Profile For Paul B.

After talking with several different companies I'm strongly leaning toward starting my new career with Prime. I have a tentative date to start training on May 5.

I'm 49 years old and find myself needing to start a new career. It's scary at this age to start something new, especially something like a career in truck driving.

I'd appreciate advise from anyone, especially those who have worked for Prime, been to Prime's CDL training or those who have entered this profession a little later in life.

Hey Johnathan T, I know I'm responding to a post that's close to 2 years old but I wanted to see if you went through with the training at prime? If you did, how did it go? Are you still working? I'm 49 and looking into this trucking career, very hesitant but it's pretty much looking like the best option. If you went through this could you give me any heads up on what to expect? Thanks Paul

I spoke with a recruiter with KLLM, she was a very nice southern gal. Their offer sounds fair with only a 6 month commitment. Anyone familiar with this outfit? I also tried contacting other companies like Swift, FFE, Millis and Prime, Prime I spoke with some Hispanic Lady who was quite rude & she ended up hanging up on me, I think my question was too much for her to answer, apparently it was off her script. I did not speak to anyone else just left messages & have not heard anything yet.

I purchased an original Magic Bullet yesterday (not the bigger Nutri Bullet) for when I have my own truck. I read inside the book to not plug it in a converter. I remember reading here from another member that some truckers have one. What kind of set up do you need to have to be able to run it? The magic bullet is a 250 watts motor, the Nutri Bullet is a 600 watts.

FYI I have the NutriBullet RX, it's 1700 watts, 2.5hp and it rocks. Been using it for close to a year and a half & still love drinking the drinks. This RX also makes soup & it gets seriously hot. It blends stuff amazingly well, I can not believe the greens & other healthy stuff I normally would rarely to never eat & I don't even taste it, all I taste is the fruit I put in with it. I personally highly recommend the NutruBullet RX, worth every penny. I did quite a bit of research & reluctantly bought it being I've done juicing and other health drinks in the past which where either too much of a pain in the ass or they where too thick & nasty in which lasted no more than a week. Bought this thing & well over a year later still enjoying it, specially how much better I feel drinking them. I put all kinds of nutritious crap in them (probably too much), I just research online for what is the healthiest stuff, also what skins of the fruit or veggies are healthy, it's amazing how many skins hold so much potent nutrition not only skins but seeds as well. If your power source can handle this model I'd recommend it highly. When in cold places you can make a nice hot cup of healthy soup in 7 minutes or what ever hot drink you want.

For your review: Apply For Truck Driving Jobs

This will help streamline your application efforts. Good luck.

Thank you, I will check it out! Paul

Get as many prehires as you can. Decide what is most important to you, whether it's money, hometime, pet/rider policy, type of freight, equipment, etc. then begin to narrow down your list according to your own personal needs.

The best company for you is the one that offers what you personally need. They're all great companies. If they weren't, they wouldn't be successful and able to remain in business.

Very good, thank you Sue very helpful! That's kind of what I am doing! Now you saying that kinda of helps me realize I'm going in the right direction. There's just so many damn companies I'm going to go broke by the time I make a decision, lol. Glad I found this forum, there's a lot of negativity regarding these Truck/training programs these companies offer. I was looking into CR England a year or so back and read quite a bit of negative stuff in reviews and came to the conclusion that it was a scam. Now finding this forum and seeing all the other companies offering this I can see it's not looking like such a scam after all, too bad I didn't find this out then. Anyway thank you for the help much appreciated. Paul.

The list of companies that hire inexperienced drivers is endless... Swift, Werner, Knight, Averitt, Prime, USXpress, Covenant, Schneider, McElroy, TMC, Maverick, Boyd Brothers, TransAm, to mention a couple off the top of my head.. Millis, PAM, ...

You get the idea anyway. Apply and call away! They'll probably adk you to co a refresher training in addition to company training, but most are more than willing.

Thank you. So I they all pretty much hire inexperienced drivers. Yep there are many! Any suggestions on who may be my best bet?

