Profile For Evey

Thank you so much all of you! I was afraid it was bad. I'll be calling the town as soon as I can this morning. If that doesn't help, my boyfriend found a lawyer who specializes in situations like this. I'm not gonna let this kill my chances!

Thanks again!

Thanks Mike D. ! I didn't even know about the safe driving course. Couldn't hurt :)

Hi all, I've been doing tons of research, studying, hanging around the forums and doing whatever I could to prepare for a career change. I posted some questions on this forum a couple of weeks ago, and got lots of good feedback that helped me figure some stuff out. I quit my jobs last week. I am signed up to start with Careers World Wide on Monday. I have talked to recruiters at several companies and was feeling pretty good about things. Up until this morning I had a clean driving record. I haven't even been pulled over, let alone issued a ticket, in the last 23 years. But this morning I missed a sign and failed to slow down coming into one of those little nowhere towns on a state highway, and I got caught in the speed trap. I figured I'd get away with a warning considering my record, but nope. 4 point ticket, 12 mph over. I'm livid. I'm ****ed at myself for screwing up. But how bad is it? Did I totally screw my chances of getting hired with a trucking company? Should I call the recruiters at the companies I was interested in and see what they say? Thanks in advance. I know somebody on here has some words of wisdom.

Splitter, thank you for your kind words and encouragement. I wrote a reply to Old School pretty much laying out why I made the decision I did. It hasn't posted yet, but I'm re-reading his post and yours, and I know you guys know what you're talking about. So I'm going to revisit the company training option, going in a little wiser this time. ;)

Evelyn, let me tell you something that you're completely misunderstanding. You can start at Prime whenever you are ready. You tell the recruiter when you're ready. It can be after your hunt, or after New Years Eve, or even just after the apocalypse - you are the only one who decides that. Recruiters are always in a hurry to sign you up, that's how they get paid!

You can of course do as you want, but don't get confused about who's in charge of the date you commit to. You determine your start date.

I don't know why you'd borrow that money when a really great company will front it for you, and then give you a solid paying job and not require you to pay it back. It sounds pretty great to me.

Why I Prefer Company Sponsored Training

Old School, Sure, I do understand that. After initially reading all of the answers in this forum I was set on applying for company training, which is why I started with Prime. Then I started thinking about all of these other things. My parents are getting older. Dad has Leukemia. If I wait until next year to do this hunt it might be too late. (my season starts Nov 1st) I get the logic of doing company training for sure. And I still intend to apply with Prime, just not for their company training. I figure this way I'm expanding my options as far as possible employers and still training in a time line that works for me. (which CWW does). It actually works out better for me than hopping on a bus to Missouri or SLC. The fact that I'm staying local while training means I'll be able to get in a day or 2 of hunting on days off from training and work on some other personal/life things too. I can have it all!!! Hahaha! Ugh. .....And if a company has tuition reimbursement it all works out in the end.

I do appreciate your input and have certainly spent a lot of time weighing the options. Looking forward to maybe seeing you out on the road someday.

Hey guys, I just wanted to give an update and say thanks again for all of the input and advice. Last week I applied for driver training through Prime, and intended to apply with some others as well. Meanwhile I gave one more try at contacting Careers World Wide, this time by phone instead of through their online form or e-mail. Long story short, they seem like a much better fit for me than Sage and much cheaper. $3500 if I have cash up front. No problem, I already secured a loan for that from my credit union. They are the trainer for Stevens, which is one of the companies on my "wish list" and work with several other reputable OTR companies. They have excellent reviews. I start there October 22nd.

Meanwhile the Prime recruiter called me, and when I told her my decision she asked me why I would pay $3500 when I could come to Prime for only $150. She has a point. But by going through CWW I have a little more time at home to wrap up personal matters and spend some time with family and friends before heading out on the road. Since I'll be training locally, I'll still be able to do my antelope hunt with my Dad this year. That's pretty important to me since I don't know how many more chances we'll get to spend that time together. Then hopefully I can get on with a company that offers tuition reimbursement. Stevens would probably be a good place to start, haha.

So, that's where I'm at. I hope I'm making the right decision, but my gut is telling me I'm on the right path.

I really appreciate all of the great advice. Safe travels out there!

Thank you so much you guys! I think you've confirmed my gut feeling that company training is the way to go. I'll still go up to Cheyenne on Friday to meet with the Sage people and find out more about their hiring partners. Meanwhile I think I'll cover my bases with some aps to these companies.

Hi everyone!

My name is Evey. I know, it says Evelyn on my profile, but being called that makes me feel like I'm 73 years old and on my way to a Red Hat Society luncheon, haha. But I digress. A while ago I made the decision to get my CDL and become a truck driver. I've worked in the restaurant business for most of my career, with a couple of diversions, but I can't see much of a future for myself there anymore. I work multiple jobs and barely scrape by.

After making the decision to change careers, I spent a lot of time researching and trying to find the best course of action. I've spent many hours haunting the forums here on Trucking Truth, and reading Brett's newsletters. What a great resource this has been! A good friend of mine drives a dedicated route, and gave me lots of good advice and encouragement. I contacted the school where he had trained 20 years ago or so, and never heard back from them. I contacted the local community college, and couldn't seem to get them to communicate with me or answer questions I had about their program. I applied for paid training through Jim Palmer, and everything seemed to be going well, until they turned me down and wouldn't tell me why. They just said it's very competitive and they get hundreds of applications. So, I found Sage. They have a school in Cheyenne, close to my home. I can commute there for most of my training. They have been super easy to work with and very helpful and communicative. And they are very expensive! I have an appointment to tour the school and give payment, fill out paperwork, etc. this Friday. I plan to start there on October 15th. But I've read some advice on here that private school can be risky if I can't get hired afterwards. I'm kind of freaking out because I have quit one job as of Friday, I've given 3 weeks notice at another and my weekend gig at the Farmer's Market ends in late October. So I'm going to be fully unemployed very soon. I have a loan for $3500 , and some money in savings and a modest amount of credit card credit to fall back on which means with the cost of Sage ($5000) I have enough to live on for a month during training and then I need a source of income.

My fear is that there is something that will make me unemployable. (Why did Jim Palmer turn me down?) I have passed the DOT physical and have a clean driving record. I have stellar references. But my credit has a bankruptcy from a couple of lay-offs during the recession. I have taken an anti-anxiety drug only for a short time while going through a rough patch , but I quit it because it made me feel so numb. When my husband died I went through a depression (no surprise there). I have a couple of gaps in my work history from the aforementioned lay-offs and also a voluntary "sabbatical" when my husband's health was failing and he wanted an early retirement. We lived in an RV in the mountains for the summer. That was amazing!...………... I don't know? Are these things going to keep me from getting a job? I know that I should have gotten some pre-hire letters by now, but with working 3 jobs I haven't had much time and that's something that I just haven't gotten done yet. Am I making a mistake going into debt to attend Sage? Should I look instead at other company training programs? At least then I'd know I had a job going into the training and before dropping 5 grand. I know there are several folks on here who trained with/work for Prime and they seem like a good choice. I'd appreciate any insight or encouragement, or straight talk for that matter. If you think I don't have a chance, let me know.

Wow, sorry, that is a lot of info. But like I said, I'm kind of freaking out. I know that I have what it takes to be successful. I just need someone to give me the chance. Meanwhile I'm afraid that I'm risking too much for an uncertain future.

Thanks! You guys are awesome!

P.S. My short list of companies that I'm interested in is: Stevens, Schneider, Werner, May, Prime, Southern Refrigerated. The common denominators here are that they all hire new CDL holders, have tuition reimbursement, and allow pets. I'd like to maybe bring my cat along, and also considered that having a dog while traveling alone might not be a bad idea. I think Prime is the only one of these that offers company training. Are there others that I should consider?