Profile For Curtis K.

Anybody have any thoughts about Werner Enterprises...good, no so good, bad to work for?

What happens when Mother Nature decides to glaze the interstate with ice so bad that officials decide close the road and you are stuck in a 10 mile back up and you have a load drop due in 3 hours? Or have your truck break down...or some other stupid disaster. Are you just screwed or what? Do you get docked for being late? You can't change the weather or get rid of a wreck with a fire that has closed the interstate until clean up is done (that happened to me before on I-40 East of Knoxville, TN...the bad part about it was the fire engine sent to the scene, caught on fire trying to put out the fire in the truck trailer loaded with chemicals)...not a good day that day.

I, too, am 61 and have been unemployed for 6 weeks. I can't live on $275.00 less income tax, a week from unemployment. I have been in the H VAC and commercial kitchen equipment repair business for the last 30+ years and have had relatively good luck at keeping a job. However, now that I am older, the employers want young guys that are more "fit" for the job and I am having problems keeping up with the young guys. My last job lasted 2 1/2 years when the boss paid a visit to town and terminated me without much more than telling me "...you didn't meet our expectations..." (I don't really know that those were to begin with...) and asked for the phone, keys, and good bye! I have gotten a few interviews since, either over the phone or in person, then they find out my age without asking directly by asking what year did you graduate high school or what year did you do whatever...then they do the math. Age discrimination...maybe?

So I have been looking into a career change and trucking seems to be the answer for me. I paid a visit to the Roadmaster Truck Driving School in Tampa, FL. Of course the recruiter paints the roads with gold. That is why I am here... To try to get some realb> truth on some issues. Any comments good or bad would be appreciated about them. I have read in this forum some of the trials and tribulations of every day life on the road...some are horror stories and scary, and some are OMG's,, some are stupid dumb ass things, but for the most part they seem not too bad. 1. After paying $4500.00+ for the school (price if I pay out of my pocket or get a loan from a bank...if they finance the game, it goes up $2000.00), what are my chances of getting employed in a "real" truck driving job. I don't want to spent a s--- pot full of money and be left holding the bag with a CDL and no job. 2. When you are out on the road, do any of the companies have a food "allowance" for meals or is that your responsibility? 3. How do you handle stupid things like laundry, showering, personal hygiene, etc.? 4. Are you "allowed" to stay in a motel and if so, am I responsible for the tab? 5. If you get into trouble (flat tire, break down, etc.) who do you call? 6. How is fuel purchased...fleet card, company credit card, etc.? 7. We all have doctor/dentist appointments back home, that being said, how can you schedule them when some of them may be 2 or 3 months in advance. You don't know where you are going to be in 2 or 3 months and you don't tell the doctor's office when you are going to come in at a moments notice. 8. When you are off and at home, how are and how many "off" days determined? 9. Are uniforms provided and if so how are they cared for (laundry, cleaning, etc.). 10. What if there is an emergency at home (death, sickness, house burns down...) and you are on the road somewhere? 11. What if you get sick (for real-not one of those days you get in one of those "...I don't want to go to work today...", moods and call in "sick") on the road. 12. Do the trucks have a fridge in them or any other "conveniences"? I would rather eat better in the truck where I control the junk that goes into food rather than what goes into restaurant fare...I know what goes on behind the kitchen door. I realize ALL these questions don't have definite answers, but any info would be helpful before I decide to jump off the cliff in the trucking world.

I, too, am 61 and have been unemployed for 6 weeks. I can't live on $275.00 less income tax, a week from unemployment. I have been in the HVAC and commercial kitchen equipment repair business for the last 30+ years and have had relatively good luck at keeping a job. However, now that I am older, the employers want young guys that are more "fit" for the job and I am having problems keeping up with the young guys. My last job lasted 2 1/2 years when the boss paid a visit to town and terminated me without much more than telling me "...you didn't meet our expectations..." (I don't really know that those were to begin with...) and asked for the phone, keys, and good bye! I have gotten a few interviews since, either over the phone or in person, then they find out my age without asking directly by asking what year did you graduate high school or what year did you do whatever...then they do the math. Age discrimination...maybe?

So I have been looking into a career change and trucking seems to be the answer for me. I paid a visit to the Roadmaster Truck Driving School in Tampa, FL. Of course the recruiter paints the roads with gold. That is why I am here... To try to get some real truth on some issues. Any comments good or bad would be appreciated about them.

1. After paying $4500.00+ for the school (if I pay out of my pocket or get a loan from a bank...if they finance the game, it goes up $2000.00), what are my chances of getting employed in a "real" truck driving job. I don't want to spent a s--- pot full of money and be left holding the bag with a CDL and no job. 2. When you are out on the road, do any of the companies have a food "allowance" for meals or is that you responsibility? 3. How do you handle stupid things like laundry, showering, personal hygiene, etc.? 4. Are you "allowed" to stay in a motel and if so, are YOU responsible for the tab? 5. If you get into trouble (flat tire, break down, etc.) who do you call? 6. How is fuel purchased...fleet card, company credit card, etc.? 7. We all have doctor/dentist appointments back home, that being said, how can you schedule them when some of them are 2 or 3 months in advance. You don't know where you are going to be in 2 or 3 months and you don't tell the doctor's office when you are going to come in at a moments notice. 8. When you are off and at home, how are and how many "off days" determined? 9. Are uniforms provided and if so how are they cared for (laundry, cleaning, etc.). 10. What if there is an emergency at home (death, sickness, house burns down...) and you are on the road somewhere? 11. What if you get sick (for real) on the road?

I realize ALL these questions don't have definite answers, but any info would be helpful before I decide jump off the cliff in the trucking world.