Question:
Well, I've done a couple months of research and finally called some recruiters today. You'd never know there was a driver shortage. Of all the companies I had on my list, only ONE expressed interest in hiring me. Going to go to the PTDI school here, with one-on-one, hands-on instruction, among other benefits; no sitting back watching someone else drive. But evidently, that doesn't make much difference.
Millis - would not take me from any school, instead, wanted me to go to THEIR school.
Crete - disinterested. C'est la vie.
Ozark - wanted 6 mos. experience, even though they're consistently listed under student classifications.
Trans Am - Yeah, baby! Said they'd be glad to have me! This must be indicative of why they were number 1 on my list.
-->
USA Truck was also responsive, but they weren't on my original list. They are, now, I guess. Haha.
However, I see why so many people sign on to places like Werner, Schneider, Covenant, et.al... they're hiring! I realize that's the lay of the land in this industry, but I'm more likely to stay with someone who gives me an opportunity right out of the gate. As long as everything's equitable for both parties, they'll have a loyal, faithful, employee in me for the duration!
All part of the learning curve, and why research is necessary. Oh, well, on to the next level...
de KJ5KX

Answer:
There is no shortage of drivers, and never has been. The companies with the 'schools' aren't hiring either; they are self insured, they just haul cheap freight and need a constant rotation of cheap labor exempt from minimum wage and labor laws that doesn't have a clue yet. Your 'training' there will consist of spending several weeks hand unloading freight for $200 a week until your 'trainer' gets sick of you and either signs off on you or wants fresh meat.
If you pay for your own school you won't be an indentured servant and they won't have as much to hold over your head. after your 'training' you will either run hot by 'logging smart' or get fired or starved out for not being a 'team player'.
If by chance you are the .01% of people who make it through this, and have become so degraded, perverted, and sociopathic enough that you like the 'lifestyle', there's a small chance you may be able to move to a carrier that will treat you only slightly as bad, and you could have a long career as a homeless third class citizen endlessly wandering from warehouse door to warehouse door.
By the time you reach this point, you will be totally unable to function in normal society again and trapped in the trade, what family you once had is long gone, and wouldn't remember you if they saw you anymore. You will end your pathetic days dying in your sleeper while eating Cheetos and watching TV in some sh8thole truckstop or warehouse district, nobody will find your body for days, and you will be disposed of in some unmarked pauper's grave. The state will sell your few belongings to rag picking gypsies, at least what little is left that your fellow truckers didn't loot.
Good Luck, and keep a positive attitude! Something is bound to turn up!!! -->
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[This message was edited by Dominoes on January 24, 2003 at 03:46.]
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Answer:
FlimFlam, I assume that you are going to LCCC for schooling? You might want to check out this company:
http://www.westmotor.com/
Things may have changed, but ten years ago they used to hire students from the school. They are a small to medium sized company based in Boyertown, PA. They run the northeast and offer weekly home time. If you'd like to be home on weekends they may be for you.

Answer:
Originally posted by Dominoes:
There is no shortage of drivers, and never has been. The companies with the 'schools' aren't hiring either; they are self insured, they just haul cheap freight and need a constant rotation of cheap labor exempt from minimum wage and labor laws that doesn't have a clue yet. Your 'training' there will consist of spending several weeks hand unloading freight for $200 a week until your 'trainer' gets sick of you and either signs off on you or wants fresh meat.
If you pay for your own school you won't be an indentured servant and they won't have as much to hold over your head. after your 'training' you will either run hot by 'logging smart' or get fired or starved out for not being a 'team player'.
If by chance you are the .01% of people who make it through this, and have become so degraded, perverted, and sociopathic enough that you like the 'lifestyle', there's a small chance you may be able to move to a carrier that will treat you only slightly as bad, and you could have a long career as a homeless third class citizen endlessly wandering from warehouse door to warehouse door.
By the time you reach this point, you will be totally unable to function in normal society again and trapped in the trade, what family you once had is long gone, and wouldn't remember you if they saw you anymore. You will end your pathetic days dying in your sleeper while eating Cheetos and watching TV in some sh8thole truckstop or warehouse district, nobody will find your body for days, and you will be disposed of in some unmarked pauper's grave. The state will sell your few belongings to rag picking gypsies, at least what little is left that your fellow truckers didn't loot.
Good Luck, and keep a positive attitude! Something is bound to turn up!!! -->
___________________________
Interested in how the NAFTA court system works?
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB65/
[This message was edited by Dominoes on January 24, 2003 at 03:46.]
Why such negativity? IF you dont like it, why dont you get another profession?
People entering this vocation today are in for a rude awakening.
Mike
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Mike

