Newbie Needing Non-Bias Opinions

Hi everyone, I'm Andria, I just joined. I am wanting to take the leap into a brand new career path, trucking at the age of 47. I have been in Healthcare 20 plus years and totally burned out. I applied to Tennessee Truck Driving School and they want me to go with Steven's Transport. I have heard good and bad things, mostly bad, but I know reviews can be slanted based on the circumstances. I am looking for unbiased opinions on both the school and Steven's. I cannot afford to pay for school myself right now, and it's going to be hard to make it those 5 weeks without a paycheck so I want to make sure this school and the company are worth it. Or, if I should get my permit and go with a paid training program with another trucking company. I'm sorry for the lengthy post, but I am highly appreciative of any and all advice and opinions given. Thank you in advance.

All I know of Steven's Transport, is my trainer from India @ CRST in 2019 had went thru them starting out. He drove for them 4 or 5 years, only left when he wanted to go into Lease Op. He told me how well he liked Steven's, and their training program was more on the stricter side. He was training me from what he learned there too

Thank you for your response. I have been thinking maybe the complaints are due to the company having strict guidelines and policies. I appreciate your input.

All I know of Steven's Transport, is my trainer from India @ CRST in 2019 had went thru them starting out. He drove for them 4 or 5 years, only left when he wanted to go into Lease Op. He told me how well he liked Steven's, and their training program was more on the stricter side. He was training me from what he learned there too

I have friends who workes there for years. They were trainers there also. They left for local reasons.

They try to.push leasing though. Don't do lease. But a lot.of companies try to push it.

Howdy!

In this economy you want to go thru company sponsored training. As long as you pass, you have a job. The time you have to give them for your training is nothing in the big scheme of things. As for companies having bad ratings, it's known in the trucking world as those that failed have to talk bad because they can't accept responsibility for their failures. It has nothing to do with Stevens being strict or not. Swift is strict, as is others. It doesn't matter what the name is on the truck, it's what you do to learn and make yourself a top tier trainee and ultimately driver. Below is some reading material:

• Trucker's Career Guide: Choosing A Truck Driving School
• Article Category: Choosing A Truck Driving School
• Forum Topics Tagged "Choosing A Truck Driving School"

• Truck Driver's Career Guide
• Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
• High Road CDL Training Program
• CDL Practice Tests

Laura

My wife got her start there several years ago. They sent her to CO for school. She got great training at the school. They told her it took 12 months to repay the cost however it was actually 24 months.

They pushed leasing really hard. Those who declined got pressured pretty hard. She did alot of picking up loads then they would repower the load to a lease operator. Same in reverse with deliveries. Because of that practice she struggled to make decent money. Their solution was always the same, go lease.

While she was there they shutdown their tanker division and that caused alot of issues. Alot of those drivers were let go instead of filling open positions by transfering divisions.

They were very strict with their policies and would constantly question why she was parked with hours on her clock. Each time she was waiting for her appt. time. She would tell her DM this and they would tell her they were required to ask, even though they knew the answer.

I ended up hiring her and I bought her remaing contract out. They were very confussed how to do that. I actually had a HR person tell me she had never experienced someone leaving the proper way and it took her 3 business days to figure it out. She said everyone she has dealt with left without notice and they just sent the paperwork to collections.

These were her experiences, which I can tell you first hand. Others experiences may vary. I know the owners had more than a few legal battles years ago stemming from non payment of taxes. Personally I would recommend someone stay away from them.

Thanks everyone for the valuable information. And thanks, Laura for the links.

It seems like taking personal responsibility has become nonexistent. Much easier to shift blame and trash a company online.

I worry if I have the skills to do this, but I'm not going to let fear hold me back anymore. Listening, learning, and applying the material is my responsibility, not the trainers.

Andria observes:

It seems like taking personal responsibility has become nonexistent. Much easier to shift blame and trash a company online.

Yes! YES! The complaints about any company get posted because people who do not understand the system want to "cry to mommy". The successful drivers are happy with their job and mostly are too busy to post.

And furthermore:

I worry if I have the skills to do this, but I'm not going to let fear hold me back anymore.

Yes you can build those skills,. That's why you go to CDL school. The basic "skill" you need to develop is to watch and understand the trailer & those tandems (trailer wheels) and know exactly where they are going, both forward and backwards. I'm a CDL instructor and I have watched many students go from "zero" to passing in four weeks.

My advice: work through the frustration. Keep your eyes on the prize There are over three million truck drivers driving on the road today ("today" as in May 28, 2024). You can be one of those.

I worry if I have the skills to do this, but I'm not going to let fear hold me back anymore.

You worked in healthcare for over 20 years - you've already got so much experience - dealing with frustrations, keeping your cool while handling challenges, problem solving, interpersonal skills, doing what needs to be done . . . those things will serve you well in trucking. Learning to drive the truck is a matter of practice, it's that "other stuff" that trips up some folks; you have a big advantage going for you.