New Guy Here, Which Carrier Is Best

New guy, 54, and just recently finished drive school with a new class A and ready to start training. It's been 18 years ago I drove with a class B but I'd like something more with my class A. I've put apps all over and have had 3 offers. One for western express, 1 with swift and the other with Schneider. Anyone have input on which way to go. They all want me to start next week and I'm at a cross roads at which company takes the best care of their drivers.

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• Trucker's Career Guide: Choosing Your First Truck Driving Job
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Every driver here will say their own company hahhaha.

Me personally... i would go with Seift out of those. No disrespect meant to the others... but Schneider's training is kinda short... they don't allow 8/2 splits and they have a strict no phone use policy. I love splits and talk constantly. So that leaves me out.

Having not driven for any of the 3 I'd take Swift and then Schneider. Western Express is a last resort company imo ( I know some people here will not like hearing that). Swift generally seems to have the best equipment of the 3.

I've never worked for them either, I did work for Knight which has many commonalities with Swift. I'd recommend based on that. No matter which company you go with, how you do will depend on how you choose to work. The safe, productive driver that's easy to work with will succeed first and foremost.

The only plus side with Schneider is youre only out with a trainer for 5 days. 2 or 3 weeks at the academy for classroom and training. I learned 10x more with my 3 million miler instructor at Green Bay than the 5 days with the useless slob training engineer. And thank God it was for only 5 days.

I choose them because of that. Other than that I would base the decision off of which dedicated or otr account they have that fits your needs the best.

Another vote for Swift. I too have never driven for any of the 3, but I almost never hear complaints about Swift, here or elsewhere.

You can succeed or fail with any company. That being said, I drove for Schneider and it was not a good experience. Western Express has a reputation equipment issues that a new driver doesn’t need to deal with. So, another vote for Swift from me.

PS to Larry T: Did you get Mark Lott as an instructor in Green Bay? Great driver and teacher.

I too have never driven for any of them. I would say swift just due to size and they are sustaining readonably well in this market.

Western Express is generally known industry wide as a last chance company with lower than average pay. No thank you.

Schneider seems to have very strict policies, why? Answer: They hire folks they probably shouldn’t and are trying their best to safe them from themselves. Again No thank you.

I had Brian Sabian. Not sure on his last name. It probably was more enjoyable with me being from Minnesota and being there during the preseason. I sent Brian a Minnesota Viking tumbler via Amazon to the Academy end of second week. Fun times.

He was obsessed with right hand turns/buttonhooks. I honestly dont think there is anything better to teach a new driver than pounding them with tight right hand turns.

You can succeed or fail with any company. That being said, I drove for Schneider and it was not a good experience. Western Express has a reputation equipment issues that a new driver doesn’t need to deal with. So, another vote for Swift from me.

PS to Larry T: Did you get Mark Lott as an instructor in Green Bay? Great driver and teacher.

As a new driver for Schneider, I wanted to add my two cents since it was mentioned a few times. I would not be quick to pass on an opportunity with Schneider. They have been nothing but great to me so far. Yes, the training is rather short. 3 weeks total, 2 at the academy and 1 week out with a trainer. To be honest, I couldn’t have handled anymore than 1 week with a trainer OTR. It got to be a bit much by the 6th day. I came into it with CDL experience so I took to everything very quickly and I’m naturally just a fast learner at things I have a passion for. I came into this industry because I wanted to, not because I felt like I needed to and Schneider has provided me a great opportunity and laid the groundwork to get my first year in. I personally would put Schneider well above Swift. There’s plenty online and talk at truck stops about Swift and the kind of reputation they have. I’m not here to bash any company though so I’ll leave it at that.

You will learn WAY more in your first week solo than you will in those 3 weeks of training. Nothing beats true on the job experience and with no one hand holding you along, you have to figure it all out on your own. I’m a better driver today than I was 7 days ago and 7 days before that.

I really am having a great time with Schneider. And the work is constant. There’s always been another load for me lined up before I drop my current one. As long as you want to, they’ll keep you moving. I was also assigned a brand new 2025 Freightliner Cascadia, so that helps, too. Fresh out of training into a brand new tractor isn’t usually the case so I’m very grateful. It still smells like a new car in here! But the equipment here is well maintained and there’s tons of resources for you to use. Your DTLs (driver team leader, basically your “boss”) are your main point of contact and I couldn’t say enough positive things about mine.

Bottom line, I’m very happy with Schneider. Yes, I’m not making big bucks but that’s okay right now. I’m gaining my initial experience right now. I’m making decent money for my means of living right now. After I get my first year in here, I can start looking at other opportunities. Or, I don’t have to. Some people go to a company with the intention of it only being 1 year and end up staying for 20 years. It all just depends. Everyone is gonna feel differently based on their personal experience and I may even get some people who read this and think I’m crazy but if Schneider gets back to you with an offer, don’t pass it up. I’m glad I didn’t.