deciding on prime

I can compare prime to other companies. Unlike you I have worked for more than one company so I can say I know the difference. You sing the praise of how great they are and have nothing to compare them too. They are the only one you ever drove for. One day I thought hot dogs was the greatest thing on earth; then I tried steak....

 

I used to train drivers for Werner. They at one time were a good company. Today isnt the same company however they still have top notch equipment and decent benefits,oh and their maintenance isnt half bad either. So it just depends on what you're willing to put up with.
My brother in law went thru Schneiders training program. He loved the portion of training done at their school to get his cdl but the trainer portion he complained was lacking and too short in reality. After he got his own truck he loved Schneider,good pay and benefits and a fleet manager who he liked and got along with. So once again it depends on you.
If I were to recommend anyone to a company I always point them to two companies,Prime or Schneider. I believe from talking to my friend who is an instructor/trainer at Prime their program is superior to Schneider however Schneider has an abundance of dedicated and regional type runs that pay well with good benefits. So there ya have it.
I recommend really asking yourself what you want to do and what is important as far as pay,benefits,equipment then make a well thought out decision. If you would like to get a dedicated run soon then Id think strongly about Schneider.

 

thanks I have been really thinking about doing the prime program they have. Schneider says they are not hiring in my area. But they alway's have recruiters going to the truck school that I might be attending. I don't understand that

 

I'm 56, and have gone through a few... another career and service in the military including attending the Instructional Systems Development school run by the US Military - that was accredited by the Northwest Institute - at the time the outfit that decided who was running educational programs well enough to be considered for college credit. I also taught in a technical training school (also accredited) that specialized in a high-tech field that I was enlisted in. The training I received would also apply to skills-based training such as driving. At that time, this was required experience for senior noncoms involved in the training end of things - and included training used to not only establish training courses from the ground up, but also was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a given school. So its not like I'm wet behind the ears...

As far as my driving experience, as I have pointed out to others - I have not jumped around a lot of trucking companies because I've found that Prime suits me just fine, thank-you.

If I were to look at Prime's training program critically, I'd say they don't include enough classroom work - the student would benefit from that by having a more standardized experience. Instead they rely on "seat time," and expect that the trainers will pass along the needed information. In my opinion, they do that very well.

Many of the complaints that older, more experienced drivers have about training today is that not enough practical driving time is given to a student before they are turned loose on their own. I went through a third-party school that was pretty much the standard CDL course. They teach you just enough to get through the driving test, and get your CDL. At that point in their driving career, most drivers can barely back a trailer into a dock door, have little control over their trailers on the road, and are generally unsafe.

When I came to Prime, I found that my trainer felt that I was quite a bit behind the CDL students who came in through Prime's PSD program - and I'd agree with that. When you get assigned to a trainer (not a CDL instructor) after going through the PSD program with an instructor, I feel you will be much more prepared to follow a career in transportation. At that point you've had a CDL instructor sitting in the right seat continually instructing and monitoring you for quite a bit more time than what you'd receive in a third-party school, in actual real-world driving situations. The 50,000 miles you will drive with a trainer is about 10 - 12 weeks of additional instruction and team driving to polish your skills before Prime will consider you solo-qualified. That's more than just about anywhere in the industry that I've heard of. I had to do 60,000 miles with a trainer because of my third-party driving school. And you should know that Prime has a fairly good wash-out rate. You will not be guaranteed that this will result in a CDL or a job - you have to prove that you're good enough.

Now you may think this is excessive, but I don't. I remember where I was at when I was turned loose on my trainer's truck with a solo load while he took some hometime, and I was very glad to have that experience. Other's may disagree, but I think its some of the best training you can get in this industry - based on my professional experience as a technical trainer, and what I've seen on the road since then. There are companies who think that a CDL school certificate and 10-days of orientation makes a finished driver - when I see those guys coming down the road, I really hope they're right.

One of the statistics that I heard, admittedly generated by Prime, was that when our PSD students were compared to other Prime drivers at 2-1/2 years into their careers had a better safety record than all other Prime drivers who got their CDL-training elsewhere in the industry.

So... judge for yourself.

 

I wish more companies would give this kind of seat time before turning students loose. When I trained at Werner it was 4-6 wks co-driving with a trainer then you got your own truck.

 

can't get a hold of my recruiter with prime been trying for 3 weeks now. Been wanting to tell her that I want to do the prime student traning. They already aprove my application. I left her a voicemail last week any ideas? really want to get into their program.

 

I heard something today that one of the recruiters is very ill. Maybe it is yours I would call main recruiting number and just get a recruiter and ask about it. Good Luck