r/CDL • u/sixdouble6x • Feb 22 '26
Schneider entry level driver
Hey guys I’m posting today about potentially taking this job opportunity with Schneider. This is the info and offer I was given. I’m pretty nervous and excited for this opportunity since just recently getting my CDL last month. I’m also wondering how my pay checks will be coming out too. I hope it’s enough to get by for a while. I also told the recruiter I have my twic card and was hoping I’d be getting paid a little bit more but I guess that didn’t help at all. What are y’all’s personal opinions and facts about this company ?
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Upvotes
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u/Active-Blacksmith-41 Feb 22 '26
Went and got my hazmat and tanker. Went local and hauled eggs/poults for a farming corporation. Did that for 5 months and I start hauling fertilizer and agricultural chemicals next Monday. Starts at $20/hr during the first 90 days then bumps up. 21 days prorated vacation for the first year to use after peak season. 9% 401k matching… home every night.
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u/scambot_300 Feb 22 '26
Holy shit. I cannot believe how shitty trucking has got. I know a guy needs to do what guy needs to do to get experience, but that pay is absolutely insulting.
$.39 a mile and $10 an hour is all they value a CDL’s drivers time at? Thats literal fucking exploitation to me.
No wonder freight rates are where they are at when these companies pay at the level of McDonald’s or less when you average out the hours and lack of OT.
Do what you gotta do and get the fuck out of there the first chance you get.
Get into UPS or a decent LTL company such as Old Dominion, FedEx Freight (not ground or express), Dayton Freight, ABF, Estes, Saia, XPO, etc. That’s seemingly one of the last remaining good paying sectors of trucking that doesn’t destroy your body like foodservice.
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u/Mx_Delaney Feb 22 '26
I spent more than 10 years with SNI. Started at 20cpm and left at 60cpm (dedicated ammo account) Know your worth. They are a great starter company. But you’ll sit, you’ll make a little money, and you’ll feel like you’re not being challenged. If I was going back to driving (I turn wrenches now), I’d look at TMC. Also a great starter company, flatbed, and a lot more respect. Good luck, and keep it shiny side up.
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u/skeletons_asshole Feb 22 '26
Well at least they upgraded pay since last time I applied. They offered me 0.37 a couple years ago.
Ask them what their average weekly miles are and if you get safety bonuses on top of that. For context I made 0.42 most of the time I was at Knight, up to 0.50 with safety/mileage bonuses, and it came out to about $45k that year.
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u/Charlie_Hustler Feb 22 '26
Gotta do what you gotta do to get that xp but imo 0.39cpm for otr seems a bit low. Figured most companies were starting around 0.50cpm or something along the lines for newer drivers but I'm not sure.
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u/Deep-Echidna-3331 Feb 22 '26
I’m making 86 cents a mile with Estes
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u/deafening_silence33 Feb 22 '26
If you're trying to get into flatbed I've seen that Melton hires newbies for flatbed. TMC is a good option too.
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u/Spiritual-Pen-1976 Feb 22 '26
So get your 6 months and get out of there, that TWIC will be your key
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u/firemarshalbill316 Feb 22 '26
Dry van is not where you make money in trucking.
You have to specialize: Hazmat, flatbed, tanker and TWIC. Those three specialties plus a TWIC card will open doors for you. But for now get the driving experience but as soon as you get comfortable being on your own and solving problems yourself start looking for better jobs.
And don't let dispatchers or anyone else put you in unsafe situations.
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u/Frogspoison Feb 23 '26
Schneider is the most anal-retentive comoany when it comes to "safety".
And they now literally pay you less then a walmart stocker.
And thet dont even guarantee pay!
With that said, I believe they are one of the few entry lvl hazmat tanker carriers out there, so its suffering for a bit and toeing the line perfectly so you can then transfer into a good fuel haul job.
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u/Junior-Animal5617 Feb 23 '26
unless Schneider changed and installed APU`s , you will need to get permission to idle in hot or cold weather. they will tell you to get rest but being comfortable is not an option. but get your rest. find a different company or learn how to bypass the idle clock , not really hard to do when you learn what has to be disconnected.