Answer:
so sad,but true
==================
It reminds me of the post by some drivers long lost daughter.
My daddy died after decades of driving,will somebody please come to his funeral.
They enlisted the Teamsters’ help after the company decided that it would no longer pay them hourly wages but compensate them based on mileage, which would have cut their income in half
http://www.teamster.org/03news/hn_030110_1.htm
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Answer:
Relax runninhorn Dominoes is one of our resident pessimists (or is that realist). His post has me LMAO. Remember to always read the posts with a grain of salt. Each poster has their own personality, some positive, some negative, mostly honest in their own perspective. Take all of it together draw your own conclusions.
FlimFlamMan good to see you back on the forum. You have enough professional background to know that the school really does not make any difference at all. The attitude of the student is more important than the location or accreditation of the facility. Since we are all in this to get a job, make your decision based on the company you would prefer to work for. I have decided to take a one week refresher course to get back in the truck and then go through the Millis school. I look at is as an initiation and an opportunity to learn even more at their expense.
After one year of OTR experience you can just about pick which company you want to run with and they will never question whether or not your "school" was PTDI certified or not.

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heh heh heh heh heh.. they don't believe what Dominoes said is true!!!!

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Dominoes, that was a masterpiece.

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Dominoes, RABELAM, zigzag, BANANA Unit #1 and now dotsaurus have no clue as to what's going on.
Trucking is good and the school you attend won't ultimatly matter. You can do as many others have done get your start with one of the big companies and move on to a better job as your experience grows. Provided of course you do not get any tickets or bad DAC reports, accidents etc. etc. along the way. There is a great future in store for the right people.
Forget about loosing your family as said above. You can do as others have said and just let them go. Forget family and friends. They will eventually let you down anyway. Your a lot better off being unattached. As most you probably have a life long dream and desire to fulfill. Besides there are plenty more waiting for you on the road.
You will probably not die " in some sh8thole truckstop or warehouse district". You'll spend most your life there but you can die some where else like a rest home.
Trucking is great. How else can you see the country. It's like being a professional tourist. Lots of beautiful scenery within a mile on each side of the highway. When you actually get a chance to be on the open road you might even see some of it.
Just take a job with one of the big training companies. You know yourself and probably realize you can beat the odds and last it out. It may be that 100's of others couldn't beat the odds, but you can be different. Then move up to better jobs making big bucks as your experience grows.
Trucking isn't a job anyway, "it's a life style". "We all had to start somewhere".
Good Stuff
"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of all who threaten it"
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RC Universe


Answer:
nobody will find your body for days, and you will be disposed of in some unmarked pauper's grave. Sounds like a plan!
Thanks, guys, for the good words. I appreciate your insight. Sailtrucker, good advice, thanks. And good luck to you at Millis... if this WIA thing doesn't progress (they've had me jumping through hoops for over a month now, trying to get the grant money), I may very well join you there, just to get my training underway.
Thunderbolt, I'm going to be attending LCTI, I think that's separate from LCCC, even though they are across the street from one another. The career center lists them as two different schools. Thanks for the West Motor link, I'll check it out.
Best to all!
de KJ5KX

Answer:
?,.

