Solo Vs. Team During Training

Hey, Errol. Indeed, as I've read from other veteran moderators that FL is not the easiest location from which to hire from I do keep positive that I will land something upon graduation from CDL school. Although not guaranteed, the instructors from the community college I will be attending assure us that recruiters will visit us as we near completion of the program. Being that I do not plan on requesting much home time (maybe twice in my first year, possibly less) along with having excellent credit I hope companies will consider me a likely candidate. Currently, I am checking ALL companies included within TT Company Reviews who: a) have terminals in FL b) hire out of FL c) operating area includes FL d) hire w/ no experience

RE: SOLO vs TEAM training Does the trainee receive any cpm or ONLY the flat weekly training pay?

And after training with your mentor you're tested on your techniques and you can go solo (no body there but you). Thats when the fun begins.

Nancy points out:

And after training with your mentor you're tested on your techniques and you can go solo (no body there but you). Thats when the fun begins.

Yeah! I still remember my first drop/ hook pickup. Backing my empty into the right place. Then hooked up to my loaded one. Staring at my first loaded trailer, I thought, "OK, now what?"

FL Phil continues:

RE: SOLO vs TEAM training Does the trainee receive any cpm or ONLY the flat weekly training pay?

That depends on your company system. At Swift, trainees are paid by the hour: On Duty Driving and On Duty Not Driving time. The miles, all of them, go to the trainer. The Driving time is what gets you out of training when you hit 400 miles.

Training at Werner goes as follows. Keep in mind you must get your cdl from a private school first.

When you first get on your trainer's truck, the trainer is requires to observe you driving for 30 hours in the first 5 days and you must observe your trainer for 10 in that time. Then your trainer must complete another 27 hours of observation on you in the next 9 days. After that, as long as the trainer feels you are ready for it, you switch to operating as a team for the remainder of your training.

The team part of the training gives you the opportunity to drive without someone constantly looking over your shoulder, but gives you someone to truly on if you have questions or problems.

While you are in training you get a flat weekly pay and your trainer gets paid all the miles the truck runs.

Werner is one of the major companies that hours out of Florida, but I can tell you from personal experience that it is often difficult getting freight into Florida for home time and even more so getting freight coming back out.

Hey Florida Phil, unless I just missed it, there's one thing about teaming during training that I haven't noticed in this discussion. Many have told you about how you will start out as a solo driver with your trainer observing you, and that seems to be the way you are wanting your whole training time to be. For me the most beneficial time of my training was when we were driving as a team. Here's why...

Once you start operating as a team you will be able to get some small idea of what it is like to be on your own out here - that is a very important step or part of the process. We often speak of training for this career like riding a bicycle with training wheels on it. There's a point in time when learning to ride a bike that your parent (or whoever happens to be teaching you) decides you are ready to do it without the training wheels. So, they remove them and let you try it, but they are usually right there running right along beside you to assist you just in case you start to fall. Once you've done it that way a few times then you are ready to get out there on your own. You're still expected to skin your knees a time or two, but there is nothing like a nice big old strawberry on your knee to help you develop the will do it on your own.

When I was teaming with my trainer it was made clear to me that he wanted me to wake him up if I had concerns about anything - even a little thing. You mentioned that you didn't want to go tumbling down the side of a mountain with your trainer asleep in his bunk. That won't happen if you were about to go down a steep snow covered mountain pass and you just scream at the top of your lungs, "Hey I need some help on this." I think you are making something out of this that shouldn't be a huge concern. The other part of this is that my trainer always knew what route I would be on, and if there were some place along the way that he thought I might need some help with he would tell me ahead of time something like this: "Hey, there's a rest area at mile marker such and such just before you get to Sandstone Mountain. Pull in there and wake me up and I will help you navigate that section of road." I had a terrible trainer, but even he didn't want to have me send him over a mountain cliff!

Here's something for you to consider. I often tell people that they will not be feeling like they are ready for this when your trainer decides to take you back to the terminal to get your own truck issued to you. This job is demanding, especially for the rookies. There is something about the fact that there is no longer somebody right there with you in the truck that makes you step up to the plate and make it happen. It's not easy making a start in this career, but it is rewarding. It takes a lot of confidence, and a lot of determination. Those are things that a trainer cannot give you, those things have got to come from within. Your trainer can give you support and instruction, and can help you hone your skills, but the drive and the will to succeed has got to come from somewhere inside yourself.

I wish you the best, but I think you will greatly benefit from some time as running as a team with your trainer.

Hey, Errol. Thanks for info regarding the cpm.

Hello m.o.m (miracle of magick), Thanks for your input. I'm putting WERNER on my list of prospective employers now. Question: when your turn TEAM on the road, yet your still technically training, all cpm continues to go to the trainer? In other words (at WERNER), cpm starts when you go fully SOLO, once the trainer signs off?

Hey, Errol. Thanks for info regarding the cpm.

Hello m.o.m (miracle of magick), Thanks for your input. I'm putting WERNER on my list of prospective employers now. Question: when your turn TEAM on the road, yet your still technically training, all cpm continues to go to the trainer? In other words (at WERNER), cpm starts when you go fully SOLO, once the trainer signs off?

While you are on with the trainer you are still on a flat rate, that is correct. Your cpm does not start until you are done training. If you work hard you can finish your total training time in about 4-5 weeks. The teaming part really asked you to get it done fast.

Werner states that you are supposed to do 275 hours of training but at the student departments discretion that time can be shortened. Most of my students get done around 230-240 hours.

Remember guys, that's one day at a time. Geez, im starting to hyperventilate.

The moment I hit 400 hours my pay went to CPM. No ceremony, hand shake or party poppers. So to finish up my my trip and get back to the terminal , I got paid mileage. This is at Swift.