will be starting my career with USA

Alright, 3rd week update. I passed my driving test and have my CDL in hand! It has been a very stressful couple of days as we only got to practice for 2 days prior to taking the exam and we had 4 guys in the truck. It has definitely been one of the most difficult things I have done and I'm very relieved to have passed. Now the real training will begin shortly and I can really get some skills! The practice included more driving around town as well as practicing the route for the exam. I really wish I had more time behind the wheel but my trainer got us all ready for that first step of obtaining the cdl.
The pace of this school was very relaxed the first 2 weeks until we got in the road truck then it became a very accelerated course. Just keep that in mind if your considering this. There are still people from several classes before mine that are still here and haven't passed the test yet but if you listen to the instructor and take advantage of every opportunity to drive, they'll get you passed. Now that this is done, I'll update you when I get to my orientation.

 

Yes, Sik_life, I feel you on that. I hope so too but my hands were kinda tied so I did the best thing I could and arranged my life so I wouldn't need much to get by on. By minimizing most of the stressful situations like home time and having to make a certain amount of money, I think I set myself up for the best chance of success.

 

Ok, been awhile but here's an update. I went to orientation on dec 20 and started with my trainer on dec 22 and went straight through, no break, for 5 1/2 weeks. My trainer did a great job of getting me ready to go solo. In particular, he showed some great backing techniques that are really paying off now. He was very experienced and had a good demeanor, couldn't have done better honestly. It was definitely a huge learning curve and I went solo in Feb and am still learning tons daily.
As far as the company itself, I have no real complaints. I got a 12' Cascadia 10 speed with 430k but runs well. Has a couple of issues that were resolved quickly. First one, APU's alternator went out, got replaced in a day in our terminal in South Holland (Chicago) then a weird thing, the air compressor failed and I lost most of my oil. Got towed to our Denton shop and had me back up in a few days. Since then, smooth sailing, even had a 3100 mile week once. I've been to Cali once, but mostly Midwest lanes so far and a little bit of southeast too. Overall, it's been a good learning experience and I'm looking forward to the warm weather months.
So, With that being said, if anyone has questions I'll try to answer them when I can.

 

Figured it was about time to update my status at USA. I've got a lot more free time these days as I've been on a dedicated/regional account doing store deliveries based out of HEB here in San Antonio. Nice change of pace from OTR, I work Thursday-Monday starting at 2am with tue-wed off. Some long days with the multiple deliveries but sometimes it's just a Laredo and back so not too bad at all. HEB uses 57' trailers often since they're intrastate so that was a little adjustment but my backing skills have improved dramatically, lol. Gotta say, everyone that unloads at HEB is very friendly and quick.
My Cascadia ended up having more issues with emmisions system so they retired it and I gotta brand new 16' Pro Star. The truck is really nice, kinda makes me wanna get back out on the road, yeah right! (I'm loving my 2 days off too much!)
As far as my dealings with the office and my 3 DM's go, it's been good. I really don't have any issues than the occasional no preplan for a few hours after delivery when I was OTR. I got good, consistent miles around 2600 a week average and I ran all over NE, SE, Midwest. After being in trucking a while I kinda know some things to look for in a company and USA has done right by me. No overbearing micromanaging, APU, &reasonable expectations. Don't love the 62mph at all and the pay was really low starting out but it has been raised. I'd be at .37 if weren't on a weekly salary. Figured I needed to pay my dues anyways. They dont have cameras yet like most big companies and it seems they are weeding out the riff raff and reducing the fleet size. Also heard they are not taking students from the Drivers Solutions/C1 program any longer. Trailer seem to be an issue still but that's pretty common with all the big carriers and were rolling out lots of new ones.
So although I'll admit I'm still inexperienced from a trucking standpoint, I have to say I have no regrets with my decision to come here and would recommend them. I've also learned in this industry (and pretty much any other) that patience, a great attitude, an ability to communicate effectively, and a bit of common sense gets you much better results so maybe my experience is indicative of that?

 

Ok, since this was such a popular thread (lol) I feel obligated to finish it. I've completed my year and subsequently have my C1 school paid in full. I'm gonna stick around because I'm getting pretty good miles, I'm bumped up to 38.5cpm and they get me home when I need to be.
The more I read about all the companies installing driver facing camera and collision avoidance crap, I'm glad that I chose USA. They're in the process of turning all the trucks up to 65 now which is awesome too. Also, got the company CSA score is up enough to get Drivewyze on out Peoplenet units. No company is perfect and it seems the driver manager/dispatcher makes or breaks it. I've been fortunate to have goods ones and my current DM is really knocking it outta the park.
I know USA gets a bad rap and from what I can see about its history, it seems to deserve it but right now they're doing lots of good things and I'm sticking around