Question:
I am about to join this great industry but would like some advice on carrier training courses. I have read so much 'negative' on the web about the major carriers (Prime, CR England, JB Hunt etc.) I'm wondering whether this is the route to go? Has anyone any recent experience? Hopefully some positive

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Prime and Cre (England) are pretty much the bottom of the barrel. Anything else is a step up from there.
I will always be a mutter trucker at heart.
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Prime (Please Remember I Morgaged Everything)
CRE (Can't Remember Everything) (Mainly your paycheck)
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away

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Thanx for your feedback, I think I'm getting the picture I even contacted CR England about the comments previous employees had about their company and they said "we aren't aware of any negative feedback"
I gave them the web addresses of the sites I've found and was then passed on to a supervisor. He too was 'unaware' of any negative reports and stated that CR England has thousands of happy drivers, O/O and lease O/O. He even said that 96% of the lease owners were getting their weekly mileage of 2600 miles as agreed upon!
I have decided to take your valuable advice and stay clear of CR England and Prime and will try and seek an alternative way into the industry
Thanks again for your help.

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Let me put it this way, Unless you work for the company I do you suck and your company sucks. This is the attitude of a ton of drivers out here. I tell new guys to stick with the facts. Talk to drivers from the companies. Ask how long they have been there. Ask what they like and dislike. Also ask if they will tell you THEIR average miles, pay, and job life style. You will also want to see what the companies average driver earned the year before. Not the new guys, or old guys, just the company average. I have never worked for prime. I have talked to the guys there and asked them these questions alone with olthers like, Truck payment and the average sent home each week to a solo driver. From what I have been told from the corperate the job sucks. The drivers for Prime say they are making it big time. I can not figure out how they are doing it unless it includes a gun and a mask. Good luck.202 N Main Street
Summerfield Il 62289
TRUCK PARKING AVAILABLE!

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I find it interesting that the person you talked to mentioned the companies O/O and lease operators ..did he say anything about the company drivers?
CRE is running stong on Lease operators and they promote it by saying with 6 months exper. and a clean record you too could be behind the wheel.
Don't get ropped into any deal that the recruiter is telling you that in 6months you coule be a lease operator .... 6 months in the industry is not enough to put you in a truck that is your responsibilty dollar wise .... that's my opinion at least.
Have a Safe Week Drivers
Randy

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JB Hunt did not take anyone without at least 6 months of experience. That may have changed; but, I have not heard differently.
If you need your CDL license or you have no commercial driving experience, I suggest you look at training companies. www.Schneider.com, www.Roehl.Net , www.MillisTransfer.com , www.SwiftTrans.com and there are others. The consensus of trucking message boards, is to stay away from lease programs until you have several years experience in the business or, better yet, avoid lease programs totally. Research very carefully.
Avoid accidents and stick it out at least a year with the company you choose no matter what.

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CRST has a very good program for new and recent grads. Below is a bit about their benefits.
Guaranteed hometime, 1500 mile avg length of haul, health, dental, vision, and life ins., 95% no touch freight, large amount of drop & hook freight, 100% dry van, late model skyrise tractors, exceptional pay package with regular raises. Compensation is based on your verifiable OTR experience. Dont you owe it to yourself to check it out?
FREE CDL training available.
Schneider also has a good program, training and experienced drivers.
Werner has a program for recent grads, and I know they have good equipment, not thrilled about paperless logs but....
anyway, there are several good companies out there.
I am an independent recruiter, used to work for a major carrier as recruiting manager, I have over 25 years in the industry as company driver, o/o, dispatcher, and recruiter. Now that I'm an independent, I am free to give an honest answer about companies. No sugar-coated recruiting speil, just the facts. You may not like what you hear, but it will be the facts so you can make an informed choice for your career move.
If I can help in any way, give me a shout.
If you don't LOVE what you do for a living, then why are you doing it? Life is too short to not chase your dreams and eat dessert first!

