Location:
Stuart, FL
Driving Status:
Preparing For School
Social Link:
Mighty Mike On The Web
My logistics and transportation training began back in 2004, when I was blessed with an opportunity to join a winning team. I learned to ship medical equipment same day on the next flight out for many years, giving me experience with freight forwarders, couriers, and the meaning of needing something "yesterday." The company I worked for serviced MRI & CT scanners. When a field service engineer called for a medical part for a system down in a hospital, the clock began to tick. It was our job to get the part needed in the engineer's hands as quickly as possible. From there I moved onto more scheduled jobs but stayed with logistics and medical service. During that time, I was left in charge of making sure the field service engineers had the proper tools and equipment needed to install X-ray scanners, MRI's, CT Scanners, and PET scanners, with the rigging to go along with it. I now work during the day at a lab in Stuart where I am in charge of shipping and receiving dangerous goods for calibration internationally. We calibrate equipment including thermohydrometers, hydrometers, thermometers, thermoprobes, mass, and digital thermometers for the world. NASA, Tyson Foods, General Mills, and Coca-Cola are just a handful of customers we calibrate equipment for daily. My career in transportation, logistics, and superior customer service birthed Freedom Courier in 2013. I have always had a passion for the industry. My goal was to establish a company with a diverse knowledge of not only transportation and logistics; but a natural feel for the wants and needs of its customers. And we have done just that!
Now I've decided to get my CDL Class A license and drive full time!
Posted: 7 years, 8 months ago
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Update:
Pre-hire letter received from Armellini in Palm City FL. Starting school at Roadmaster in Orlando FL in February.
Posted: 7 years, 8 months ago
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South Florida Resident - Get paid while getting CDL - Paid Training
Update :
Pre-hire letter received from Armellini which is less than 20 minutes from my home. Starting school at Roadmaster in Orlando FL in February.
Posted: 7 years, 9 months ago
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South Florida Resident - Get paid while getting CDL - Paid Training
Thanks for all your advice and input. Considering I won't be starting my training at roadmaster till February I will keep checking back with Prime.
Posted: 7 years, 9 months ago
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South Florida Resident - Get paid while getting CDL - Paid Training
Thank you everyone for all your input and advice. After much research I have decided to attend Roadmaster mid January. Once I obtain my CDL I have a job waiting for me with Armellini. Armellini is in the next city over from where I live so my home time would be weekly. Plus the pay is great!
For all of those hunting for schools and companies still, don't give up. It pays to make the phone calls and this forum to make the best choice for your situation and your future.
Posted: 7 years, 9 months ago
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PAM TRANSPORTATION OR GET CDL FROM ROADMASTER AND ROLL THE DICE
Thank you everyone for all your input and advice. After much research I have decided to attend Roadmaster mid January. Once I obtain my CDL I have a job waiting for me with Armellini. Armellini is in the next city over from where I live so my home time would be weekly. Plus the pay is great!
For all of those hunting for schools and companies still, don't give up. It pays to make the phone calls and this forum to make the best choice for your situation and your future.
Posted: 7 years, 9 months ago
View Topic:
Thank you everyone for all your input and advice. After much research I have decided to attend Roadmaster mid January. Once I obtain my CDL I have a job waiting for me with Armellini. Armellini is in the next city over from where I live so my home time would be weekly. Plus the pay is great!
For all of those hunting for schools and companies still, don't give up. It pays to make the phone calls and this forum to make the best choice for your situation and your future.
Posted: 7 years, 9 months ago
View Topic:
PAM TRANSPORTATION OR GET CDL FROM ROADMASTER AND ROLL THE DICE
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Roadmaster in Fontana is telling me that it will cost $7,500 for training and that Werner would then put in $250 a month reimbursement. At that rate, it would take me 30 months to pay off my loan, assuming I put nothing in at all.
Through this site, I found some companies, such as Prime, that will pay for my training, as long as I work for them for one year. I need to get my experience anyway. I might as well do it without taking on another $7,500 in debt. Just my two cents worth.
Stay safe out there, Colin K.
And $7,500 is INSANE for what amounts to a "3-4 weeks crash course". Keep in mind - Roadmasters own website's FAQ, informs you that all they are doing is getting you your CDL - they are NOT TRAINING YOU to be a "trucker".
One of the most common questions about truck driver training schools is whether or not three- and four-week CDL programs can possibly offer enough CDL-exam training in such a short amount of time.
The short answer? Yes, it’s absolutely possible to get the training you need for your CDL exam in that amount of time as long as you go to a good CDL school.
Part of why it’s possible is that you’ll be getting more training after you earn your Class A CDL (and at that point, you’ll likely be getting paid to train, too!) but before you go out on the road by yourself.
ALL of these schools are CDL EXAM TRAINING - that's ALL THEY DO it get you your CDL. And if companies weren't looking for that 160 hour certificate - they would probably try to do it in LESS TIME if they could. Not to say that Roadmasters isn't a well known school - just, wow - $8K for a CDL.
If you have a SOLID OFFER from PAM in your zip code (Stuart Fl) I'd say GO FOR IT. A few of our members have gone with their training.
I've noted on a few threads that you've posted in (that would be Mighty Mike) about potential issues with pay, home time and other things causing conflict with your spousal unit. You might want to do some more reading and really consider whether or not some of these issues you are concerned about - may make the choice of joining this industry incompatible with your needs.
Rick
The reason I am passing on PAM is because there are other trucking companies that offer CDL and training in return for a contract and pay more than $300/week.
My end goal even if it takes me a year or two is to drive tanker and regional so my home time would be frequent and the pay would be good.
Posted: 7 years, 9 months ago
View Topic:
South Florida Resident - Get paid while getting CDL - Paid Training
Let's see what the recruiters say. I will post the info. I've applied to Tampa Truck Driving School.
Posted: 7 years, 9 months ago
View Topic:
South Florida Resident - Get paid while getting CDL - Paid Training
Although its a ways from you, there's a school called Tampa Truck Driving School. The way it works is...you come in and so long as you meet all their requirements, you choose the company you'd like to work for and you're basically hired pending you obtaining your CDL. No upfront costs other than a few hundred bucks for dmv and testing fees. Upon hire you start paying back the school after 60 days of employment.
I like this as they're taking all the risk and investing in you rather than having to pay upfront and hope you're able to land something straight out of school.
I'm currently debating on whether to stay in NYC and attend a school here or relocate to Tampa and enroll in that school as that's were me and my fiancé plan on making a move to next year anyway.
Well the two or three schools I would be attending are about 2-3 hours away from me anyway......Orlando and Jacksonville.........so I will check out Tampa for sure. Thanks for the tip.
Posted: 7 years, 7 months ago
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**TruckingTruth's 10 Year Anniversary!!!**
Happy Anniversary!
And thank you for creating this site!
I have been utilizing the CDL Permit Study Tools to prep me for my written exam the past few months and have gained so much information exploring and researching both in the forums and on the individual trucking company review pages.
The amount of information is endless and I feel well informed and ready to start school in a couple weeks at Roadmaster.
Thanks again and Happy Trucking!