Comments By Cowboy

Awesome!!!! Knew you could do it, Driver.

Wild-Bill,

Thanks for your thanks.

I have indeed followed your diary, hanging on every word. Thank you for sharing the whole, sometimes brutal, experience. I'm emotionally and even physically exhausted from your last week's posts. Even my wife noticed how much better my mood got after I read that you passed that test after all. I've never taken a CDL test, but I've tested for a lot of other things before and it's funny how much your training kicks in and takes over when it's for real and not a "practice" test. I've had those feelings before, so that's how I knew you'd pull it out when the chips were down. You, my friend, are a truck driver, a professional, and I look forward to buying you a cup of coffee somewhere out on the road in the future.

What division and fleet will you be in?

Take care, enjoy your home time and keep in touch.

Sat, 21 Dec, 2019

Brandon, thanks for the info and encouragement. I can't wait.

Passed my CLP tests last Friday, but didn't have the $42 to pay for the Permit until yesterday. Uploaded the permit, spoke with Roehl recruiter, Ryan, and now have my signed Roehl Employment Offer letter in hand. I will start the GYCDL training 13 Jan 2020. I will be assigned to the Dry Van Division in the National Fleet, 36.5 CPM (Just what I wanted). Ryan has been an amazing recruiter, walking me through each step of my pre-hire process. He explained everything in detail and answered all of my questions, to the best of his knowledge, and he was honest about telling me what things he didn't know or was unsure of. I had lots of questions and follow-up questions, but he was really patient and forthcoming with answers. My Employment Offer letter outlined nearly everything we had already discussed, and there were no surprises, except a couple of good ones. I hope to get to meet him and thank him in person while I'm in Marshfield.

For Christmas, my wife is helping me pick out and buy my supplies for school (heavy winter coat, clothing layers, duffel bag and such). She is super supportive. She doesn't like my job, or income, any more than I do and we both look forward to seeing the country together in the future when I'm authorized to have her riding with me. We know lots of couples who have recently become "Empty Nesters" and they're depressed and wondering what to do without the kids around and whether their marriage will last, and we're like "Good Grief". Tam and I are embracing and looking forward to this phase in our life. We've raised our kids well, they are serving in the military or working good jobs and raising kids of their own and doing fine. We are both 50 and feeling like 30 again. We're in good health and believe in living and experiencing life, not just reading about it or watching it on TV.

As a veteran, I've been around the world and seen just enough of this great country to know there's a whole world to explore out there and my wife and I look forward to seeing and experiencing new sights and things as we go. We're old enough to be patient with the training phases and the learning curve the next year will bring (and beyond that) and experienced enough to know how to adapt, improvise and overcome those unexpected challenges that always seem to crop-up. We're old pros at making plans in pencil and then erasing and rewriting them as we go. The key to our success is simply that we always face it together and come out stronger on the other side.

Anyway, sorry so long and rambling. Merry Christmas to everyone, especially those who may be stuck out on the road this holiday. God bless and stay safe.

You got this Wild-Bill. Good luck!

Anything worth having is worth fighting for. Keep fighting for it and don't give up, bud. Your mistakes are "small" and easily correctable. Just take a deep breath and remind yourself that you have had the best training, you are smart, diligent and committed. You KNOW what you're doing, now just go out and do it! You got this, man.

Wild-Bill, that sounds like a wild couple of days. Keep your chin up, you seem to be doing great and taking the punches like a champ. You'll get it, just don't give up. We're all rooting for you. Just think what a better professional driver you're gonna be after all this...these are lessons you will never forget. I'll be there Jan 13th, hope to see you out on the road or in the terminal someday.

Thanks for the info Dave S. I'm going with Roehl (my second choice), because I couldn't verify more than the past two years of employment. Three years ago I was trying to make a go of it as a hay-farmer, but I didn't file any taxes as a business so I couldn't verify self-employment for that year. I will definitely keep Wilson Logistics on my radar for the future, though. For now, I will get my CDL with Roehl and will absolutely give them the 15 months or whatever the contract is before going anywhere else. But I really appreciate your reply.

I appreciate yours too, Old School. My daddy and brother were both truckers and they were always about safety and common sense first as "Captains of their ship."

Awesome job! Congrats! I'll be in Marshfield for class starting 13 Jan.

Will do, Wild-Bill. Thanks for the info on Marshfield. I really look forward to it, except for the weather LOL. Sounds like you're about to test and, no doubt, pass with flying colors. I'm rooting for you, man and hope to see you out there on the road somewhere in the not-so-distant future.

I'm tentatively scheduled to start Roehl's GYCDL program in Marshfield on Jan 13th. My recruiter, Ryan, was very up front about the training pay. I will be paid $500/week from day one. I will get my first check for the first week at the end of the third week of training (much like most jobs where you get paid this week for the work you did over the two weeks prior). The only difference is you're only getting paid for one week at a time, so yes, they hold back the first week and then you're paid each week for the week before. That was my understanding. He also made it clear that the $500/week was dependent upon me being at the school during all scheduled times (ten hours M-F and half day Sat). If you miss any then it is prorated for the hours you missed. Sounds fair to me. He also told me what they pay for and don't pay for. I will need money to get to and from the Phase 1 training, for my evening and weekend meals, and for doing laundry. They've already covered all the costs of my DOT Physical and a urine and hair-follicle drug test (that couldn't have been cheap).

Ryan has answered every question I've asked with clarity and honesty, whether I liked the answer or not. I look forward to starting my trucking career with Roehl. They'll help me get my CDL and my rookie driving experience and I will work my tail off and drive my miles in return for that and a fair paycheck. They have guaranteed me .36 CPM, but not the number of miles. There's no deceptions I can find in the recruiting process. I'll have to prove myself worthy and reliable for the miles I want to drive to make the paycheck I want.

In the whole scheme of things I, the driver, am the ONE variable in the whole equation, not Roehl (or any other company from what I've learned through my research). They're investing in me---it's up to me to show whether or not that investment was sound and profitable or a mistake.