Looking For Company-sponsored Training

I don't know if it really applies here, but there is a driver by the name of BigRigSteve that posts videos of his travels on YouTube under BigRigTravels. He drives for Central and seems quite content. I have found his dash cam videos very relaxing. Watching those videos is really stoking me to drive.

Not trying to be a recruiter but Central gives you the option of team or solo.

yeah, but what they will do is put enormous pressure on you to lease. And if you dont like the idea of leasing well they will put you into team driving. If you complain too much they cut you loose altogether and find someone else.

with margins so small and competition being what it is in trucking, there is no company out there that is going to do anyone any favors- take it or leave it thats basically how it is. Recruiters, dispatchers everyone in every company has been told the same thing and that is put your emotions aside and do it this way or maybe one day nobody here will have a job.

OK where is the proof of what you just said? Honestly you sound like you are giving quotes directly from those 'other forums'. I have been driving for 15 years and I know Brett has driven that long and there are a few others around with experience. So with 75 years or more worth of experience I do believe we know a little of what we are talking about but almost every single one of your post has said exactly the opposite of what we said.

So I would really REALLY would like to know how long you have been on the road and why you have driven for every company under the sun ....cause you seem to have something negative to say just about every company name that has been mentioned.

Ok, Jhon has been deleted from our site. I deleted one of his comments in this thread where he rambled for a while and then said, "Ok, you guys believe what you want"...as if the moderators here haven't driven for 15+ years and we don't know what we're talking about

So now we can continue with our regularly scheduled helpful conversations.

My biggest (honest to god) fear is being 'stuck' team driving for a long length of time

Ya know what? Just approach it like you're entering the military. Endure whatever you have to in order to get your career off to a great start. Once you're established you're all set. If you have to team a few months, so be it. It's not the end of the world. Like in any industry, you have to pay your dues in trucking that rookie year. But once you've earned your stripes, you'll be much better off.

I'm not sure if you read it or not but I wrote an article the other day: 2 Mental Mistakes That Cost Drivers Their Sanity…And Maybe More. It basically talks about the idea of keeping things positive in your mind and not letting the negatives build up. This is a good example of the type of thing you can do that with. Most people don't like team driving, but don't let that ruin your experience or change your approach to getting your career underway. That little bit of team driving in the beginning is not that big of a deal. Most things aren't a big deal. Just roll with things, especially those first 6-12 months of your career. Then you'll be calling the shots and you can take your career in any direction you like.

Thanks for wiping the mess from this thread. Apparently what we're talking about was some attractive troll food. But nonetheless, thanks :D

Now, my wife and I have repeatedly discussed the fact that we're going to have to "do what we've gotta do" in order to secure a future in this industry. Here's where our thoughts are:

Starting out, even with one of the "worst" companies that sound like they'll have you totally away from home 100% of the time for up to 6 months starting out is intimidating. Our marriage is already strained by the financial situation that we're in and I know that it's going to take a good chunk of time to get the wheels turning on this rusty old situation so we can get the hell out of dodge and start making a life for ourselves. That said, a marriage that's strained is never helped by the couple being apart for such a long period of time. The way we are understanding everything is this: I'd go away for training for X amount of time. There's no clarification as to whether any company will try to get you home after training. It basically sounds like I leave for training then I hit the road with a team driver (my trainer) and I'd be gone on the road for anywhere from 3 to 6 months (the way CR England sounds, anyways). So, being gone for this duration of time would not exactly be helpful to a marriage that needs to be kept together. (note: our marriage isn't strained because we're getting ****ed at each other, it's because of finances, this crap apartment, crap vehicles, etc).

Now, I can handle being gone for a couple weeks at a time but I need to get home to keep this thing together until I can pull us out of this hole we're in. Once I get to be a solo driver and am allowed to bring a rider, I'll be much more content being able to bring my wife whenever she agrees to come. This would assuage most of the stress that would come from being apart for so long.

I can accept the fact that I will be team driving for the first few weeks to few months of my career with a company - this is important in order to learn the actual ropes - the stuff that they can't teach you in a classroom. I just have to cross my fingers that my trainer will be a good one, even if I'm with one who carries a relatively pungent odor lol.

Jerry I believe you are misunderstanding.

Generally every major carrier does 1 day off for every week you drive. You're eligible for hometime at 3-4 weeks (at Central it's 3 weeks). *After your training you will be sent home.* There are no exceptions unless you choose not to go home.

You will be split up with your wife for 4-5 weeks while with a trainer and then upon graduating you'll be sent for hometime. Since you two are going to start at the exact same time I don't doubt it that you two might be upgrading at almost the exact date, give or take a few days. If that's the case I'm sure that they can arrange for you both to upgrade and get a truck to share then go home together.

And to be honest bro. Me and my wife had the exact same problems as you are having minus the crap vehicles. We fought a lot. Me being gone actually helped us out because it gave us time away from each other and gave us time to think about what we did wrong and could have done better. The separation actually helped us and possibly saved our marriage.

Daniel, I don't think his wife is going to drive. Sounds like just Jerry is going to drive.

Although you'll hear stories from time to time of drivers being gone the first 3-4 months of their training, that's not the norm. You may be gone a solid 1-2 months in the beginning, but you'll get home after that.

Now some of the company-sponsored programs have options for getting home more often. The refrigerated companies tend to keep you out the longest once you go solo, but how long you'll be gone during your initial training will vary from company to company and can even vary a lot within a company based on where your trainer lives. If your trainer lives fairly close to you, you'll get home when he does which is usually every 2-3 weeks.

But there's no way you're going to be gone 6 months. I can't imagine how that could ever happen. Nobody at any level in the trucking industry would find that acceptable. I would plan on a worst-case scenario of 3 months, but it's far more likely going to be 1-2 months during training.