Good for you? Good for me!

Oh! That explains it! No... I have had a bunch of different jobs in my life... fast foods, amusement park gaming, working at a ski resort, running heavy equipment for one summer, pumping gas (1977), factory work, the Navy, printing, digital artwork, network administrator, computer service / repair, teaching, and now professional driver!

I've been laid off 2 times in my life (about 35 years of work), and you can see I've had to learn a lot of new things along the way.

I also earned an Associate degree from Kent State along the way, going through 5 years of night classes, along with a boat load of computer certifications from Microsoft and others. I just got to a point where I was tired of learning something new and reinventing myself every time I lost a job. I hope this will be the last time I have to do that... with the high demand / need for truck drivers, now and into the future, there seems to be a pretty good chance of that! =)

 

As a matter of fact, I was approved and scheduled for orientation, with another company! I failed my maneuvers and had to wait a week to retest.
During that time, I told the company I was going to go with, to wait until I passed the test, before scheduling me for orientation.

It just so happened, that Susan Paradise contacted me a couple of days before the 2nd test.
I listened to what she had to say, did some research, thought about it for a day or two, and called her back to let her know I was going to go with Transport America (when I passed the test)... and I would let her know 'after' I passed, to set up the orientation.

You really don't have to worry about the approval of any company you apply with. There are still a lot of things that can happen / change between now and the time you pass your driving test... not the least of which is the failing the test (I hope you pass on the first try)! Needless to say, things happen.

I applied on the paper forms that Susan gave us, during her visit - but also applied again online, later - I think during the last week of school, and a week before the driving test?

Even after I passed the test, Transport America still had to do their own background check / approval, to schedule the orientation - that took a few days. Due to the timing, it took another couple of weeks to get into orientation. So, my first driving test was a week after the last class, then I had to wait another week to take the test (and passed), then I had to wait a couple more weeks to get into Orientation. School was over during the last week of October, I passed the test on November 13, and started Orientation on December 3. My actual start date was December 7, 2012.

Don't worry about approvals from any company... when you pass, and you've been approved - there won't be any problem getting into orientation.

I would wait until you are in week 8 and call Susan and talk to her.
That will give her a heads-up that you're about to graduate / take your test - and help make sure everything is ready to go!

 

Yeah - I would. I was in the 16 week externship program - 10 weeks at TDDS and 6 with a company.
I got my 'diploma' a couple of weeks ago.

 

That depends... they pay 2 cents extra per mile if you have Hazmat (whether you are hauling hazmat or not).
I started out at .36 per mile, straight out of school - with no prior experience - OTR Solo.

They pay HHMG miles (movers miles).
You get paid whether you are loaded or empty.
You get paid detention if a shipper keeps you over 2 hours, and they pay layover.
You get paid $25 extra for crossing the border.
You also get paid for touching freight (I haven't had to touch freight yet), and for extra stops per trip.
Pay changes depending on experience, team vs. solo, regional, dedicated, OTR...

You are eligible for a penny raise in 6 months and another raise in a year - based on performance.
There is also a .02 per mile bonus paid for exceeding their idle policy - per month.

Overall, they pay better than most other companies in the industry.