I'm new to the trucking industry, I have a class A CDL with tanker, doubles & triples endorsements. However I have not actually drove a big rig. I got the license from a job I had about 8 years ago & hung onto the license since. We drove a flat bed that was about 50' long (class A vehicle), also dump trucks, truck cranes etc. (class B vehicles). I normally I am in skilled maintenance trades however this field has been over ran by everyone in America, seems everyone wants these jobs suddenly. Having this CDL I figured maybe this is a better direction, maybe driving would be a better career. I am now trying to find a good company that I can get training, I don't need the license I already have it. Could anyone give me direction to some good companies that would be willing to take me on and train me to drive, I am not afraid of hard work or getting dirty. Hopefully a company with paid training. I see most don't pay for schooling to get licensed and that is fine I have the license I just need behind the wheel training & what ever else is needed to become a safe, effective driver. I have been researching this for a while, I see so many companies and so many different offers just not sure which one is the right fit? I was looking at Swift, Prime, Millis and Fee, Prime seems to have the best offer as far as I can see. Now I come to another page that is companies that hire inexperienced drivers and they are all different companies with different offers. Are the 4 companies I mentioned above for people with no license? Should I be researching the companies that hire inexperienced drivers? Or do they all hire license or no license inexperienced drivers? Thank you! Paul

Sorry I must have missed that. When you are ready I would still contact some of the companies mentioned and see how they are willing to work with you.

Good luck.

No worries! Yea that looks like my next step, contacting companies and find one that seems to work & hopefully is local or not too far away. Thank you for the advice, can't tell you how much this helps, I am not sure I'd of went through with this if I had not came on here being I was very reluctant. Now hearing from a few of you I feel much more confident in this. Thanks, Paul

The Company-Sponsored Training would be the fastest and cheapest route for you to take... Don't pay any attention to online reviews cuz there are a lot of people on this site that did the company sponsored route and it worked for them... I am one that also went that route and I'm coming up on 10 months with my company....

I'd call all of them and ask all the questions you have. That is your best bet...

Thank you, that helps a lot, much appreciated.

How does this company sponsored program work? Do they pretty much own you for a year? Do you have to move? Are you getting paid from day one of training? Reason I ask is I own a home & have a part time job so I'd obviously need to make adjustments.

Thanks for your response. Paul....

It differs from company to company but there is a definitely commitment in all cases. I can only share my experience with Swift's Academy in Richmond VA.

With Swift there are basically two parts to the training.

Part 1; School or Swift Academy prepares you to obtain the CDL class A license. Duration is about 3 to 3.5 weeks. Swift does not pay the student during schooling but they provide housing (dormitory style) and transportation if need be. There are kitchen facilities and refrigeration, but you will need to supply your own food.

Part 2; Mentoring or Road-Training occurs once the CDL is obtained. The student is placed with a certified mentor (trainer) on their truck for approximately 5-6 weeks in duration (depending on the student, the mentor, and the freight this duration can vary slightly). Swift pays the student during this time period for the time they are driving (roughly $10.00 per hour). The student is required to complete 200 hours of driving and no less than 40 documented backing maneuvers. The first 50 hours of drive time is fully supervised with the mentor riding in the passenger chair. Once both student and mentor agree, after 50 hours the student and mentor are then dispatched as a team and share driving duties. Student drives when the mentor sleeps, mentor drives when the student sleeps.

Once the student is close to the 200 hours, arrangements will be made to stop at a Swift terminal for one final road test, solo orientation and then truck assignment.

That about covers it. There is a driver on this forum named Murderspolywog. "MPW" is a current Swift mentor and I am sure he would be happy to provide further details. Errol V. and Don are also experienced Swift drivers.

We also have two Prime Trainers, Daniel and Bud. I would expect they will chime in as well.

Awesome, thanks. I'm very impressed with the responses, this is great! So the first part with swift is non-paid but it is the preparation for the CDL, right? I already have a class A CDL with tanker, doubles & triples endorsements so would this mean I can skip the first part & go straight to the driving part? You said 10 per hour, how long until you get a pay increase & how much? Not trying to make money a big issue specially at the beginning but I do have bills like a mortgage & HOA dues etc & would need to know what to expect & make arrangements & possibly borrow money, what ever I need to do to make this work I'll do. Thanks for the response, very much appreciate this. Paul......

... What Brett said ...

To answer your question, where do I start? You found the right place. Welcome.

Put off your foreclosure with as many court continuances and avenues possible until you're able to catch up. They'd rather keep the same owner than have to find a new one. Make little payments if you must to show due diligence. Put finances out of your mind when behind that wheel.

Apply like crazy everywhere. Company-sponsored training is probably the quickest way to getting into the big rigs and receiving a first paycheck.

Forget your age. You're young in trucking and very hire-able. If you have your medical card, good enough.

This is feasible.

Go dawg, go!

-mountain girl

lol, thanks that was very cool, you made me laugh I need that. I'm not actually in trouble with my bill as of yet, getting close & hoping to avoid this, it's been beyond stressful. If I am in the process of learning the driving career my focus will be solely on that, bills and everything else will become secondary being I need this job in order to pay them bills. Thanks for the funny response, that is a needed thing, laughter. Paul.