Just my opinion but I would think trucking companies are like any other company. I doubt anyone will care if you stay or go, you are just an employee like the rest of us. I'm sure you did your research on Celadon and picked them for a reason, if that reason is stronger than the incentives Schneider is giving you then stay with Celadon... if not... then go with Schneider, or any other company willing to give you a better offer.
Just make sure you get Schneider's deal in writing. And don't worry about hurting Celadon's feelings. They most likely lose dozens of drivers weekly. They were trying to hire a driver when they hired you, and they are still hiring. You didn't fill their last empty truck to be sure. Do what will be the best deal for you, not them.
Just my opinion, but I think you have to decide which company fits you better. The money is important but you could be making good money and be miserable because the company doesn't fit your lifestyle needs. For example I looked at several companies and Averitt for example pays the highest Training pay than I have seen and start you out really good. But I chose to go with H O Wolding because I felt they fit my desired lifestyle as a truck driver. Their pay was a little less but after my research and talking to a great lady in the office there I felt like this was a perfect fit for me notice I didn't say they were a perfect company they were just a perfect fit for me I believe I can be happy working for them. Remember you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. Personally I wouldn't just go to another company solely based on money, but that's just me. Remember as I have heard it stated on here so many times get your CDL and stick with a company for a year then you will many opportunities before you just try to pick a company that fits you best.
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
The only concern I have is putting yourself in a position where you leave Celadon after the training but before you can get any experience at Schneider (or whatever company) you get sent home without a job. Now you have training from Celadon, but no OTR experience. I don't know how many companies will accept you with another company's training but no experience. Probably very few. Which means you'd have to start over from scratch and go through training somewhere all over again.
Listen, every major trucking company in America puts a mountain of money into their marketing and they know how to make the grass seem greener on their side. Case in point, the average turnover in trucking is over 100%. So obviously there is no shortage of drivers leaving their company for another.
Over the years I've found most companies are very similar. In fact, over the years it would be hard for me to rank which companies I liked better than others. They were all fine, none were perfect, and none were terrible. You may find there's an advantage or two going to Schneider, but within 10 minutes of arriving you're going to read an advertisement from 5 others companies that all sound better than Schneider.
Personally I say stick it out, at least for a while. Get some OTR experience there and see what you think. Even 6 months experience is a good start and probably enough to land you jobs elsewhere without worrying about having to go through training all over again. And in that 6 months you might find plenty of reasons to be thankful for being at Celadon.
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.
Poaching! That is a good way to describe it. And what do they do to Poachers?
Get your training and experience with the company that has trained you and hired you to start. Give back to them what they have given to you, A CHANCE!
The grass is not greener on the other side! Some one will "TELL" you it is all the time, but when you get over there you will find out that it probably needs to be cut.
Good Luck!
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Ok I don't know what to call this but a situation has come up that I need advice on. I'm in school with celadon, we currently test over at Schneider. They are offering drivers a sign on bonus along with paying off their schooling cost and start at a higher rate of pay and don't require team driving. I would like to be loyal to the company that trained me and gave me a shot but lets face it, its tempting to consider it. What is the unwritten rules on this? does it happen often? I'm not an employee of celadon yet just a student, I wanted to work for Celdaon because it does seem like a great company and they are growing every week.
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated