Profile For Ed S.

Hi all,

It's been a while since I visited here. I joined when I was in school training for the new career back in July 2014. Since then, the peaks have been my driving across the US, seeing new sights first hand without seeing them on the computer. The valleys include finding out the truth behind the 'glamor' of what outsiders see in the trucking industry, and having my home life deteriorate to a point where I feel like an outsider.

To stay on topic, my first two years in trucking was spent as a company driver with Prime. Overall, the experience wasn't bad. However, certain factors (especially in the latter half of year 2) made me desire to get a company closer to my home in Pittsburgh. Local company Dandy Service Corporation interviewed me and hired me on. One of the biggest benefits is that I'm now home weekly (if I want to be...the first month, I was doing my 34s on the road until one weekend I realized I could've been home and still made the delivery). Unfortunately, it hasn't helped the home life as much as I'd like it to.

Being a smaller company, there is a more relaxed atmosphere at Dandy compared to what I had at Prime. I met a lot a good people (drivers, mechanics, general staff) at Prime, but it wasn't enough to keep me there....and I would be hesitant to go back, if I needed to look for another job; even though I left on good terms.

I plan to stay where I'm at as long as they want me, so maybe I'll start seeing some of the 'benefits' mentioned here.

Regards, -Ed S

Thanks, Ken. Hopefully I'll have a chance to post some of my experience. For one, I'll be without a computer while I'm out of town (unless we get access to one at the facility), and that will be a *big* culture shock for me. It's bad enough that I've moved my steering wheel to the side on my desk so that my wife can use the desk for the financial stuff while I'm gone.

For someone who has never driven a standard before, I credit my obsessive gaming with having an idea about what to do. It was much more different than what I expected, but I adapted to it quite good (IMNSHO) for only driving for two weeks to this point.

-Ed S

On a serious note, congrats! Prime is a fantastic company. I'm a retired Instructor (I sucked so I gave up) there so if you have any questions feel free to contact me.

Thanks, Dan. I'll keep that in mind. I went to pick up the bus ticket for my travel Sunday from Pittsburgh to Pittston, but I'm not looking forward to the 6:15AM departure. I guess I'll get some rest on the bus.

Tomorrow marks the 25th anniversary of when Shari and I started dating (we've been married 22 years), so I'm probably as tired as her as she is of me at this point. LOL.

-Ed S

Hi all,

The highpoint of my life recently was met this past Friday when I got my CDL. I had submitted pre-applications for multiple companies, but had already received 'denials' from Schneider and Crete due to an accident I had 3½ years ago. I had Werner contact me and send me a pre-approval, but they were having problems confirming my past employment with a financial institution. I found out that USXpress denied me because of my termination from the same, but after talking to their recruiter I was told they would re-open my app with a letter of referral. Swift and Prime contacted me once I confirmed I had my license, and Falcon contacted me after I updated my resume on CareerBuilder.

After weighing all the information I had, and talking it over with my wife, I agreed to attend orientation this coming Monday with Prime. I'm nervous, excited, and anxious for the next step in my journey to take place.

I have 3 more days of family time with my wife and son to get in before the big day. My wife is excited just because it means I'm getting back to work (I joked with her that she is happy to get me out of the house). This all began with me finding this site that Brett set up, and for all of your info that you shared with me and others. Thank you all.

Regards, -Ed S

My classmates and I (3 of us total) got to hit the highway for our first road lesson. We were taken out to US 422 east of Butler, PA and did a total of 4 'loops' between two exits -- 3 each, then 1 more for good measure. The highway had very light traffic, but still had enough to keep us aware. One exit was downhill off, uphill on; the other one was uphill off, downhill on. My first time through it all, and I did much better than I expected up shifting...but about as well as I expected down shifting. The hardest thing to keep in mind is that you're hitting the gas to up the RPMs for the lower gear to slow down....not to pick up speed.

At both ramps, I was putting on my turn signal and tapping the brakes before the start of the ramp. All the ramps were straight. One was marked at 25mph, the other at 35mph. Our instructor was making sure we were slowing down as we were getting ready to get on the ramps. He also did a good job 'busting our chops' when we were messing up. Looking forward to day #2 on Tuesday.

-Ed S

Hi all,

I want to thank Brett and the others on this site for providing such valuable information and tools for those of us deciding to come into the career. I used the high road program for about a month to 6 weeks before I was able to start school this week, and I credit it with helping me average 97% on my tests in the school as well as passing my Gen Knowledge/Combinations and Air Brake tests without too much issue. The school even got us in the trucks to practice straight backing maneuvers when we got back to school. :-)

The second week will deal with Doubles/Triples, Tankers, HazMat and the Log Book/HOS, then two weeks of driving. This is the best I've felt in a long while. Being out of work for 6 months was hard to deal with, and I'm not out of the woods yet, but I feel like I've found a trail to lead me out.

Keep the shiny side up.

Regards, -Ed S

Hi Bud,

I can't answer your questions, but I'll be looking for the same answers as I'm in a similar situation as you. I lost my job in February after working at a financial company for 13 years doing help desk support, desktop support, information security administration, and the like.

I had a bad car accident in January 2011, and I ended up with a surgically repaired left hip socket that I spent almost the whole year going through rehab to recover from. That led me to believe I wouldn't be able to consider this career anymore, but a school representative I talked to told me that I may qualify for some funding through the state. I'm hoping I can get this, because being in Chapt 13 is going to make it difficult to get the loan I need for a school.

I've always wanted to drive a truck since my teenage years, because my grandfather did it. He's the one who told me not to pursue it for his own reasons. But, without the ability to get an interview to get back into IT anywhere around Pittsburgh, I'm running out of time and options. I view this as my best option to support my family.

Hopefully Brett and the team can give us some good guidance. I wish you the best in what you choose to do.

Regards, -Ed S