Training Time

Just have a question. Is it common to get a job right out of driving school. Only train for two weeks (during which time actually driving around 3000 plus miles, actually more miles than your trainer) Then to be sent out on your first solo trip to drive where you've never driven around 1200 plus miles?

Sounds like your company really needs drivers on the road! All the steps are there - School to job, Training, then solo. But the time/miles seem a bit tight.

As for the "never driven" part, that's what it is. You use GPS & directions to find your address (shipping or receiving), look carefully for the truck entrance (hoping you don't turn into the office parking lot!), then find the shipping office. Not to worry, we all end up "there". (And the shipper knows it - there's usually signs directing you to the right place.)

Are you driving regional or more like 48 states OTR?

Regional. I'm not a driver but my husband is. It just seemed to me that the training time etc was kinda ridiculous. I was wondering if this is a common way of doing business.

So just how long do most companies hiring students straight out of school usually train. And how long before they send them out solo for a couple of thousand miles?

Don't know about anyone else but personally speaking. ..wow , red flag. My schooling was 4 weeks and then sighned on with my company, three days orientation, then assigned a trainer for 8 wks. Started out light, about 300 miles a day worked up to full 11 hrs driving, By week 7 we were running like team, trainer was light sleeper so if i ran into a problem he was right there, but he wouldn't tell me how to fix it, he would more like talk to me and let me figure it out. My training was during feb, march, and we ran Wisconsin to Pennsylvania, Florida to Texas.

So just how long do most companies hiring students straight out of school usually train. And how long before they send them out solo for a couple of thousand miles?

It varies wildly from company to company. I believe Schneider National only has a two week training period. At least they did last I had heard. But Prime Inc has like a three month training schedule.

When I first started trucking I only went out with a trainer for two weeks and was sent solo after that. I was fine with it. He normally kept students a little longer but he cut me loose a little early because I caught on pretty quickly. It really is one of those "learn by doing" kind of jobs. There are an endless number of scenarios you'll face day in and day out and there's just no way to train someone for everything. Once they know the basics of shifting, backing, driving, navigating, and managing life on the road there isn't much left to do except get out there and get some experience at it.

Trust me, he could stay with a trainer for a year and the first week he goes solo he'll run into 10 situations he had never even considered before. That's just the nature of life on the road. Everything always changes. As long as he takes his time and focuses on being safe things will turn out just fine.