Good Day,
I have earned my CDL A permit & Endorsements and now...
I search for the coveted OTR hands on training.
From a few of the posts I have read and a very informative website regarding trucking companys' (TruckingTruth.com) I have narrowed my choices to SWIFT & PRIME.
Could the good people of this site, yeah and the bad ones(I will know whom you are) give me some insights to these two Co's?
I do live just outside the I95 area west of Boston,MA and have a son who is very active in sports and since I am done coaching sports, I would like to pursue a career in OTR.
I have heard that some Co's will let you take the truck home if you have a place for it, others will not, some Co's have runs near your place of residence, again, some do not or @ least not close.
Bottom line I guess is that if I use my level head and give a Company my all, in assured safe driving and Dedication...as I am see all of you have, or did, in some cases; What would be the simple choice between SWIFT or PRIME?
OR if anyone knows of a more Local Company that might work, please let me know.
Thanks in advance for the help.
Massachusetts Newbie
Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by Carabello720, Feb 16, 2012.
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If you can afford it why not go to NETTS in N. Andover, there's local work in this area where you'll probably make more than otr
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Affording it is the problem, do not have the 4K , and from what I have seen, no company inhouse hands on training in New England.
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Doesn't NETTS do financial aid?
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Prime has an NE Regional which may suit you, being so close to I95 and all. My husband was there for training this past week. He thought the experience was great.
You won't get paid for the CDL training part, but during the TNT phase, you'll get $600/wk or $.12/mi, whichever is larger, so long as you are on the truck and available for dispatch. Once you're on your own, you'll start at .33/mi, with additional per mile cents ($.05) for regional (if you choose that) and lightweight trucks ($.05) (if you choose that). After 80K miles, you go to starting pay of $.34/mi for basic OTR. This all assumes you will go company after. Can't speak to leasing.
Assuming you have your act together, are available for miles, do the miles and don't take a lot home time, you'll likely do ok.
Look in the Prime topic for recent accounts of 1st hand experiences of trainees going through the program.
On the other hand, if you regard large companies and/or governed trucks as a show stopper, probably not for you.
As far as we could tell, Swift and Prime were very similar. We approached Swift first, but they were not taking trainees from up here (not sure if MA is different). Prime is and we know they have accounts in Maine.
If you find a way to swing training yourself, you could try Schneider; their site claims they reimburse training costs from approved training facilities. They seem fairly well-regarded and "newbie friendly".
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