Training with week break or straight through...

Hometime will not be great with them so go ahead and condition for it by staying out and banking a extra 500 bucks.

 

I agree with notarps. Get your training over with as soon as you can, so that you can start making some money. If you have a problem with your trainer, try to work through it, or at least live with it. (Of course there ARE exceptions to this, but I'm sure you can see that.)

They quicker your training is done, the quicker you get your own truck. The faster that happens, then the sooner you will have a year OTR in and can start looking around for a better company to work for. It's a #### shame, because as I understand it, Werner USED to be a decent company to work for. Times change...

Anyway, you have to start somewhere, so go for it, keep your head down and get through it. Good luck!

 

Amanda....I wish you great success in your new job! As for which option to take, logically I'd say don't take the break and make the extra $500 but the fact is: I'm a whimp and wouldn't even train with anyone but my husband.

Best wishes on which ever choice you make!

 

im not tryin to be a ######## but are u sure a company that is just hiring you is gonna pay you a week of paid time off after only a few weeks?

 

A close friend of mine has been training at Werner for a few years, and I've heard of this "paid time off" policy during training.

My friend recommends it to some of his students, often when they feel overwhelmed or contemplate quitting. Sometimes I think he just recommends it to his *problem students.*

He calls me a few times a week, and I get to hear all the crazy stories. Sometimes I feel like his therapist or something. But hey, what are friends for? He told me about one student recently that started actually crying when driving in snow! Uhhh...This was a grown man.

Another strangely Werner-esque policy: When your trainer goes home, you go with him! Werner puts you in a hotel, and you basically do nothing for however long the trainer is home. I don't know, maybe other companies do this also, but it sounds awful.

Anyway, good luck. And definately Werner is a better choice than C.R.E.!

*edit ALSO, it seems like every single student my friend trains lately is being forced to join a team, whether they knew about this or not when hired. And they're being teamed w/another new driver! (Covenant became infamous for teaming up two brand-new drivers, a tactic often refered to as "Dumb and Dumber." ) Not trying to discourage you here, because my friend's been there over five years, so success at Werner is definately possible, albeit difficult.

 

I just recently spoke with a Werner recruiter and the way she explained the team thing was that the only 48 state OTR positions that they have right now are team. Solo is regional only. At least on the west coast.

My $0.02

.............. Jim

ETA - she also said teams are running six weeks out with one week of home time. BTW - I think that the six week training stretch makes more sense than splitting it up. Remember after orientation you might havre to wait a day or so for a trainer - would you want to have to wait for another trainer after your break?

 

The extra bones is nice. It would depend on what your trainer is like as well. The first trainer I had (which was 5 years ago) chain smoked and everything that went wrong was my fault even if it wasn't. The second trainer I had was really good on a dedicated account. Only was out with him for a week so I could finish up my time.
Be careful on the truck issue thing. There was a problem with no trucks to issue. They tried real hard to get me to trade with another driver before returning mine to the Omaha terminal. If you want to know more pm me.
What terminal are you going to start at?
Good luck!