Starting AIT In Two Weeks And I Have A Pre-hire With Werner

Good Afternoon Everyone.

Here is a little background on me to assist with the questions I have listed below. I am 38 years old. I have been working in an office for the past 10 years, married for 16 years, and have a wonderful wife / 10 year old son. One of my biggest desires since I was around 22 years old was to be a truck driver and travel the country. I am ready to make the new career change and pursue my passion, but I have a few concerns and want to make sure it is the right choice for my family. The largest concern I have is finding a company to make sure I have guaranteed Family Home time to spend with my wife and son. I would like to be on a 10-14 day OTR schedule with 3-4 days home between driving.

I am scheduled to start AIT Truck Driving School in two weeks and received a pre-hire letter with Werner once training at AIT is complete. I know some schools and companies tell you what you want to hear, then change what they advised once you have committed, so I want to hear the truth from drivers. I have a few questions for drivers that have worked for Werner recently or are still working with Werner.

*** All feedback is greatly appreciated, as I am getting ready to make a huge commitment and career change. ***

Question One: How often does Werner actually provide home time for their drivers and is the home time guaranteed?

Questions Two: Does Werner care about their drivers or are they just a number?

Question Three: How does the pay work? Do they pay you once a month for the miles driven or every 10-14 days?

Question Four: What is the condition of their trucks and equipment?

Questions Five: Does dispatch work hard to have loads waiting for you or is there a lot of downtime?

Good Afternoon Everyone.

Here is a little background on me to assist with the questions I have listed below. I am 38 years old. I have been working in an office for the past 10 years, married for 16 years, and have a wonderful wife / 10 year old son. One of my biggest desires since I was around 22 years old was to be a truck driver and travel the country. I am ready to make the new career change and pursue my passion, but I have a few concerns and want to make sure it is the right choice for my family. The largest concern I have is finding a company to make sure I have guaranteed Family Home time to spend with my wife and son. I would like to be on a 10-14 day OTR schedule with 3-4 days home between driving.

I am scheduled to start AIT Truck Driving School in two weeks and received a pre-hire letter with Werner once training at AIT is complete. I know some schools and companies tell you what you want to hear, then change what they advised once you have committed, so I want to hear the truth from drivers. I have a few questions for drivers that have worked for Werner recently or are still working with Werner.

*** All feedback is greatly appreciated, as I am getting ready to make a huge commitment and career change. ***

Question One: How often does Werner actually provide home time for their drivers and is the home time guaranteed?

Questions Two: Does Werner care about their drivers or are they just a number?

Question Three: How does the pay work? Do they pay you once a month for the miles driven or every 10-14 days?

Question Four: What is the condition of their trucks and equipment?

Questions Five: Does dispatch work hard to have loads waiting for you or is there a lot of downtime?

I currently work for Werner, so here goes.

1) home time can vary depending in your account, but general rule is 1 day of home time for every week you are out. It's not guaranteed, but they make every effort to get you home when you request it. So far I haven't had any problems and I live in Florida which is the hardest state for them to get you home to.

2) it has been my experience that they care about their drivers. At the same time, there are others who drive for the company who will tell you otherwise. A large part of it is your attitude and work ethic. If you care about your job, they'll care about you.

3) they pay weekly. My pay info is available every Thursday and it is in my account every Friday morning.

4) their equipment tends to be fairly well maintained. They usually get rid of their trucks at around 500k miles. Most of their trucks are 2 years old or newer. Anytime you find a problem on your truck and report it, they make arrangements to get it repaired.

5) as far as how dispatch works, it varies from fleet manager to fleet manager, but generally if you run hard and don't complain, they will look out for you. Occasionally, you may find yourself in an area where freight is light and it might take a couple hours for them to find you a load, but in general they will keep you running if you show them you are a good hard worker.