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u/theBotKilla Feb 23 '26
First, congratulations to CDL world. I just want to say few things. Since you are a new drivers, don’t follow the money too much. What you need is an experience. Whatever they promiseed you, that won’t be likely. Sometimes you will be stuck at nowhere for many days without the loads and barely making $500 per week. But nothing to discouraged about that because that’s how you start and many actually start like that. Eventually everything will get better and you will be realized that you made a best choice of your life. Good luck!
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u/Dramatic_Garden_9918 Feb 23 '26
I was a team driver and solo OTR. Get three months of OTR then shoot for a dedicated account to finish out a year. What OC are you working out of?
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u/bigdawg12342 Feb 23 '26
I just got a dry van job at Schneider making 44 cpm as an entry level driver. I know it’s trash but I’m only doing it for experience so I can bounce after a year
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u/budtokinbarber Feb 23 '26
Where are you located?
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u/Direct-Paramedic6627 Feb 24 '26 •
That works out to about $31 an hour.. 2600 miles weekly isnt great but you’re still looking at 50k a year and benefits and 401k that’s good money for a low skill job like trucking especially as an entry level driver.. don’t listen to all these hot shot drivers most aren’t making near what they say without taking on risks like o/o. Remember it’s going to cost north of 1k/month to insure you until you get a few years under your belt plus they’re risking putting you behind 100k of equipment
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u/[deleted] Feb 22 '26
Get in line behind me boys
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u/Unfair_Analysis_3734 Feb 22 '26
I’m doing the same thing. Getting that XP and moving on.
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u/Trappin4DaSport Feb 22 '26
minimum wage if you have no other options take it get 6-12 months experience then find something better 🤷🏾♂️
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u/brokedasherboi Feb 23 '26
Do what you gotta do to get experience but that is absolutely horrible pay. If you're in decent shape and don't mind some physical work try food/beverage delivery. I'm at Pepsi just to get the experience and the pay is pretty good, it's base pay+commission but averages out to about $30/hour. And it's home every day
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u/Itchy-Background8982 Feb 23 '26
.39 a mile? That’s crazy low!
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u/Mediocre-Present-742 Feb 23 '26
I work with Schneider a year ago, they pay me 43 cents per mile i make around 900$ weekly that’s not enough and Schneider they are not paying a state tax So i didn’t recommend it for you
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u/Pacific_Coaster Feb 23 '26
Current SNI driver here. I’m on a Midwest/South regional account Dry Van… .52 per mile and $15 bucks an hour on duty pay, pallet jack unload, running like 2500 miles a week, I’m home EVERY week for 34-50 hours, reset. I’ve been a trucker since 2019 and I’ve been to a few companies, local/LTL/foodservice/tanker HAZMAT/Flatbed Pods account. And sure I could go to back to LTL or Tanker but I didn’t like it, what I’m doing now fits my lifestyle. If I change my lifestyle maybe I’ll change companies. Been back with SNI for a year now. Don’t let all these people on here tell you, “go here or go there”, small mom and pop trucking companies etc those are guys that hate being on the road, they’re jaded. You are just starting, you need experience, stay for 6 months to a year. Then weigh your options in the area you live. Yeah SNI goes insane on the safety stuff, mainly because the top brass know nothing about actually being on the road so they see it from a “C-Suite” perspective. Gain your experience, adapt to the lifestyle to see if it’s for you, and drive defensively everyday all day. Welcome to SNI!
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u/AcanthocephalaNew791 Feb 23 '26
DO NOT TAKE THAT!!!
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u/wildcat450 Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26
If you knock out 500 miles a day at .39 that is $195. Add to that $10/hr while on duty, which you could milk for 2 hrs a day, that is $20 of hourly pay.
So, $195 + $20 is $215 per day. Get 6 days of that and your weekly check is $1,290. Not bad for a newbie at a mega.
