Greetings everyone,

I’m a rookie with zero experience besides a 3.5 weeks training sesh with Western Express. Wasn’t the best, but wasn’t the worst either. Drove a little under 10k miles. Most of the bad came from the fact I was sleep-deprived the whole time and not at 100% because I’m a light sleeper and found sleeping in the moving truck almost impossible. They have been trying to find me a truck to go solo for almost a week now. They basically kicked me out of my trainer’s truck and gave him a new trainee since there was a bunch of ppl waiting for a trainer. I feel ready enough to go solo but at the same time feel like a little more time with a trainer wouldn’t hurt either.
I’m considering leaving WE for another company though. Either Knight or Schneider. So my dilemma is:

Should I start over with a new company that is overall better, where I would be paid more, but would have to start the whole thing over and go through another month or so of sleep-deprived training hell?
Or:

Stick it out with WE since I’m familiar with them and the routes I’d be getting, but make less money and have to deal with their complete disaster of a terminal in southern CA.

Logic and horror stories throughout the net are telling me to leave for greener pastures before I get in too deep with WE. However, one thing about WE is that they are a very beginner-friendly company that’s nearly impossible to be fired from- whereas others are not so lenient. I don’t really see myself screwing up that bad, but you never know what could happen to a rookie solo driver out there. It would suck to quit WE, be blacklisted by them, then get sent from the new company for whatever reason, then not have anywhere to go. I want to give Schneider a shot, but their orientation/training/road test process actually sounds pretty scrutinizing and more intense than most starter companies- to the point where being sent home for something other than a failed drug test is actually a possibility.

Any thoughts?

 

I'd stick it out for at least 6 months or more. You got this far, and some solo experience will be good for you, at this point.

Getting the experience right now is valuable in itself, and you did a lot, to get where you are now.
Make the best of it, then move on when you skill level will open more doors.

I think if you quit now, it's because someone just offered you a 25k sign on bonus.

South Cali... yeah that part sucks.
I use to haul frozen Chinese from there to Chicago. Had to freeze them because they wouldn't shut up back there.

I hope other drivers help you, as they helped me, when I was starting out.
Happy Trails to you.

 

Thanks for the input.
Only thing is I plan on leaving after 6 months either way I go... and I would make a lot more with Schneider in those first 6 months. You only start making decent paychecks at Western AFTER 6 months.

 

Keep us posted how things are going for you. Everyone here loves to hear a new drivers experiences, it reminds us of when we started, too.
Starting out as a driver is one of the best things in life. It's exciting and you go through many new challenges.

If you are going to stick it out with Western Express, and already dislike them enough to be looking elsewhere. You can console yourself, in realizing they are trusting a noobie with hundreds of thousands of $$$ both in equipment and maybe double in freight. You don't have a clue at this point what you are doing, you are at best just meat in the seat. You could end up costing this Company a pant load of money, if you do screw up, or get involved in any accident or fist fight on the docks with a bunch of union lumpers who belong in a Zoo.

You will find yourself maybe put a small scrape you can't buff out, in the side of your trailer backing in somewhere. Believe me, some places are tight, and you might have to get out and look a couple times. If you are tired or it's snowing like crazy, stuff can happen. You are going to see some winter driving, so it's good you are getting your cherry broke in good weather.

Think of it this way, if and most likely when you make your noobie mistakes, the Company you eventually want to work for, will be thankful you decided to make Western Express pay for it all. Maybe even mention that in your application to your next employer.

Happy Trails Rusk

 

Hog!!!
It's good to see you active. How are you doing these days? Every now and then I get on the site just to see who has made an appearance from the days of glory on CDLA..
Tomorrow will be exactly five years since my last day driving a fuel tanker, and my medical diagnosis that disqualified my CDL. Hope you're doing well.

 

Honestly, if you already feel decent behind the wheel after ~10k miles, I’d probably avoid starting completely over unless you really can’t stand WE anymore. A lot of starter companies have rough training periods, and lack of sleep in a trainer truck is super common unfortunately.

That said, Schneider and Knight definitely have a better reputation overall than WE from what I’ve heard from other drivers. Schneider especially seems more structured, but yeah, they can also be stricter during orientation.

If I were you, I’d probably start applying first before making a final decision. See what options you actually get. There are a bunch of CDL job boards where you can compare openings and companies pretty easily now — I’ve used https://truckdriverjobsus.com/ before to look through different CDL jobs by state/company.

At the end of the day, your first year is mostly about getting safe experience without wrecks or violations. Once you have 6–12 clean months, a lot more doors open up.