Looking For A Change!!
Topic 13400 | Page 1
Well I can speak for PAM somewhat. The company as a whole is okay. They have their problems just as anyone else im sure, but they are a "Training" company. I am about to finish my 1 year contract with them come April 20th and though I will miss my DM , I am looking forward to finding a new company that will treat me as good or better then PAM has. I get good miles and average 2600-3200 miles a week.
If you go through their sponsored schooling you agree to 1 year of driving for them and 6 months team within that year.
If you quit or get fired before the 1 year you are obligated to pay $6000 back to Driver Solutions for braking your contract.
Check em out, hope others charm in with other options.
https://www.truckingtruth.com/paid-cdl-training/pam-transport/
A small log I typed to give am idea of what to expect.
https://www.truckingtruth.com/truckers-forum/Topic-7732/Page-1/drivers-solutions-pam-transport-training-log
Good luck!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.
Doug, E do have Trucking Company Reviews here. For personal experiences, use the search box and just put in a company you're interested in.
Also, to get you started, here's some reading material:
The High Road Training Program will help you pass your CDL written test or your money back! (But it's free.)
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Well I can speak for PAM somewhat....
A lot of goods info and thanks for that. Now I know a little more of what to expect.
Thank you for your service! Go Buckeyes!
Little bit about myself...I'm 34, served in the Army for 11 years (deployed twice to Iraq) and have associates degree in Computer science. My father was a driver so I have a basic understanding of the life style.
I'm honestly looking to do something different with my life. I want to get out of Ohio but not permanently. I have a 14 year old Autistic son. Driving a truck seemed to be a natural fit. I can see the country but also get home to him every few weeks. His mother and I are divorced and he's honestly the only thing keeping me here.
Anyway...I'm looking for personal experiences with training companies. Prime, PAM and CRST seem to be the best options from training, hire and career. I've read a ton off this site already and scanned the forums as well.
Very important is a rider policy that will allow me to take him with me on occasion.
TWIC:
Transportation Worker Identification Credential
Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.
Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
Use your post 9/11 GI Bill, if you have any left, and go to a private school whether it's a Tech school or CDL only. Then find a company that will take you without prior experience. They are out there. After a year move on to someone who pays better unless you lucked out to begin with and really like your first. Pay isn't everything!
Good luck!
Essayons 82-05
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
A lot of goods info and thanks for that. Now I know a little more of what to expect.
Except for one thing that Sammy Clue is repeating because he's heard it said elsewhere.......
but they are a "Training" company
Pretend you never heard that. The idea that any company which offers training is somehow inferior to those who do not is a completely false notion. It's a myth I've tried to debunk many times over the years and I challenge anyone to prove to me in any way you see fit that they are indeed inferior companies. And in the process of explaining this try to help me understand why each of these companies has gigantic walls filled with photos of drivers that have over a million miles with the company and have spent most of their career there. These are top tier drivers that could have any of a thousand jobs in the snap of their fingers and yet they stay with these "starter companies".
The largest and most successful trucking companies in the nation train drivers because only they have both the demand for drivers and the resources behind them to make it worthwhile. Smaller companies simply will not find it economically feasible to fill their seats by creating schools to train their own drivers. It's expensive, it takes a ton of resources, and quite frankly they can fill their demand for drivers using other means.
So don't go to PAM or any other company that offers training thinking that it's only a stepping stone to better things. That's completely false. I spent over 1/3 of my career at US Xpress, a company which trained drivers at the time and still hires students to this day. I didn't even sign on with them until I already had almost a decade of experience in the industry and they were the best company I ever worked for. I made great money, drove beautiful equipment, and had the opportunity to move around through various divisions as opportunities presented themselves. It was a fantastic place to work and they too have a gigantic wall filled with photos of million mile drivers with the company.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.New Reply:
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Little bit about myself...I'm 34, served in the Army for 11 years (deployed twice to Iraq) and have associates degree in Computer science. My father was a driver so I have a basic understanding of the life style.
I'm honestly looking to do something different with my life. I want to get out of Ohio but not permanently. I have a 14 year old Autistic son. Driving a truck seemed to be a natural fit. I can see the country but also get home to him every few weeks. His mother and I are divorced and he's honestly the only thing keeping me here.
Anyway...I'm looking for personal experiences with training companies. Prime, PAM and CRST seem to be the best options from training, hire and career. I've read a ton off this site already and scanned the forums as well.
Very important is a rider policy that will allow me to take him with me on occasion.
TWIC:
Transportation Worker Identification Credential
Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.
Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.