Starting Over With Trucking

I'm a 30yr old guy looking to start over and gain control of my life. This may be a long post. I used to smoke every single day multiple times a day and finally quit all together about 2 months ago. Moved on my own without roommates about a year ago and since then I've had trouble financially. I used to work in construction for about 3 years as an apprentice(union) but hated it and felt like I was slowly killing myself to have a career in a field I didnt even like. My lease is up come August and I've been considering trucking otr for the past few months. I've been studying for the cdl permit test and plan on taking it in about 2 weeks. My plan is to drive for Prime Inc for a year as a company driver then leasing if I can. I want to save as much money as I can so that I don't have to worry about the headaches of poverty and not knowing when my next meal will be or if I can afford my rent for the month. I know living on a truck will eliminate that problem but I'm wondering how much I'd be willing to save and if it's even possible. I don't have a backup plan, trucking is my last resort and I'm feeling anxious because August is around the corner. Has anyone had experience with the hiring process with Prime Inc as far as the timeline from applying to actually arriving at Prime? Do I have enough time? I did an at home test to see if my system was clean and unfortunately failed so I plam on testing again at the beginning of July and applying for Prime soon after. I also had a speeding ticket from 2020 that I JUST paid off and am wondering will that prevent them from hiring me? Sorry for the long post and any help is appreciated.

With your drug use history, it's hard to say. 2 months isn't a long time, and I wouldn't be confident in drug test results if I were you.

My plan is to drive for Prime Inc for a year as a company driver then leasing if I can.

Leasing should be the last thing on your mind right now and generally, it's not worth at it.

Has anyone had experience with the hiring process with Prime Inc as far as the timeline from applying to actually arriving at Prime?

There's a bunch of current Prime drivers and previous Prime drivers here that will be able to answer your question.

I also had a speeding ticket from 2020 that I JUST paid off and am wondering will that prevent them from hiring me?

Three years old, you might be ok. If it falls within any question on the application answer honestly.

Prime is one of the harder carriers to get hired on to. You should apply everywhere and avoid companies that do hair follicle testing.

Your not gonna like what I’m about to say, but it is the truth.

Your history with drugs as you state put you in the catagory of a chronic user. It may take upwards of a year for you to get it completely out of your system. A urine maybe 60-90 days but hair folicle will be much longer.

If you roll the dice on this and fail you will be done before you ever get started.

The ticket. That must have been a big fine that it took 3 years to pay. That will showup and you will have too explain it. If it was 15+ over will be looked at much worse than less than that.

Companies are looking for responsible safe drivers. Your history paints a picture of you and if you fit their mold. All companies have different thresholds of what they will and won’t accept.

As Banks said Prime is one of the harder companies to get on with. My guess is you will need to get your start somewhere else that is more leinent in hiring practices.

Once you get a shot you will need to work your butt off to show you are a safe and reliable driver and after a year you will have more doors open for you.

As for leasing, put that idea away until much much later. Foscus on getting into the industry and hired at this point.

Before you get to that point the current study that just started with the federal gov’t may be done and may dramactally change leasing programs in this industry.

In this poor economy companies are all over the board in hiring. Some are not hiring, others shrinking the hiring area due to freight volume in those areas, but all have one thing on their side. They can be much more choosey because there is no lack of canadates.

You have an uphill climb for sure but if you really want it, you will do what it takes.

I wish you the best going forward.

Jayson welcome! Congrats on stopping the smoking, keep up the good work. Let me ask you some questions to try and help.

Truck driving is rewarding but part of trucking is having a backup to the backup. With the smoking like the others have advised the timeline to start probably will need some adjusting.

Is driving a semi truck what you want to do, or is it a path to restart? The reason I ask is because like construction if you don't like it you won't be happy.

Can you go month to month on your lease until you have a job offer from a company willing to train you?

Why only Prime, why limit yourself to only one option? There are numerous companies that train to hire, don't eliminate your options, investigate them.

Like Banks said avoid companies that do hair follicle testing unless you want to wait a year to get into driving. Shaving your entire body or testing at home until you pass are not foolproof methods. Even though companies aren’t allowed to report a failed hair follicle test to the federal database, they can still report it on other reports that companies check and it will still ruin your career before you even get started. Any failed drug test, especially as a brand new driver is a career killer. I’d wait a bit and then find somewhere.

When looking at carriers to go with, don’t worry too much about mileage rates and how close you are to a terminal. Just find a reputable company that will preferably train you to get your cdl themselves, stay with them for a year and then decide if you want to stay or find something else at that point.

The driving isn’t the hard part. It’s the long hours, being patient with traffic and with the ebb and flow of the job (“hurry up and wait” is our mantra), and staying in compliance with laws and regulations at all times.

Nice job on kicking the habit and hope to see you out here soon.

Thanks for the feedback. To start, I chose Prime bc honestly that was the 1st to come up on a search and I felt the long training would better prepare me than other trucking companies. I'm hearing that some only train for a few weeks and I don't think thats enough time to know all I need to know about trucking. As far as being happy with trucking, I've always thought about it but didnt take the thought seriously until recent. I really enjoy driving because it gives me peace of mind and since I don't have a gf/wife/kids I'd be just fine with staying otr for long periods of time. I'm very much a loner and do better working on my own.

Congratulations on your new gig! I hope you continue to enjoy it moving forward.

Oops! That last comment was meant for Papa Pig. I guess I was destined to act the fool all week🤪🤣

Dang RealDiehl, I thought I read something wrong! Went back over it , then saw your last post! geez confuse a old woman!

Oops! That last comment was meant for Papa Pig. I guess I was destined to act the fool all week🤪🤣

Jayson,

Yes, Prime does have a long training and we have successful members here who were/are with them. We also have members who are successful with carriers with shorter training, like Davy rocking it at Knight with a two-week Top Gun phase if I'm remembering the right term.

I recently went through Veriha's three week training and am five months solo. Common theme here is no one really feels prepared when they get cut loose. This seems to be a learn as you go profession, after you get the basics of the school portion and road training.

If you feel like you need/want the longer training of Prime and they'll have you, great. But I hope you don't shy away from the career if you have to go somewhere with a shorter period. You can be successful anywhere if you're dedicated and put the work in.