This blog is a chronicle what it is like to work for
Werner Enterprises. Now I am not looking to do a hatchet blog on
Werner in particular, keep in mind that the good and the bad could
happen at any of the big 'training' companies. Werner is not the only
game in town but it is one of the biggest and as such has the typical
big company problems, mostly communication. You will see that some of
the issues that I have would not have happened at a small company but
the small trucking companies do not hire new drivers fresh out of
school. This is a company to get experience in and then move on.
This blog is called Tinker's Travels
because Tinker has been my companion for the last 10 years. We have
not been able to deal with a real dog due to space, time and the
wife's allergies. Tinker doesn't bark, doesn't bite, doesn't need
walkies or food and doesn't complain, much. I have brought him with
me just for comic relief and sometimes to take over the driving when
I am out of hours.
A little background on me; I am 49
years old and have never really grown up. 18 years ago I worked for
GM as a test driver and enjoyed doing that, mostly because I didn't
have a boss breathing down my neck. Unfortunately that job went away
as GM announced the closure of the Mesa, AZ proving grounds. I then
went back to college and earned an associates degree in Automotive
technology, a mechanic. It turns out that I am not as mechanically
inclined as I thought and I have a problem with the industry requirement of cheating people. The
second issue made me unemployable in the automotive repair world.
While I was trying to work my way up as a pump jockey making $7.50
per hour I went down to apply at Macy's for a customer service call
center job, a job my wife (fiancee at the time) was currently doing
on the other side of town. We both applied but for some reason they
only hired me. Since it started at $8.50 per hour and meant that I
would no longer have to stand for 8 ½ hours straight (yes including
lunch) I took it. Ten years later I was working my 5th
call center job and was burned out. I had a hard time dragging my
carcass to work everyday and whenever the company would allow me to
go home early I took it. I finally decided that I should get back to
something that I would want to do that I could actually get paid for.
I decided to go to one of the numerous
trucking schools around, AIT. Why did I choose this particular
school? The only real reason was probably that I had checked them out
10 years prior with my wife and they were still around. They
guaranteed job placement and it didn't matter that they were an hour
away, there were no closer schools. I was afraid that they were a
little to quick to take me on, after all they didn't require a
physical until after you signed up. Since I have a disability (that
has not interfered with my ability to drive), I went down and got my
own DOT physical, only to make sure that I could pass it. Now this
blog is not about how AIT was, they did their job and I got my CDL,
anything else was gravy. This blog is about working at a training
company.
I am the kind of person that enjoys
long hours of solitude. My favorite part of this job has been the
long drives. For anyone getting into this field that needs constant
companionship and only thinks the money will be so good, don't.
Next time – First day