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There is absolutely no such thing as FREE CDL training at ANY carrier, and anybody who buys this shouldn't be allowed to get behind the wheel of a truck in the first place.
CRST runs teams, and unless they've changed there are no solo drivers there.
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Humans are amazing creatures. "With all the things you can train them to do, I've been considering getting one."-StoneyJay Gould
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This post coming to you live, from Jesus Land !!!

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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Dominoes:
There is absolutely no such thing as FREE CDL training at ANY carrier, and anybody who buys this shouldn't be allowed to get behind the wheel of a truck in the first place.
CRST runs teams, and unless they've changed there are no solo drivers there.
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I am so very glad you expounded so elouquently on my post.
True, there is no free lunch, but with CRST there is no major up front money, they do request a 1 year service contract in exchange for your schooling. If you choose to terminate employment with them prior to 1 year they do request their fees be reimbursed. Humm, seems a bit reasonable to ask to be repaid for a service performed, or contract breeched. But what do I know, I still believe in truth in advertising, being honest even when it hurts, and trying to see the good in people.
Dominoes, you have a wonderful evening, my friend.
If you don't LOVE what you do for a living, then why are you doing it? Life is too short to not chase your dreams and eat dessert first!

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Thanks for all your input.
I think anyone would be be foolish to think that you wouldn't have to pay in one form or another for a carrier's training course. I accept the fact that I'd be tied to a certain carrier for the first year as a 'pay-back' for the money they invested in my training.
As for teaming, well, I think I'd prefer to run solo for a while. One of the things I like about being a truck driver is the solitude! However, as most carriers pay on a mileage basis, common sense tells you that a team can cover more ground than a solo driver. Yet, I've read some new drivers making upwards of 3,000 miles a week during the Summer months. A team would have to drive nearly twice as far to earn the same amount, and I don't know how well I could sleep while someone else was driving?
If there is anyone out there who has gone through a carrier's training course and gone on to complete their first year, it'd be great to hear from you.

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I am starting to look more into carrier schools as well. I have checked out three private training schools, and I am not pleased with the situation. Two were 180 hour courses that cost 7, and 9 thousand dollars. One of those was not certified in any way shape or form either. The other was a CVTA school. The third, that I toured just an hour ago is $5K and is 240 hours... also a CVTA school. I don't know what is up no PTDI schools around here.
As you can see all of them are quite costly at a minimum of five grand. I am not eligable for any sort of financial aid or grants either. I have to foot the entire bill through a student loan. If I use their loan program I have to plunk down a grand and pay over 17% APR.
I could put up with a lot of BS from the great pumpkin to avoid getting into a raw deal like that.
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Save the trees, eat more beavers.

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WSE used to do carrier training at the Boise yard and the Elm Springs yard. Now I think it's only in Elm that they do the training.
My husband went through the training in Boise and the requirements were to drive with the company for 1 year and your tuition would be waved. If you didn't stay for that year then you would be expected to pay for the tuition of attending thier school. I know that five years ago both England and Swift required the tuition to come out of the drivers checks at so much per week. I don't know if they still do it this way or not.
Your doing best by looking into the companies a little more.
------------------------------------------------------------ Success is 1% inspiration and 99% persperation.
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Archflash - Have you checked this school out in North Carolina? I know it sounds a long way off, but between the cost of the school and housing you would come out cheaper than the private schools! http://www.isothermal.edu/truck. I knew a driver who went there from California and came out cheaper than if he attended a school around the corner from him. Of course you never know about CA.
By the way does anyone know what a CVTA school is? I have not been able to find out.

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I checked out www.cvta.org and read up on it a little bit. I think they were blowing a little smoke up my tailpipe this morning.
I am going to look long and hard... I like that they offer a long course and their instructors were extremely professional. I am just not too wild about 5 grand, and a rather horrible financial assistance package.
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Save the trees, eat more beavers.