Schneider National New Driver Experience

Hello everybody I just talked to a recruiter and signed the papers for Schneider’s cdl training program at 160 driving academy here in Columbus Ohio. I asked the recruiter a ton of questions but being an Army vet I know that they will tell u what they think u want to hear so today I went out in search of some Schneider drivers to get their opinions on what should I expect my first year as far as some of the regional and dedicated accounts in and around the Ohio area etc etc but haven’t ran into any yet probably because there is a terminal about 30 mins away but I wanna catch them away from the terminal so they don’t get the wrong ideal or feel like they need to go through the company spiel because we’re at the terminal. Any info would be great and appreciated.

You will likely get honest feedback at that Obetz Operating Center. It’s not set up like all the others. Mostly, you’d see drivers who are just passing through.

I started with Schneider and drove two years for them OTR. Great company and I enjoyed the experience. Occasionally I ran Walmart dedicated out of Washington Courthouse (I think that’s the name) and it was pretty easy. No touch freight. But it always (for me) went to stores in WVA. Talk about tricky switch back roads. Whew!

Schneider maintenance kept my trucks in good shape. Only a couple of times did I have to be out of the truck overnight and they didn’t even delay. “We’ll get you a hotel room” was what they said.

I was amazed at the (seemingly) large population of Mennonites and their buggies, in Ohio.

I believe Schneider does a good job of taking care of their drivers.

I hope this helps.

Hey Chalmer, all rookies put all their focus in on what the company is really like. It's no wonder either, because usually they've read a bunch of trash talk on the internet about trucking companies. Relax, success in trucking has absolutely everything to do with you. That's the problem - few people realize that, and when they start struggling they blame the company. Consequently, ALL the major trucking companies have an unbelievably high turnover rate, but it's because this job requires some very special people to enjoy success at it.

So, the first and foremost thing is to focus on whether you can fill those shoes of the American truck driver. If you can, you'll be an asset to the economy and living large at the same time. If you can't, and many fall in this category, you'll be posting a bunch of negative trash talk on the internet about how bad the trucking companies are. Check out the this article on Four Traps That New Drivers Fall Into. Hopefully it will help you have a better understanding of how to make a good start at this.

If you'll hang around in here and join in our conversations, you'll learn a great deal from people who went through all the common struggles of surviving and succeeding at this rewarding career. Also, I highly recommend you look into the following links.

• Truck Driver's Career Guide
• Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
• High Road CDL Training Program
• CDL Practice Tests