Profile For The Chad

I feel the same, but I could never articulate this as well as Brett! Great article! Gonna share this on some FB groups I belong to.

Thanks yall

Started with PAM transport one year ago yesterday. Finished out my contract and my CDL is now free!! It's been an awesome adventure, and I learned a lot. I guess I can shed that rookie label now??

Good luck to all of you that are getting started, and big thanks to Brett and TT for all the excellent resources, and for encouraging new drivers to stay with their first company for one year.

I was a pharmacy technician and I taught part time at the local community college for the tech program. I was making decent money, but I turned 40 and thought that if I don't do something different I'm not going to have any money to retire on. I always wanted to go into trucking, even tried when I got out the Navy, but had to many speeding tickets.

So I've been at it for a few months now and I love it, wish I would have done it a long time ago, but everything happens for a reason.

I am with PAM Transport, and yes there may be higher paying companies out there, but pay isn't everything. I have several friends that started out with me at PAM that have jumped ship chasing higher pay and none of them are any happier. One guy left for .10 cents more, but is running less miles and has to suffer through long live loads/ unloads. Another wanted more home time and left only to be given crap equipment that constantly broke down and gave home more home time than he wanted. Others have quit PAM and the the second company they went to and now are having a hard time finding work with little experience.

For me, I am happy. I get good miles, and mostly every load is drop and hook. The few live loads I deal with are relatively quick. I get good home time, and now that I have proven to my DM that I run hard and don't complain things are getting even better.

My point of this is the grass ain't always greener, find out the differences between companies (besides pay) and you may have a different perspective.

Brett does tell it like it is, (he has told me some hard truths too) and he is honest, and wants the best for new truckers. So instead of trying to win your losing argument, yield, and listen to good advice. Going to any company with anything less than a positive attitude is a recipe for disaster.

Not really, I requested more time, and they out me in a truck that had 4 people in already and gave me 30 minutes, some got a little more than that, but they are on a schedule

So during your training with Steven's if you feel like you aren't ready to take the CDL road exam do they allow you to practice as much as you need to until you feel like you are able to pass it?

I understand everything you are saying. I didn't quit, I failed my road test 3 days in a row. The first test was a boneheaded mistake on my part, the second two were extremely small mistakes. They booted me after the 3rd test.

I didn't give up, I went home re-took my written tests and a week later I was in Ft. Worth at C1 and the difference between the instructors was like night and day. First day out on the road I was made aware of the wrong way I was setting up turns and turning (which was the thing that failed me 3 times) and when it came to my first (4th) road test I aced it. They also taught us to be very vocal when driving and call everything out. Over all it was a great experience. I have been on the road since May with PAM and I love it, I am teaming right now with a great teammate and we work well together.

Although it seems I am bashing stevens as a whole I am not, just their academy. They are a good company and honestly after my year is up there is a good chance I will go back to them. My brother works for them and he is happy.

Actually Brett my class started with 24 students, only 5 passed their CDL road tests. That is a high fail rate for any school.

You average 30 min to an hour a day in seat time, then get rushed out to DPS.

While you are on the road most of the trainers I rode with were on their phones a lot, or simply staring out the window, with little instruction.

Stevens is a good company, but IMO their school sucks

No Carla, you don't have to double clutch after training. But get through it first, then ask your road trainer to show you...it's awesome

One look at my posts about my time at stevens will tell you all you need to know about why their academy is not good. Significantly less seat time, confirmed accounts of double dipping.

I have actually said multiple times that stevens is a good company, I am considering going back to them after my year.

Their driving academy is a different story