this lady needs advise

If trucking is for you.. then you will make it.. it may not go smoothly.. but you will figure things out and keep going forward...

There are drivers who got their start at a CDL mill and a few crappy companies.. but got a good gig now.. you know.. the CDL school is relatively a new thing.. and before there were CDL schools and guaranteed job offer jpon graduation those who wanted or just needed to drive a truck found a way... talk to some old timers about how tneh learned and got trained and even the worst CDL mill looks good...

All that being said.. yes, try to get into the best school you can afford and get your CDL.. that is the first step.. then go from there...

 

You still got that one dollar truck?

 

I think I kept it about 3 months. That place made CR England look like heaven.
Everytime I pulled into a truckstop I mailed job applications from those little books and finally got a call from Pro-Craft hauling boats 48 states.
Only decent load I got from Midwestern was a Freymiller load of wool from California to North Carolina. Must have been a trip lease load.

 

Hi Raindown. Wish you the best of luck. Been in this for 2 years in July. I live an hour away in Plymouth. I went to Sage School at Nash Community College and used severance from a previous job to pay for school. It cost me 4k plus traveled 150 round trip for over 4 weeks. In the end school gives you the CDL but little else so do it as cheaply as possible. I am really glad I did this! Wouldn't trade a single day away. Currently my TransAm truck has been at the Kenworth dealer in Battleboro NC for a week now. Darn thing won't start. There will be setbacks, but through it all, I love what I do and wouldn't trade it for any desk job. Guess I got gypsy blood in me mixed with diesel fuel. I have had a rocky road. TransAm is my third company in 20 months. I got fired from my first two for not learning how to tarp loads quick enough (first job with Howard Transportation-8 weeks) and Abilene (5 months-6 weeks solo) got canned for leaving the fuel nozzle in the tank at the home terminal and pulling away. General rookieness you might call it. I have been with TransAm for over 11 months now and trying to hang on for the 1 year (or more) mark and scout better opportunities. Unless you are really advanced, a starter company is the way to go. I have dinged some trailers and scraped a couple of fenders (truck stop and at a receiver). WATCH YOUR MIRRORS. THEY ARE THE BEST FRIENDS YOU HAVE ON YOUR TRUCK. THEY WILL SAVE YOU EVERYTIME WHEN TURNING. IN DRIVING A BIG RIG, WHATS AROUND YOU BECOMES MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHATS IN FRONT OF YOU WHILE YOU ARE TURNING. I truly wish you the best of luck and it truly is a great world out here. Hate being broke down.

 

I like this post. When I read the opening post, and she is saying that everything is going smoothly, but then she begans to second guess because of things she's hearing, I started to wonder, "Why is she looking for dark clouds? If everything looks nice and sunny, why not go out and enjoy yourself?"

Theres is so much negativity in this business. You come to this forum and people absolutely hate their job. Go to the truckstops and eat and they bombard you with Fox News. Everywhere on all sides, more bad news and more negativity.

Ever meet a person with a positive charge? Negative people look at today. Positive people look at tomorrow. Positive people are never defeated. They are only delayed. So you want to live your dream and be a driver? I am all for that! Good luck to you, lady, have fun, live your dream. Want to be the dream? Be a positive charged lady driver. It is extremely rare to see a woman that's positive.

I go into the restaurants, and sit at the lunch counter. Some guy walks in looking for disciples to preach gloom and doom. I ignore them and pick with the waitress. That irks them because they want everyone to be unhappy, and here I am sitting in his church laughing and having a good time. Some times, the gloom and doom preacher is a woman. She will call me out because I am not paying attention to her sermon. She tries to push buttons, but I don't have any, and she becomes angry. Soon she leaves to set up a new gloom and doom church where she can have all eyes on her. The mood instantly lifts when the gloom and doom preachers leave the restaurant.

Would you believe that only ONCE in nearly 30 years, have I met a woman driver at a lunch counter, that was positive charged? I would like to see another. So, instead of looking for, and dwelling under dark clouds of gloom and doom, always try to be positive. Positive people are successful people. When you are positive, you don't live the dream, you are the dream.

Luck in battle.

 

I have to put in a plug for Swift. I went through their Academy two years ago, planning to bail after I got the six months I needed to join the company I really wanted to drive for. Bottom line is that I'm still driving for Swift. They've treated me well, the pay isn't bad for a starter company and is right up there with everyone else at a year of experience, and I've never been hurting for miles. There are some advantages to working for the nation's largest truckload carrier.

 

It could be worse; they could have MSNBC on. Talk about negative! We had that on at a previous job, and we quickly decided that MSNBC stood for Make Sure NoBody Cares.

I hope we meet one day, then you will have met two. Three, if my co-driver is with me.

 

First things first then we can go from there.What stuff are you reading that don't sound promising?

 

One thing to bear in mind, whether you get your CDL through a company school or a community college:

They are going to teach you just enough to pass your CDL tests and get your CDL. Your REAL learning begins when you start training at your first job.

I speak from experience as a trainer for Swift. Most trainees came through the Swift academy, some have been from independent schools that are recognized by Swift (and BE SURE YOU ATTEND A SCHOOL RECOGNIZED BY THE TRUCKING COMPANY YOU WANT TO HIRE ON WITH!!!!).

The AVERAGE total BTW (Behind The Wheel) hours a student has when they first get on my truck is 10 hours.

Let me repeat that.

The AVERAGE total BTW (Behind The Wheel) hours a student has when they first get on my truck is 10 hours.

This means that in their very first day of driving in my truck they may very well double their total hours of driving. There are ten indentations in the passenger seat floorboard where my toes have dug in during their first 50 hours BTW!

The point I'm trying to make is that while community college can be an excellent choice, you will take weeks or months to get your CDL and finish school before you hire. Company sponsored schools by comparison will have you graduate and be ready to hire in 2-3 weeks. You will learn MORE in your first month driving a truck as a trainee. You will learn even MORE the first month you are driving solo, and MORE still in your first year of driving solo.

If it were me starting out today and needing to go through a school I'd opt for a company sponsored school and go in with the mentality that the entire first year or two is tantamount to being my boot camp. With Swift you'll pay for your school through paycheck deductions in the first year, then you get paid BACK for school if you stay through a second year. Two years and your school is free. At least get that first year done, finish your commitment, THEN look at alternatives that will advance your career.

Notice I said ADVANCE your career. Don't job hop sideways.

 

Isn't Swift installing driver facing cameras and other monitoring devices?

As far as watching Fox or MSNBC; if you want the true facts, listen to the former CIA agents and Navy Seals hanging around the video games and coffee counter. They will inform you of lots of classified news, but will inform you if they reveal any secret news, they will have to kill you.