I am seriously thinking about starting a new career in trucking!

I am thinking about starting with Schneider's training program but I need to know what to expect out of the training program.

I supose my main question is how soon will I be earning a paycheck? Since I will be quitting my job and have limited savings I don't really want to lose my house and truck...soooo....will I start being paid durring team/training driving?

I also need to know if I will truly be able to earn what Scheinder is saying aprox 36k-50k first year and 60-80k in years after??

This is really the tip of the iceberg for questions, but is very important to me since I'm trying to get out of a job where I work too many hours for too little pay!! (I'm not trying to add far from home to the mix)

I would greatly appreciate anyone's Schneider specific info

This forum has already been extreamly helpful!!! everyone seems to have an overwhelming amount of information

 

Are you sure you want to get into trucking? It can be very rewarding, I will say. A lot depends upon your home situation. If you are single, and want to go OTR, then by all means go for it. If you have a family at home, think twice about it.

Schneider has one of the best training programs, from what I know.

 

Go to http://www.pumpkindriver.com/ and you will get a wealth of information. Lots of current and former Schneider drivers there.

 

I worked for SNI as a system driver. Their training program is great, however, I would think carefully. They will chase after you if you quit before the year is up. You will start getting paid right away. It is not much money at first. I remember it seemed like six to eight week transition period for me.

 

I know my first 12 months at Swift I grossed 35k, and im sure Schneider pay is about the same.. The 60-80k im sure is going to be trainer pay, which can actually get higher then that.

You are going to have to take a few things into consideration. It costs alot of money to live on the road. Alot of people don't think of that untill they get out here and relize it. I would say that I spend on avg 100.00 a week just to eat. Then buying your drinks and ect. Which I get mine at walmart before I leave out for the 2 weeks much cheaper.

After you get some time under your belt it gets easier, but I know my first 6 months out here was hard.

 

How limited is your savings? To do it all over again it would have been a lot easier if I had more in savings when I started a year ago. I'd honestly try to have at least 2 months of bills saved up before quitting my job...preferably 3. The reason the first year income is between 36k and 50k is because the first 3 months is a feeling out period for both you and the company and training time. You won't get the miles or the pay your looking for during this time. Yes during team/training driving you will get paid, but like I said not as much as you'll want. During this time you will be paid a flat rate between 300 - 500 wk.

Expect the low end on this...I'm not saying you can't make the higher amount but never count on the high end.

 

Trucking is all about paying your dues until you have enough experience to make a good descision.

 

Thank you all so much! The information that I've gotten from this forum has been extreamly helpful in making my desicion. (which I still haven't made..ha)

Thx for clearing up some of my questions, and pumkindrivers.com has helped immensly with the specifics. If any other newbs are thinking about SNI you should really check it out.

SNI seems to be a good company to start with and I've heard that if you stick with them long enough they'll reward you for it. true??

As for the cost of road life I was surprised that you can do it for $100 per week, is that typical?? I really thought it would be more.

My savings should cover me for about 10 weeks (sounds like this is about right) but I'm glad to hear I'll be getting paid relativly quickly

THX ALL

 

If your problem on your current job is working long hours for low pay.
trucking is NOT the solution.

 

You may be underestimating just how low my pay is (I don't get paid any overtime, though I work avg. 60hrs per week and only make $600 for VERY physical and stressful work) In addition to that I'm about to get screw ed on the taxes since my employer made me an independent contractor in Jan. Also I have NO benefits

I have noticed that alot of people complain about the money they make driving but I have to tell you from where I'm sitting the pay looks to be at least borderline fair.