Comments By Houkie

I've read in more than one place that school/training is basically a several-weeks-long interview. I intend to make an effort to look as nice as I can while still being practical. I'll be taking some nice polo shirts, new jeans, and a new (plain, no slogans or logos) t-shirt or two with me to school. I don't think your Marine t-shirts will be too much of a problem as long as they're clean and free of holes/rips. As for the Danskin pants, if they're the skin-tight ones I'm thinking of (kinda like yoga pants?), I'd leave them at home. You're going to be working around a bunch of guys, for the most part. Skin-tight pants probably aren't the most appropriate choice of clothing and I doubt they'd be allowed anyway. Your best bet would be to talk about all of this with your recruiter.

As for your hair, you'll probably have to tie it up. Mine's very long -- around mid- to lower-back length. I'm currently debating whether I feel like dealing with it (ugh, what a hassle) or if I should just cut it all off.

Hooray! Another lady trucker! :) Welcome to the site. You've definitely come to the right place if you're looking for a positive, supportive, and realistic place to jump-start your new career.

Local routes like what you're looking for can be extremely difficult for newbie drivers to get, because companies tend to prefer experienced drivers for those jobs. Generally, new graduates put in a year or two OTR (over-the-road, i.e. long distance) before they're eligible for local routes. However, that's not always the case, and you certainly shouldn't let it discourage you from pursuing a career on the road if it's in your heart to be a driver.

Being unemployed for 16 years may give you problems. Most companies like to see some kind of recent employment and you may run into some obstacles because of your lack of work history. Again, don't let it deter you, but just be prepared for it.

I definitely respect a trainer's choice for whether they do or do not choose to train someone of the opposite gender. I'm not oblivious to the possibility of issues, that's for sure. I am female and I would seriously prefer a female trainer myself -- not because I'm worried about issues (I have worked in close quarters with men before and I can handle myself very professionally), but simply out of respect for my boyfriend. But if it came down to it -- if a female trainer wasn't available and I had the choice of either waiting months for one to show up or going out on the road NOW with a male trainer -- I'd do what I had to do.

I'd like to see it a company wide thing....For ALL companies. then if a bad apple was found and fired, other companies wouldn't hire them. And that goes for abusers, and the sue happy bums....

Does a sexual harassment charge/firing go on the DAC now? Or is that just for actual driving incidents? If the latter is the case, it seems like the DAC would be a good place for something like that to go...

Personally, I think it's ridiculous that the actual company has to pay the price for one employee's screw-up, i.e., "My trainer makes inappropriate comments, so I'm going to sue x company for millions." Seems like it'd make more sense to sue the person who actually did the deed rather than the company, which had nothing to do with it. But we don't live in a perfect world, I guess..

This is something that is of particular interest to me, because I am overweight and currently working on trying to lose some of the excess pounds, and I've been contemplating how I'm going to handle that once I get into trucking (which, while a very mentally taxing job, can be pretty sedentary physically). Yoga did cross my mind. I wonder -- is there space inside the cramped cab of a truck to do any yoga poses? I thought about picking up some dumbbells as well, like Brett said. And I might occasionally take a few laps around the truck stop too. I bet it'll feel good after sitting for 10+ hours.

Brett's absolutely right about eating vs. exercise for weight management, though. When trying to lose weight (or just maintain a healthy weight), it's 80% diet, 20% exercise. When you're on the road and you do eat, try to make it something with nutritional value. Skip the nasty Big Mac and fries at Mickey D's and instead have a salad with chicken and some fruit. I'm not sure what dining options truck stops offer, but most fast-food joints nowadays are incorporating more healthy selections into their menus. I don't know about you, but I certainly plan to take advantage of them when I get out there on the road. :)

While I'm a little nervous myself about sounding stupid on the CB, I hope I don't sound THAT goofy. That article was great. Loved it!

Just want to comment that it's cool to see someone from VB in here. I moved to Charlotte, NC last summer, but before that, I lived in Va Beach for 7 years. I hope you find a company that works well for you and pays you well for your experience. Even though you'ver been off the road for 11 months, it seems to me that your 21 years of experience will mean a lot more to a company than that measly little 11 month break. Best of luck to you. :)

Honestly, I applaud Prime for this. I have some pretty unsympathetic views about sexual harassment and I'm glad that Prime isn't having any of that BS anymore. If I'm working with a male trainer and he makes me uncomfortable, I'll ask for a new trainer. End of problem, and nobody needs to be sued. I was really not happy about the possibility of either, a.) having to wait months for a female trainer to become available or, b.) choose another company simply because people can't be trusted to keep it in their pants. Bah. I just wait to drive. :)

Don't waste your time on Knight. Right now they're only recruiting out of Arizona, Utah, and either Nevada or New Mexico (can't remember which one the lady said it was). That's straight from a recruiter's mouth. They were my first choice so I was pretty disappointed...

Have you thought about Prime? I've heard nothing but good things about them, and a friend of mine has driven for them for years and he really enjoyed it. That's who I'm working on getting in with right now. And like Little Carolina said, look into Celadon. Their school is brand new, and Pebbles (another lady on this forum) is there right now. She has a diary thread right here in this forum that will give you a little bit of an idea of her experience there so far, and you could probably send her a private message if you have specific questions. You've got lots of options! Just do some intensive research into each one. Read the info pages on this website and call recruiters and talk to them.

Your trip out with your cousin sounds really awesome. I'm jealous! Our roommate is a driver for Schneider and I've thought about asking him if I can ride along with him (I don't have my permit so I can't drive, but I could learn a lot besides that), but I don't know if I could put up with him for a whole week or more LOL.

Your best bet for finding out more info about Heartland is probably calling them directly and asking questions.

...have you ever thought about how many people you know who don't use a wash cloth ???? This last few months I've had alot of company. And since I do all the laundry, I noticed who did an didn't use a washcloth....I was shocked !!! I was raised to use them, and wonder how people get clean when they bathe...I mean soap is ok,,,but putting it on ALL OVER with just your hand ????? nooooooooooooooooooo So whats your thoughts ladies !!!!!

I've done this before. I just rub down really good with the soap before I rinse. BUT I can't do it every single time, because using your hands doesn't scrub away dead skin and stuff (gross, I know, but it is what it is). If I've been sitting in an air-conditioned truck all day and haven't really done much sweating, I could do without a washcloth. But I could only do it two or three times before I HAD to have a good scrub with a cloth.