Profile For Paul C.

Hey Paul,

If Eugene welding is still there, look and see who is loading there. I used to load pallet racking there several times a year. Also, Roehl would be who I would go for in Michigan. Also, Celadon has had financial problems and recently filed bankruptcy. Roehl's school is supposed to be one of the best.

Eugene Welding in Marlette? Yeah they should be still there. I'll check them out, thank you Ken.

Thank you for the heads up on Celadon guys.. I appreciate it.

Roehl..I would love to apply with them. Problem is that I am originally from the EU and my US driver licence is below the 2 years mark...which is a requirement from Roehl. So, is a no go for me.

Go checkout Halvor Line. Very nice equipment and competitive pay

Thank you man, I am going to contact them.

Got a call from Celadon. They seems to be super interested in my profile as well. Asked me when I can start. They don't have flatbed tho. The recruiter told me the first 6 months I have to drive dry van only and after 6 I can choose if I want, reefers.

Celadon seems to be a good starting company as well, if I am correct they had an intense 2017 but seems they are recovering. Still, no flatbed division..

Got an email from TMC, they don't hire in my area... :( I live 60 miles north of Detroit and apparently they don't hire north of Detroit.

@mods: If I am not allowed to post multiple replies in sequence, just let me know and I will stop immediately. I do apologize in advance if it is not allowed.

Paul I agree 100% with everything Old School wrote.

I trained with Swift and continue driving for them 5 years later.

The "family" feeling is highly overrated and like OS said, greatly misunderstood. Your professional relationships on the job are at the grass roots level, with planners and driver managers working as a team to maximize your efficiency, safety and performance.

The number of people in my circle of direct contact and influence is about 6. Add in another dozen of casual professional relationships and that about sums up my family within a company employing 20,000+ drivers.

Swift/Knight is a huge, monolithic enterprise. That said I can honestly say I have never felt like a number; have plenty of work, always been treated fairly and professionally. Zero regrets.

The large carriers are far better equipped to effectively train a rookie driver and far more tolerant of the myriad of mistakes that will occur. We have a saying here; good drivers can be successful with almost any company. Keep that in mind...

Good luck!

Just had another phone call with Joan I. from Swift. Things looks going very well. I asked about joining the flatbed division and she told me that because of where I live she wasn't sure if I could join or not, so she will make some calls and let me know. Hopefully everything goes well.

I'll keep you posted.

Wow guys..! Thank you so much for your replies. I rarely seen a more helpful and friendly community that this one.

Old School, thank you so much for taking your time to write that to me. I agree in everything you said and will be like a treasure to me that I will remember.

Thank you Matt, PJ and G Town. Feeling much better about Swift. Yeah there are a lot of screaming folks on the internet, in particular against the big names. I don't pay much attention to the "screamers", I am new so is easier for non-experience person to believe more about complaints etc since I haven't direct experience but I always remember myself that is the Internet... I am very glad I ended here and I can ask directly to people that knows what they are talking about and have direct, physical experience.

Thank you again guys. I appreciate it very much.

Hey everyone,

I apologize if this question has already been asked a million times.(I tried to read the forum as much as possible).

I'm looking for a company that has a flatbed division and possibly offer CDL training for people like me without it. I know Swift has a flatbed division, I have already applied to them and seems I have good chances with them.

My dream would be TMC....but from what I can learn by reading you guys, it seems to be a very selective company and that they have a lot of applications so is like winning the lottery, seems like.

Another one, Melton Truck Lines if I am correct takes new drivers but with already CDL. I am looking for a company the offers training from square one.

There are other companies out there with flatbed divisions that offers training for non-CDL students?

I haven't nothing against Swift, I just would prefer to start with a smaller company with a more "family" feeling.

P.S. I live in Michigan.

Thank you so much guys.

@Paul C. - shoot me an email plz with your name, location and phone number to socialmedia@driversolutions.com. I can see what we have available. Thanks!

Done :)

@Derek@DriverSolutions

Hey Dereck,

I am seriously considering to start a career as CDL driver and apply for PAM but I have a quick question please.

I am a Green Card holder, Permanent Resident so I am fine to work in USA no problem, I have SSN and everything else. I am all set. The only thing is that I have my Michigan driver licence from less than a year. Is that a problem? I know that some companies have a minimum, usually 1 or 2 years a valid US driver licence.

I have my European driver licence from almost 20 years.

Thank you very much. Paul.