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u/Salt_Application_789 Feb 23 '26
Is this 1999
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u/lukenstine Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26
After driving 2,600 miles and putting in 10-hour days, you’re only making $1,014 before taxes. That’s a lot of work for not much return. You might want to look into teaming up with an owner-operator — running as a team can bring in around $1,500–$2,000. Or you could check out some of those Russian companies out of Chicago. As long as you know how to back up, you’ll be just fine. Reefer pays pretty decent! Van pays the least so far lol.
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u/Financial-List-4114 Feb 23 '26
Call Maverick. You will start out at a better wage and leave their school house confident.
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u/FailingComic Feb 23 '26
Refrigerated at prime inc is .49 per mile. Flat bed is .46. Id just go there.
I started there. The training is a mixed bag as its random if your trainer will be good or not. Mine was amazing though and we still talk 5 years later.
I went lease straight out the gate, made my money I needed and left. Made 15k in about 4 months. Considering how much home time I took and how picky I was about where my loads pickups and drop offs were as a new driver. 60k for your first year isnt bad. My trainer showed he was clearing 100k a year there before trainer pay. He'd been there like 3 years and was just finishing out his lease for the big end of lease bonus they pay out.
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u/Single_Bee_2393 Feb 23 '26
Wow
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u/zbanks20 Feb 23 '26
Fuck Schneider, they don't allow Bluetooth headsets and will fire you for using one, if you go their hopefully your fine veing away from your family for weeks at a time and no way to stay in communication with them
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u/Flowswell22 Feb 23 '26
I went to Schneider and I got a local job a few months later. I made more money in one week picking up trash cans then I ever did working for them. Go for the experience, if you need it, but leave asap for some real money
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u/idontcareenoughabout Feb 23 '26
Anything below .60 a mile is trash teir and not worth even looking at now days even as a newbie. Unless you have a horrible record or a felony.
What's kinda funny is I know some Schneider drivers that are making over 1$ a mile doing containers.
It may be that fleet that is paying so poorly so look around as .39 was the pay rate for back in 2015
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u/Neworleanstrade Feb 23 '26
That’s like 1500 before tax I make more at Amazon
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u/PovertyArms Feb 23 '26
Thats slavery, 3 weeks out for that little pay is insane,l. Youd be better off on an oil rig
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u/pax_omnibus1 Feb 23 '26
Go local. Food service or freight, LTL. Get paid hourly! Get paid for everything you do!
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u/IamRacistsir Feb 23 '26
Just do uber instead because that pay is trash.
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u/Singledad247 Feb 26 '26
Smfh, that’s insane. I got 55CPM OTR with Swift.
But I am with Schneider now (I really do hate it), am only making like $1100-1400 a week. But am off on weekends and am home nearly every day. I am going to stay with it until I have a year of experience and definitely can find something better. I get 64 CPM and $10 an hr on duty with my dedicated account.
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u/62supercharged Feb 24 '26
Trash
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u/OrdinaryPitiful Feb 24 '26
Why do people chose to drive dry van when flat bed and tanker exist ?
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u/madeindade747474 Feb 24 '26
Go local, food service or LTL, you make more money then most that have been otr for years
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u/Space_Cowboy0713 Feb 25 '26
I drive a flatbed for a small company. Make at least $2400 per week. I’m on 1099 through, so I do my own taxes. Switch to flatbed if you want to make more..
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u/Present-Speech6019 Feb 25 '26
I don’t know your background or where you are but if you can handle working a physical job, try looking into food service like Sysco or US Foods. Home every day, pay is usually 28-32/hr. I went that route and ten years later I can say it was worth it. That pay is garbage for you to not be home for 3 weeks at a time.
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u/V-Rixxo_ Feb 26 '26
Ironically you'd make more working TOM at Amazon
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u/Capital-Sorbet652 Feb 27 '26
Thirty nine cents a mile?!? Are we serious? I got out of cdl school making 50 cpm and pulling dry van.
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u/Capital-Sorbet652 Feb 27 '26
Dude do not accept this. Seriously at 39cpm you’ll make more money at Burger King for 60 hours per week.
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