Answer:
Once again......
PTDI is NOT some superior training curriculum. It's simply defines exactly where the school drops the student off in the learning process -- so the carrier knows exactly where they're picking-up. That's all. Nothing more or nothing less.
Want a superior trucking education? Go to a good community college program -- they're usually the best and sometimes include some truck mechanics, etc. But if a state community college isn't a dues paying member of the PTDI 'fraternity' their diploma won't get you a job at most major carriers.
Major carriers want students who've been groomed in accordance with the PTDI curriculum they designed. It gives them students with a consistent, predictable book-learned and hands-on education. They couldn't care less if you've looked inside an engine or know exactly how all the air-brake valves work. They don't want you messing with that stuff anyway. They just want to know you've passed specific written (school) tests, based on the big textbook the school charges you $75 for (included in your tuition) and have spent a certain number of hours behind the wheel. That's it. They'll take over from there.
FlimFlanMan: You said,
"I'm more likely to stay with someone who gives me an opportunity right out of the gate. As long as everything's equitable for both parties, they'll have a loyal, faithful, employee in me for the duration!"
Don't count on it. Being new to the business, they ALL suspect you'll quit the first few months becauswe MOST NEW DRIVERS DO. Your sincere professionalism isn't worth much -- sadly -- until you have a year or two under your belt. They've been burned so many times...and heard it all before....carriers are EXTEMELY jaded. The turnover of newbies coming into the business is so high, they simply will not take you very seriously until you prove yourself worthy. And the only way to do that is to show them you've stuck with driving a year or two -- it really doesn't matter where.
Pick a company where you'll have the best chances of sucess (no tickets, no accidents, no late loads) your first year or two. These are usually the companys that grind out trainees like sausages and have relatively objective, organized ways of rating their drivers. ie: Werner, Swift, Schneider.... Keep your nose clean and move on from there.
Picking your first company as if it'll be your last, can be a recipe for disaster. The industry just doesn't work that way, and that's not how the better drivers move into the better paying job.
Want to be a union driver 5 years from now? Start with Swift.
[This message was edited by Shuffler on January 26, 2003 at 05:08.]

Answer:
they simply will not take you very seriously until you prove yourself Understood. and have relatively objective, organized ways of rating their drivers. ie: Werner, Swift, Schneider... One of the reasons I've shied away from these companies is that they seem to have a propensity for filing false DAC reports, according to many participants on this forum and elsewhere. That scares me. Comparitively low pay is another.
Thanks for the words of good advice, Shuffler. I'll certainly consider this.
de KJ5KX

Answer:
I'm not aware of any intentionally false DAC reports - though I'm sure it happens, probably more at the smaller outfits I would guess.
But the major carriers WILL file a DAC on the slightest damage they find out about. If a safety supervisor sees you hit another truck at a terminal -- maybe just bend the fender a little -- it's written-up as a prefentable accident.
The majors have no motivation to cover-up your accidents, the way a smaller company might if they otherwise want to keep you. The majors go through so many drivers, they never know if they're writting up a future million-miler, or the next driver who'll cost them millions in civil damages. Everything gets written up.
Look --- if you learn the craft well and do the job properly, you aren't going to have any preventable accidents, minor or otherwise.
Now....as far as pay goes, that's a good reason to stay away from the majors IF you can find a better deal. Just be careful to take all those numbers in context. I work for a major, and between mileage bonus, safety bonus, drop and stop pay, I make about 7cpm more than what they advertise as their mileage pay. Add medical/dental, paid vacation, 401k and stock purchase plan -- and as many consistent miles as the law allows -- and my total compensation is much better than the "mileage pay" makes it sound.
High mileage pay is great -- if they give you the miles. The problem is that the more they pay you, generally the more selective they have to be about what they'll haul....and the more they stick to better paying freight, the more their drivers sit around between loads (JB)