line you are a company driver paying the company $1000 a week + fuel to basically drive a new truck!

These mega-carriers are making so much money off these guys it should be illegal! Hell, their even making money off of you when you turn the truck in and quit. Once you are belly up (usually after about 3-4 months) and can longer make the payments and usually are already in the negative, you will then receive a certified letter in the mail (sorry I said letter but its actually a certified bill) saying that you owe the company $10,000 for the termination of the lease! They justify this by itemizing it, claiming you owe $5000 for new tires, $200 for new windshield wipers, full service oil change, truck detail, new windshield, new bed, new air in the bumpers and mirrors, etc..... Then after that they finish you off with a "Truck Abandonment" on your DAC report! Since their lawyers are better than yours and are already prepared and have done this hundreds of times, they win!

Hopefully in the process you haven't lost your house and family! Though your health is now borderline due to the overwhelming stress.

Good post RockstarNJ.....

rockstar_nj · May 23, 2013

Yeah, guys, my post wasn't about truck driving. It's about the contracts to paid schooling, and how that typically affects your pay, and why companies do stuff like this.

Everyone wants to stick to the idea that I haven't gone through training to drive a truck yet, but I've gone through healthcare training paid for by hospitals, I've organized sending kitchen workers to culinary school to keep steady, educated cooks around... This idea is far from exclusive to the transportation industry.

There's always a sales pitch involved. The idea is to higher newer, inexperienced people because they just cost less than someone that was doing it for 10 years. And even the experienced drivers in here are talking about how some of these companies are scams and stuff like that... Which in any field of work, doesn't exactly give a positive image to anyone interested in starting... Meanwhile, they still got their free training and experience, but still feel scammed for some reason.

The point of the post was to offer the other side of work sponsored training programs, as well as how to actually last under the worst of bosses (which I was one of them once). And some people in these forums, just aren't cut out for working at all. No job is going to be perfect, there's no job that you'd rather be there instead of with your family... That's why they have to pay you to do the job for them. But you'll read on a lot of these companies about how your entire class time is a job interview, how you can owe them the money, yet never be offered a job with them... But actual advice on how to impress someone that would be hiring you and how to give yourself a future at any job, is spread across random posts burried in the "THIS COMPANY IS A SCAM THEY DIDN'T PAY ME AT ALL FOR 6 MONTHS"

If you want to hold on to the idea that the administrative side to truck companies is magically different than every other company out there (who all follow the same basic ideas as each other), then go ahead. But for anyone looking to get started in literally anything, even to aim for advancement in their current job at McDonalds, that's what this post was about... About how to make it successfully in the working world, and avoid the spam of negative that you see here. Any random person can learn how to drive a truck, there's more than enough stories to prove that, but not everyone really understands what it takes to be a successful worker.

Truck driving might be different than other jobs, but the politics between coworkers and management are exactly the same as everywhere else.

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