Profile For Mark F. ( DAYBREAKER )

After a lengthy 540 hr course I tested once and got it done. Tuesday I fly into KC Mo. and start career # 2 with Trans Am. I'm excited and nervous. With all the pro and cons I've heard and read about TA, they were willing to take me on. I am grateful to them and all you TT drivers for all your help and input. Going in with an open mind and willingness to learn. Be safe !!! Mark

Hey Brian, I just graduated from NETTTS ( N. Andover Ma. ). Finished the 540 on the 17th and tested out on the 11th. ( Saturday ) PASSED! Anyway, Career placement has many connections with these companies and they know which companies will not even look at you and which will give you a shot. I jumped through many hoops to get where I am, and I start with TRANS AM the end of the month. I filled out many apps and finally got a company to give me a chance. As they have all said. BE HONEST AND UPFRONT, HOWEVER, DONT VOLLUNTEER ANYTHING. You will find a company to give you a chance bud. It may not be the first or even third on your list of companies to go to, but you will get your foot in the door. And once you do? Give that company a minimum of 1 yr. 110% of your abilities and attention and who knows what doors will open. Good Luck Mark

I am attending NETTTS(New England Tractor Trailer Training School) in Somers, CT

When I passed my permit I asked for Bananas and got some with an explanation that bananas are meant for after you pass you cdl test. WELL CAN I GET SOME MORE DANCING BANANAS PLEASE? I PASSED YESTERDAY MORN. Moving onto the next step. Orientation at Trans Am in a couple weeks.

Darnell, I too will be in orientation within the next couple weeks with TA. I chose them over another company for the same reasons you did. I felt the same way about the lease op pressure. I was open and asked my recruiter about it and She was honest and said We do give you the option but in NO WAY are you obligated to lease. We have several company drivers that are long term employees and very successful. I apologized for relaying to her what I had heard on youtube and other sites about TA. She said not an issue. This is your career and if you don't ask you wont know. So keep asking !!!! Another thing about TA and my recruiter. I had a few pre-hires in hand and have been keeping them updated throughout my schooling as to how things were going and questions I had. THE ONLY RECRUITER TO REPLY BACK WAS CARRIE AT TRANS AM. She would get back to me within minutes and I'm still waiting for the others to reply. That in itself was impressive to me. Also Carrie at Trans am would always answer any question I had and finish her email with YOU GOT THIS MARK! CAN'T WAIT TO MEET YOU IN MARCH. She made me feel as if I were already on team TA. Also I was told about the Greyhound bus ride of 40 hrs. I asked if it were possible to fly into KC and she said it's not the norm but we will do that for you. Again Impressive to me. I plan to give TA 150% of my effort. I appreciate the fact that THEY TOOK ME WHEN OTHERS WOULDN'T. I've jumped through many hoops to get where I am and I'm not going to let any of it go to waist. DID I MENTION I TESTED OUT YESTERDAY AND PASSED . I AM A NEW CDL-A HOLDER. Now onto my new career with Trans Am. Good luck D.

Only thing negative we hear about TA (that's not FAKE NEWS) - is the low payscale ($ .32 ?).

But they do have SatelliteTV onboard (small consolation).

Rick

I only make 32 cpm. But I love the company I chose to begin my career. They have been nothing but supportive. I make decent money with them. I average around $750 a week take home after taxes and insurance. I usually gross around the $1000 mark. Even at the low rate of 32 cpm. (Works out to just over 3k miles a week)

Thanks Brett, Keep them coming sir! Very good material for us rookies. Mark

Great Job Brett, I'm 1 mth short of graduation and I am going to advise all my fellow students to listen to your podcast. I hear so many different ideas these students have and some are just plain insane. But I never say anything to pop their bubble, as who knows what it takes to make their wheels roll. For me? It was very informative and realistic. Thanks sir. Mark

I haven't even listened to it yet and I'm very excited! I think this is a great idea and I hope it really takes off. Way to go Brett!!

Hi Amy, I live in NH as well and currently a student at NETTTS in North Andover MA. I can tell you that at New England Tractor Trailer Training school ( NETTTS ) they need instructors badly. They are located on Osgood St. in N. Andover, Ma. I'm told they are advertising everywhere for qualified instructors. From a students prospective, the classroom instructors are the best in the biz. however, get out in the yard and the instructors are limited. Some days there are only 3 instructors covering the entire fleet. I just know from talking to the instructors that they need more help in a bad way. Hope this helps. I drive 48 miles each way m-f to get to and from school. It's a large school with branches in RI, and CT I think. Good Luck

Hi Everyone, I thought I would introduce myself since I never have and have been a part of the site for a few months. I am proud to be a member of this site since it's the only one I know of that is actually real.

I started driving in 1988 and retired in 2008. I am disabled and won't be able to actually drive again but want to hang on to my CDL just in case. I spoke to a school in Concord, NH( which by the way is the only school in this area that I know of) and asked them about an instructor job. They were very interested and told me they were going to start their weekend program back up and wanted to meet me in person.

