My honest, no BS, opinion of P.A.M.

I am having a really hard time trying to decide between C1 or Central. C1 said I would be with PAM after I get my CDL. I like the fact that C1 is 3 weeks over Central's 2 week course. The biggest thing to me was training location. However, every time I think I want to go with Central I have had this feeling in my gut that I should go with C1 & then to PAM. I just don't want to make a mistake in choosing the school/company that fits me best. As far as poor reviews, I could type in the name of any trucking company on Google and get good & bad reviews.

 

Bet ya central will be in business Longggg after Pam is gone !!! Just my opinion.....and read post #121 again, and again.........

 

Good point jtrnr1951. I realize that I may not make much my first year regardless of who I start with but I don't want to wind up sitting for days on end.

 

Doesn't central have a terminal near I-285 near Hotlanta ?? If so, that means alot also !!!!!!!!!

 

yeah they do. does that generally mean more miles? I live about 80 miles from that terminal. That is probably better than having to drive to Jacksonville for PAM to pick up my loads.

 

Yup, less distance to turn truck in also. Hey, ya gotta think about these things !!!!!!!!!

 

Thanks for the insight jtrnr1951. You really got the wheels a turnin' in my head!

 

When you Google a company search for their 2009 3rd quarter report . PAM reports similar fleet reductions to other carriers .

http://www.ptsi-online.com/pdfs/3rd Qtr 2009 10-Q.pdf
Central is privately held so finncial info isn't that easy to find . However , something isn't right when a carrier with less than 2,000 trucks needs their own training school to keep turning out newbies . The page for Central's Academy is full of red flags . Only 2 or 3 weeks ? Financed according to qualifications ?

 

Thanks for the insight RickG. I agree with everything you're saying.

The general consensus among most non-truck drivers is that we assume it is the only industry where people are still making good money. I have been one of those people. I am not saying that there is not anybody making good money right now but I guarantee you newbies are not. I just wanted the opportunity to really learn how to drive a truck and work for a decent company but instead the only opportunities seem to be driving schools attempting to short-change potential drivers for an easy $6k in training fees...

 

I'm just gonna insert this in response to an earlier post about living expenses. Yeah, eating at truck stops, and even in a bunch of fast-food joints can be expensive, especially when you're only making trainee pay.
I've lived on less than $5 a day for food before, when I was saving up for some stuff, by picking up a bunch of canned food and using it on the road. I'd occasionally go in and buy dinner, but for the most part, chunky soup warmed on the defrost vent was my fare, with the occasional chicken salad sandwich for variety. I'd make up a batch before leaving home, and keep it in a cooler until I'd used it up.
Not quite the lifestyle a lot of folks are used to, but it works well enough. I lost 120 lbs that year (with a little help from my bicycle) and saved a decent wad of cash I'd have otherwise spent.
The trick with the latter was to figure out what I'd have spent on food that day, round it up, and put it in a virtual 'piggy bank', meaning I'd mark off the amount from my checkbook and keep up with it on the back of the register. Now that it's getting easier and easier to access accounts on the road, you could even set up a savings or money-market account and do the same thing on a weekly basis.

Just some ideas, anyway. Take or leave it as you will. I really need to get back into the habit, myself.