Comments By Rob ( A.K.A. CASE)

Stephen, thanks so much for your reply and the good advice! At this point my friend, moral support is even a luxury so I will definitely take it.

Yeah I am spending this week getting all my affairs in order. A while back I had my wallet stolen so I didn't have an actual social security card, he'll I didn't even have a bank account but as of today my social security card is on the way and I have bank account. I am sure the lady was not to pleased to open an account t with ZERO DEPOSIT but I really just wanted to see if I had anything on my credit holding it up but I guess not!

At least now, no matter where I go I can receive direct depost and not have to worry about getting paid or how I'm going to get my check. Tomorrow I am going to the DMV to get my drivers abstract and we will proceed from there. I just want to have everything ready before I apply anywhere.

No I never got around to learning Rhino. At the UW I was responsible for administering 250+ licenses of Autodesk and other design software packages so I had to know a little about most of them such as Autocad including, architectural and electrical desktop, civil 3d, mechanical desktop, and Revit but Rhino was not one of them. Almost got a job a while back working for the company that developed it though, McNeel & Associates another great Seattle based company.

Hey Michael & Daniel thank you for answering at least some of my questions. I kind of assumed that I would go to SLC but wasn't positive.

Daniel, I have been following many of your posts, just wanted to say thanks for providing so much information and details about your journey it's such a huge help ans inspiration. Nor sure if your read my introduction post I made yesterday but I am really chomping at the bit to get started and looming primarily for the company sponsored school that would get me some sort of income the fastest...any income.

Daniel I also notice you started with Central, they appear to be not so high on your list now compared to Prime as far as pay goes. If you were advising someone new would they even be someone you would recommend?

And as far as the $200 goes with Prime can someone please verify specifically when that kicks in? I have read it starts as soon as you get your permit which is about 4 days into class? I have read different accounts of when that starts and that is a huge deciding factor for me.

Thanks again for all the greet help

- Rob (aka Case)

Man the more I learn I swear the more confused I get! Now I have a couple more companies to chooses from and added to my list. I have been reading more forum posts and now it looks like Roehl is also at the top of my list and not so much a secondary choice!! Still hoping others can offer up,some good advice especially on companies that will get me to having an income sooner.

Thanks again Anchorman for all your help so far

Thanks for the replies Anchorman, I am in the process of doing as much research as I can. I think I will be heading to DOL this week to get a complete driving record printed out just to make sure nothing is lingering. Yes Daniel B has definitely a lot of posts worth following I have read many of them and will check out the links you provided. This whole website is just awesome, thank you for your response I really appreciate it. Love the photo and the handle by the way.... Huge fan!

Hey everyone.

Right off the top I want to say thank you for such a great site and awesome forum, what a blessing.

I will apologize up front for the length of this post I will try to be as brief as possible but as I am about to make a life changing decision it is not something I want to be casual about.

My name is Rob, I am 45 from Des Moines, Washington - just south of Seattle.

I have spent my whole career behind a desk doing CAD drafting and design. My last gig was as the CAD manager for Capital Projects/ Design Services at the University of Washington. Unfortunately my job was a "funded" position so my salary was directly tied to the state budget so needless to say when the economy took a dump, my job ceased to exist. The last few years I've been doing odd jobs here and there some CAD work, website creation, search engine marketing but it's just not cutting it.

My mother recently passed away from a stroke she had when I was young, so while I am saddened by her passing I am glad she no longer has the struggle day in and day out and. I no longer have the need to be tied to one place as I was responsible for some of her care and just her condition in general kept me tied to the local area.

Also have a live in girlfriend, but with me not getting much in the way of income lately things are a bit stressful at home. I have always been someone that has worked or found a way to survive so this feeling of not pulling my own weight has me feeling pretty down.

So I have decided to research truck driving. I have been fascinated with big rigs since i was a little guy and honestly am oerplexed at why i hadnt really even looked into it unti now! Recenty I saw an ad on Craigslist and talked to a woman whom im not actually sure if she is a broker or middle man or actual company recruiter for Central Refrigerated.

Well that set the wheels in motion and led me to Google which led me to this awesome website.

I am now researching some other company sponsored training programs and could really use some advice and some insight from you good people. I will be totally honest and up front about my situation and will do my best to document every step of my journey.

So for the honesty part. I got a DUI when I was about 21 so that was some 24years ago when I was real young and stupid. I actually screwed up my license pretty good when I was young and had another DUI About 14 years ago but successfully completed a deferred prosecution and had it cleared. Ever since then my license has been in good standing and have had only two accidents in my whole life one was not my fault and the other was me barely tapping someones rear fender following a little too close, that was my fault and about 3 years ago. I no longer drink alcohol or use drugs of any kind.

Right now I am broke.... Real broke. I need to get some money coming in ASAP. Days have turned to weeks, weeks are quickly turning to months and I will be damned if I let months turn to years WAITING for something to happen, I need to MAKE something happen.

So considering my past driving blemishes, my current financial situation and my eagerness to make a change do any of you have any suggestions or advice on how to proceed? Who to avoid? I have Prime, Swift, Knight and Central at the top of my list. With a small interest also in Roehl.

I am willing to do OTR and actually look forward to it right now, as long as I am out making some money I think things will start looking up but I need to get started soon. I liked Prime because of the $200/wk training pay, I know it needs to be paid back but I am not worried about paying anything back I can do that, but I need something coming in first. Also it looks like Knight pays you while you are in school as well? My question would be, with which company sponsored training would I get some income rolling in the soonest?

I have a question regarding Prime. I am heavily leaning toward them but am a little leery of the LW trucks that seem to be the norm you end up with. Is this always the case? I guss I am probably being a little picky considering my situation but I feel like if I am going to be out on the road and basically living in my truck I am a little concerned about the room, can't see how you would get a fridge, microwave and TV to fit in those very comfortably, I would like to be able to have a passenger eventually.

So I am giving it up to you folks, the experienced ones who have the knowledge to assist me. Tell me where to start, I will take the ball and run. Thank you in advance if you have made it through this whole post God bless you for taking an interest. I could really use some advice and some moral support and like I said I will document this entire journey as much as I possibly can. This is step 1!!!

Thanks all, looking forward to your replies and the road ahead.

- Case

Hi guys, thanks for the posts about Prime. I am in the very beginning stages of starting this whole journey and Prime is at the top of my list. I have a couple questions.

As far as the LW trucks go, is there no other option? Are you not able to get into a full size ?

Do you go Springfield for training no matter where you live (I'm in Washington state)

How long before you get paid any money at all - even the $200 weekly loan I have heard about - when does that kick in exactly?

How much money should I bring to training and do you think Prime is the best bet for someone with limited funds and needs cash ASAP?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give!!

- Case