We set up a meeting which was canceled because the owner's mother had passed away. So far I have not heard from to set up another meeting. I don't want a full-time job because I am going to school to become a Graphic Designer/Web Designer. I am in my 3rd year of my Bachelor program. I go to SNHU online. It's a great way to go if you are working or too far away from the school to attend classes in person.

Like I said I started driving in 1988 but after a few lessons from my then husband I decided to go to school. I found a school near me and started classes in November 1988. I graduated January 5, 1989, with my Class 1 but didn't get a job right away because I wanted to go local. Most new drivers back then went over the road to get their experience. I had 3 kids at home and being a single mom( my marriage fell apart shortly after going to school) I needed to be close to home.

In March I finally got my first driving job. I approached the owner of an oil delivery company out of Derry, NH and told him my story and asked if he had any openings. He said not for the oil truck but he had a cab over that he planned to put back on the road and wanted to sign it on with a company in Everett, Ma. The company hauled sea containers out of the piers in Boston. This guy signed me on without so much as a road test. He knew I was a recent graduate with no experience and a female. In my area there were very few female drivers. That was the start of a wonderful career. In 1993 I applied at the only TT school in NH and was hired on the spot. Teaching, I soon found out was what I really wanted to do.

To make a long story short I have had a wonderful life behind the wheel and teaching. I taught in the classroom, yard and road for 3 different schools. The first school closed after I was there 4 years. I really miss that life. I actually taught and drove for an owner operator for years. I got a shot at dispatching for 3 different companies as well. I also got a shot at being an owner operator as well. Unfortunately, I got back together with my ex and after owning 2 trucks and going over the road to every state in the US (except Alaska and Hawaii) and 3 provinces of Canada we split up again for the last time and ended up losing the trucks. Live and learn.

Ladies, I went through a lot of crap being a female driver while teaching and dispatching but in all the years I drove I was treated with the utmost respect by other drivers 99% of the time. Of course there were a couple old fashioned drivers that actually told me on the CB of all places to "go home because women should be barefoot and pregnant." lol you can imagine what I told him. So Ladies, just keep going strong and always try and climb that ladder because there are many places for us in the Transportation world and don't mean being a secretary.

Thank you everyone and take care out there because the world for a driver is a scary place.

Take care,

Amy

I've spoken with drivers for this company as well as the recruiter and both said they will ALL ask you to lease over and over and over again, and if you stick to your guns and stay company they so to speak shun you. They make if very appealing to go lease IE. miles, CPM, loads, ect ect. I have no idea how true this all is other than speaking with these folks first hand. I'm not interested in leasing. I'm really hoping to get on board with a company and stay there. I'm not the type to job hop. But if they make it that unconfortable why would anyone go there in the first place. I probably shouldn't say names but I'm talking about TA. Anyone have any truth about this?

Who is telling you that they "sort of push leases on you"?

I can tell you from experience I was told this about my company. Its a lie. We even have different dispatches for company drivers and lease ops... Which means if the dispatcher pushes you into lease he isnlosing a driver which is going toncost him $$$.

Ask other drivers of the company and ask the recruiter if company drivers have different dispatchers.

I have spent countless hours watching youtube videos of truckers, some of which have been mentioned and are quality. However, I've noticed in the beginning the rookies are out there giving their testimonies about how great their company is or not, and the next video you see on them they have been fired for something they did or blogged about. I tend to think that doing you tube videos as a rookie isn't such a good idea. Or they have changed companies for whatever reasons. I see some that are bragging about getting 3000 miles a week and raking in over a grand take home and the next thing you see they are complaining about sitting and not getting any miles. One guy went so far as to say he leased a truck from company X and in 3 months netted 300.00 after all was said and done. Yep He quit!!!! I thinking youtubing isn't always the best thing for a rookie to do.......

You guys.....this is exactly the kind of stuff I was talking about a few days ago when I asked if we should setup a video section here on TruckingTurth.

I've surfed YouTube for good quality trucking videos and that's a painful process. 95% of it isn't really helpful to anyone that wants to learn more about the industry, the job, and the lifestyle. But the other 5% is really great.

So send more ideas like these! I can setup a video section with different categories like:

- The trucking lifestyle

- The realities of the job

- backing videos

- shifting videos

- cooking in the truck

- electronics reviews

...all kinds of different categories. That way people don't have to endure the painful process of sifting through 27,000 YouTube videos. I can embed the good ones right here on TruckingTruth.

The good news is I've gotten pre-hires from 2 companies and now I have to make the decision which one is the better of the 2. I'm about a month short of graduation from School and trying to decide which way to go. One company sort of pushes Lease op on you and the other sort of pushes Teams. I'm not interested in leasing a truck straight out of school. And I have to Team for 3 months before I can go solo if I so choose or I can stay teams. hhmmmm? decisions decisions. Be safe Mark