watkins shepard no trainer

Their web site is long in the tooth as well.
They haven't updated their recruiting material in 10 years.

 

Their website is way outdated. That was for the school they use to run which they don't anymore. The 10 day bootcamp is a paid orientation.

 

Beat me to it lol

 

There are some good threads in their section from guys that went through thier boot camp. AT's thread is a good one, so is Chris' as well.

 

I drove for W/S, no trainer did not bother me, in fact it's exactly what I wanted. But then again I felt pretty confident right out of school. Honestly their 10 day program is very thorough but if you're one of those guys that just "gets it" you'll do fine.

And while you're out for your first few weeks it is a real gut check, you will be thrown everything all at once, but be humble and explain your situation that you're a rookie and you'll be surprised at how many people will stop and take the time to give you pointers. Don't take the bad days personally, a lot of times it could be just "one of those days" and you just happen to be the truck driver in that place at that time. Weird Twilight Zone kinds of things happened to me quite often when I was out on my own right out of school that honestly have not and probably will not ever happen again. In other words, one bad day is not EVERY day, it just seems like it when you're a rookie. Other bad days are just part of the learning curve.

Stay positive and realize you will get better at truck driving, it just takes time. Don't let rude drivers or shippers discourage you either, unfortunately there are a few of those out there too. If you can get through learning trucking essentially on your own, you can get through just about anything in my opinion. Best of Luck

 

Personally I wouldn't recommend you going about it this way. Unless you have a really good trucking background I would recommend you going out with a trainer for your first time. Nobody wants to ride with a trainer for 6 weeks but there will be times you wish to god you had a trainer with you to get you out of the jam you are in! Especially this time of year!

Without going with a trainer you are going to spend all your time and money trying to figure it all out while wondering aimlessly around the country. Do yourself a huge favor, bite the bullet and go with a company that is going to properly train you.