Which way to go? (Probably not a good title for a wannabe trucker!)

I would, but our income is too high. I tried that a couple years ago for a different idea. I'll just have to pay either in cash or sweat

 

I finally made a decision. I had 3 phone calls in to or from to recruiters today. I talked with Roehl, but for the west they are only hiring flatbed drivers. That's okay, after my research, they had fallen a long ways down on my list. My first pre application was to Prime, because..well YouTube lol A recruiter called me back the next day. Since then I have left her 3 messages and finally gave up. I called the main recruiting number and couldn't get a response there either (on a Friday morning and a Monday afternoon). Ok cross them off the list. I get that people are busy, but ####, return a phone call from 4 days ago lol I don't like corporations that lack communication at any level. My final phone call was to a recruiter at Pride. She was awesome. She spent 20 minutes easily answering my stupid questions (ok, some were smart, but I am sure most were stupid. Just the way of the world when you are talking about #### you don't know anything about). I am going with Pride. I don't think I need to talk to anyone else right now. For several reasons. I am going to list them and ya'll tell me if you think it's smart or dumb. Be honest. My skin is so thick you could make a suitcase out of it.

1. Though I have ridden in trucks (back in the 70s and 80s), I understand that being a driver is different. There's a lot more to it than being the cute chick (back in those days..) that wears a tshirt that says "### Gas or Grass....etc). I don't know if I'll like being away from home, day in and day out. If I go this route and pay for my own CDL, if I hate it, I can quit and come home and drive tour buses to the Grand Canyon for old people (ok people my age lol). Or go back into the gaming industry. But I won't be tied to an overpriced repayment of school, or breaking a contract.

2. They have no issue with pets or riders if you want them. She said that if I paid the pet deposit any of my dogs could go (not sure if I can take more than one, definitely sure that one would be enough on the road lol) If my husband or son wanted to come for a ride, no big deal, just a small fee for the insurance monthly. And only the month that they rode with you. So if I convinced either of them to ride for a week or so, it would just be that one month. I liked that. It may never happen, but I'd like the option.

3. They have a drop yard pretty close to my house. They also run the I15 corridor a lot. She said that besides home time, I might be able to work it out to spend my 10 hour breaks at home from time to time. That would be awesome actually. My own shower and washer and dryer. I know this would not happen often, but probably more than with the other companies I looked at. She said it would happen more often if I drove the Western 11...so that might be an option at some point. My best friend also lives in SoCal, right off the 15...I can crash at her place anytime. Options. I like options.

4. Even before I go to CDL school, or get my permit, she's willing to get me in touch with their clinic to answer my medical questions (hoping to have all that cleared up by the time I apply for my CPL even...but you never know). An inverter for my CPAP is no problem, though I would have to pay to have it installed. That's okay, She's also willing to do all the pre employment background checks etc BEFORE I start CDL school, so I'd be basically approved for employment before I shell out the money for CDL school. Their training is about 6 weeks, 100 hours at $450/week, and 200 hours at $700/week. Then you go solo at $.45 cpm. That pay seems to be on par with all the other beginner companies, but the training pay is better from what I have seen. And it's not 4 months of $700/week like Prime. The long training was a plus for them...but they aren't paying my bills at $700 a week. And 4 months in a truck with a trainer. I can only hold my farts in for so long!

5. I am fortunate enough to still have enough left in the bank to pay for school outright. No student loans or ongoing payments. I will even have a bit left to cover the 6 weeks I won't be making much money. But not enough to cover 4 months (with the other company).

I can't really remember what all else I asked, and this post is long enough. Thank you @Chinatown and @Snowshoes for turning me on to this company. Now I am getting excited! (and a bit scared, I won't lie)

 

I definitely will. And probably ask a ton of questions lol

 

My full intention is to give it a year minimum. By then I’ll know some of it first hand and will be able to make decisions on what will or will not work for me. I’ll also have the experience to get another job if I don’t like OTR. I do have questions about schools but I’ll start another thread for that. Maybe tomorrow after I talk to more than the one I’ve talked to already.