WERNER OR SCHNEIDER
Topic 4179 | Page 1
Dale, no one can answer that for you. Your situation is different than mine or anyone else's. You need to make your choice based on what you desire in your company. These are two different companies with different advantages/disadvantages. They are both fantastic companies and both would be a great choice.
Take a look at these links to help you understand how you should go about choosing that first company.
How To Choose A CompanyUnderstanding Pre-Hires
Pre-hire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
Pre-hires:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
WHICH ONE IS BETTER FOR CDL GRADS?
I would go with Schneider over Werner if you've narrowed it down to those 2. That's were I did my school and training. Back then, in 2005, they had there own school. They were a really good company ,back then, with plenty of freight which means plenty of miles. I can't imagine much has changed, they are the largest carrier in the nation now, if I'm not mistaken. They also had very well trained ,safe, and experienced drivers to do your over the road training when you start with them.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Over The Road:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Dale, you'll want to look over the links Daniel mentioned. They'll help a ton. Basically you'll want to figure out what you're looking for in home time, types of freight, types of equipment, pay & benefits, and potential opportunities in the future like dedicated fleets or other types of freight. Once you narrow down your choices, apply to any companies you're interested in and get a dialogue going with the recruiters. Find out if they'll be willing to hire you and then go with the company you feel suits you best.
Keep in mind, this is not a critical decision. Everyone always thinks it is, but finding the right truck driving job isn't that important early in your career for several reasons.
For one, you don't have any experience yet in trucking so you don't really know what you want. You know what you think you'll want, but once you get out there you'll understand it differently. And because it takes time to learn the ropes and adjust to the lifestyle, you're not going to be running the type of miles the veterans are running for a while anyhow. So that first year is mostly a learning experience. Once you get some experience you'll be able to make much better choices about what company will suit you best.
Another reason you don't have to worry about it too much is because it's so easy to change companies. Once you get 6-12 months of safe over-the-road experience under your belt you can work at almost any company in the nation. So if you decide you want to move on after a year with your first company, you'll have a huge choice of trucking companies you can go to anytime.
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WHICH ONE IS BETTER FOR CDL GRADS, Schneider National or Werner Enterprises?
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles: