Arams Diary!!

That’s awesome, except for the automatic part.... Lol.... As said Relax as much as possible. Take everything one step at a time. When you start to feel overwhelmed slow down and take a deep breath. It helps you to re foscus. Become a sponge and soak up all you can from your trainer. When you go solo you will be thankfull you did. KW’s are really nice trucks too by the way. I really enjoyed a T660 I had for a year.

Thank you all very much!! I'll keep in touch!

So I decided that Steven's just wasn't for me. I left yesterday after completing orientation. A couple of reasons, they lied to me about training pay. Found out during training which is 6 to 8 weeks, you'll have to watch videos and do tests on your phone. You have 6 levels of videos and tests which you HAVE to pass with a 100% result. But the biggest reason why I left is because, they had this thing where Mexican trucks bring trucks into our U.S yards and we have to go pick them up. They told me I have to check the trailer and if there's any drugs on board I'm the one responsible, ummm 🤔🤔🤔, no. I'm with total transport of Mississippi now. They're paying me $300 dollars for 3 day orientation, 3 weeks of training at $90 dollars a day. Wish me luck ya'll.

Well that sure took a quick turn. Best of luck,

Lol indeed, thank you. I just made a decision that i felt was the best for me. I didn't wanna be stuck somewhere and be miserable. I think I'm gonna like total a lot more, found out a buddy of mine drives for them and he loves it.

Well that sure took a quick turn. Best of luck,

So I decided that Steven's just wasn't for me. I left yesterday after completing orientation. A couple of reasons, they lied to me about training pay. Found out during training which is 6 to 8 weeks, you'll have to watch videos and do tests on your phone. You have 6 levels of videos and tests which you HAVE to pass with a 100% result. But the biggest reason why I left is because, they had this thing where Mexican trucks bring trucks into our U.S yards and we have to go pick them up. They told me I have to check the trailer and if there's any drugs on board I'm the one responsible, ummm 🤔🤔🤔, no. I'm with total transport of Mississippi now. They're paying me $300 dollars for 3 day orientation, 3 weeks of training at $90 dollars a day. Wish me luck ya'll.

Hogwash!!

And if you can't handle a few training videos whilst on your trainer's truck....most of which are less than 5 minutes long... maybe this ain't the career for you!? I promise you; there's a whole lot of more difficult 'real' obstacles to learn about and overcome out here than hypothetical 'drug laden trailers'...

Get a grip man.

As for being lied to.....

Are you sure you were actually paying attention and really heard what you think you did? Sounds more like wishful thinking unfulfilled to me!

I went through Stevens' entire program and they were nothing short of brutally honest about pay and conditions!

Just sayin'

Anyway; having said that...I hope you find the new situation suits you and that you achieve all you wish for. Best of luck!

So because I don't want to waste my 10 hour rest watching videos and doing online tests this isn't the career for me? Ok, thanks...maybe they were honest with you but they damn sure lied to me. And yes I was paying attention, all the way from Virginia to Texas I asked questions and was given the same answer. I even asked both of my recruiters for them to have it in writing. Then when I get with my counselor the final day of orientation she tells me a completely different thing. Listen man that may be "your" company and I get you wanna stick up for them but I'm not dumb like you may think. I'm new to this thing and I don't wanna risk ANYTHING. I understand the profession I'm getting into so don't think I'm a little kid coming out here expecting an adventure easy as pie.

Btw it's not a few videos, it's 6 levels and each level has at least 5 to 8 videos each with a test. Also a 100 question test at the end which you have to get a 100%. Thanks!!

So I decided that Steven's just wasn't for me. I left yesterday after completing orientation. A couple of reasons, they lied to me about training pay. Found out during training which is 6 to 8 weeks, you'll have to watch videos and do tests on your phone. You have 6 levels of videos and tests which you HAVE to pass with a 100% result. But the biggest reason why I left is because, they had this thing where Mexican trucks bring trucks into our U.S yards and we have to go pick them up. They told me I have to check the trailer and if there's any drugs on board I'm the one responsible, ummm 🤔🤔🤔, no. I'm with total transport of Mississippi now. They're paying me $300 dollars for 3 day orientation, 3 weeks of training at $90 dollars a day. Wish me luck ya'll.

Hogwash!!

And if you can't handle a few training videos whilst on your trainer's truck....most of which are less than 5 minutes long... maybe this ain't the career for you!? I promise you; there's a whole lot of more difficult 'real' obstacles to learn about and overcome out here than hypothetical 'drug laden trailers'...

Get a grip man.

As for being lied to.....

Are you sure you were actually paying attention and really heard what you think you did? Sounds more like wishful thinking unfulfilled to me!

I went through Stevens' entire program and they were nothing short of brutally honest about pay and conditions!

Just sayin'

Anyway; having said that...I hope you find the new situation suits you and that you achieve all you wish for. Best of luck!

I don't think that you are dumb....never said nor even meant to imply that. Apologies if that is what you understood from what I said.

They weren't honest with just me....they were totally open about pay policy with the entire class...in great detail!

And yes, there is indeed a test that has to be passed with a score of 100%. But; every single question on that test is from the tests on the previously mentioned videos. Therefore you would have previously answered the very same question correctly before. Amazingly, every single Stevens truck out here is driven by at least one driver that managed to pass this same test. In the case of team trucks; both drivers!

What I was attempting to convey is that these simple videos and multiple choice question tests are a very minor obstacle to overcome compared to the realities faced on the road every single day. If a small task like completing these simple video tests is too daunting for you; how will you deal with the harsh realities of the OTR lifestyle?

Proper research and due diligence prior to signing up with the training program is astoundingly simple. While there are indeed vast numbers of 'terminal rats' and 'trolls' online, willing to trash any company that doesn't meet their personal requirements, there are also huge numbers of current employees very willing to openly discuss the truth about pay and conditions. I know because I did serious amounts of research prior to signing up and knew exactly what I was signing up for ahead of time. Do you honestly believe that your 10 hour rest period is sacred and that you will be able to slumber peacefully for a solid 10 hours straight between on duty periods? This is why I was wondering whether you were suffering from a little bit of wishful thinking. Ask any of the experienced drivers on here about the realities of 'managing your clock'.

If you are not prepared to invest a total of a few hours study and testing this early in your career, just what amount of effort do you expect to have to actually put out in order to succeed? Are you one of those that believes the ' There is a shortage of drivers - therefore holding a CDL entitles me to be treated with 'kid gloves' myth?

Don't take me at face value, especially if you think I'm just defending Stevens...ask any of the more experienced hands on here just how much effort they put into being a 'top tier driver'! In fact; it is one of the leading topics on this amazing website. There are hundreds of posts on this very subject. Do yourself a huge favor....read some of them.

To earn the sort of money you were mentioning early in your posts, is indeed possible. But it will require significant efforts on your part. Almost everyone has a 'buddy' that says they are making big bucks with 'xyz' company...but, weirdly, when asked to produce paperwork with hard evidence of said 'big bucks', most seem to disappear into the ether!

I don't wish to discourage you. Indeed I hope you find everything that you wish for. I do believe you may be slightly naive and uninformed of the realities of OTR living, if the thought of a few tests and videos is enough to make you 'change horses midstream'.

Anyway; as I also said, I wish you only the best and hope you do well. I fervently hope you prove me wrong.

All the best,

Simon

I'm not dumb like you may think. I'm new to this thing and I don't wanna risk ANYTHING. I understand the profession I'm getting into

Aram, I'll just tell you right up front, we are going to think you just made a bone-headed move. You obviously think you did the best thing, but based on what? You have not even made your first dollar as a professional driver. How in the world would you know how things work in this industry? I would bet a thousand dollars that you got to yucking it up with some other people there at Steven's and based this silly decision on their input and what they had to say about the training, the videos, and whatever else it is that you think is wrong at that company.

Good grief man, I have been out here for years, and I am still required to watch a video each month, and pass a test on it. It is called trying to make professionalism and safety a priority. I guess you just think you ought to be treated like a King now that you have a CDL. I hate to see this kind of stuff because you are in for such a rude awakening. I once wrote a little short story about a guy who went to trucking school, and I introduced the types of people in the story that he was sure to meet. You are a cookie cutter example of one of the characters in the story. His name was "Mr. Misinformed."

Of course, we all hope you come out on top, but it's not looking very promising at this point. You made a classic blunder. You went to an orientation, and then determined that you knew way better how things should be run at a trucking company than the folks who have been there doing it for years. We've seen a lot of people in here get their start at Stevens and one thing that has always stood out about them is that they stood by their drivers and worked with them whenever they had an accident. They are really focused on safety and taking care of their drivers.

I am curious though, what are you going to do if you find out that Total wants you to watch a video every now and then? Will you go stomping off to another company? Seriously, I can't believe you jumped ship over something as common as having to watch safety/training videos.

I thought the safety videos which we call Computer Based Training or CBT were DOT required. Prime video records us while taking them as proof to DOT it was in fact us and not someone else logging as us. we have probably 35 or so with tests at the end in orientation, then another 15 or so during upgrading. we have weekly safety videos that arent mandatory but very informative, and reefer has food santitaion videos.

as stated, we do a lot of work out here and much is done off duty, like it or not. ive had 20+ hour days and it can suck, but i have 2 hour days as well.

Now...the drugs on the trailer thing would bother me, but Prime runs from Mexico too. Many carriers do. By the time we get the trailers, customs already searched the trailers and the cargo with drug sniffing dogs. so how much of a problem would that be?

the pay...if i had it in writing, i would be mad and feel lied to. and im.not calling you stupid, but are you sure it was stevens? i ask because Nighthawk was considering CRE claiming she saw 35cpm in their website. but it isnt listed on the site anywhere and im pretty sure its 27cpm because trainers make 34cpm there. sometimes we confuse companies.

i think the others are just concerned for you because it seems like a hasty decision and they want the best for you.