Much Ado About Nothing...
Topic 22402 | Page 1
I’m still in CDL school but I have 6 pre-hire letters. I am still working on more. I am doing this in case an orientation doesn’t work out, I have plenty of options for others. Always good to have a back up plan.
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.
Pre-hire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
You can never be too prepared. On the last day of my PSD training at Prime, they threw me a curveball. They needed my proof of employment for this year. I had already submitted my 1099’s for the previous 3 yrs. The recruiter asked if any of my references could vouch for me. Luckily I asked if I could just give her copies of my “settlement” checks. That did the trick.
I had 3 other companies waiting in the wings just in case. Good luck Jeremy. Watch that anxiety & overthinking though, it got the best of me twice on my backing & again on the road test.
BMI:
Body mass index (BMI)
BMI is a formula that uses weight and height to estimate body fat. For most people, BMI provides a reasonable estimate of body fat. The BMI's biggest weakness is that it doesn't consider individual factors such as bone or muscle mass. BMI may:
- Underestimate body fat for older adults or other people with low muscle mass
- Overestimate body fat for people who are very muscular and physically fit
It's quite common, especially for men, to fall into the "overweight" category if you happen to be stronger than average. If you're pretty strong but in good shape then pay no attention.
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.
PSD:
Prime Student Driver
Prime Inc has a CDL training program and the first phase is referred to as PSD. You'll get your permit and then 10,000 miles of on the road instruction.
The following is from Prime's website:
Prime’s PSD begins with you obtaining your CDL permit. Then you’ll go on the road with a certified CDL instructor for no less than 75 hours of one-on-one behind the wheel training. After training, you’ll return to Prime’s corporate headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, for final CDL state testing and your CDL license.
Obtain CDL Permit / 4 Days
- Enter program, study and test for Missouri CDL permit.
- Start driving/training at Prime Training Center in Springfield, Missouri.
- Work toward 40,000 training dispatched miles (minimum) with food allowance while without CDL (Food allowance is paid back with future earnings).
On-the-Road Instruction / 10,000 Miles
- Train with experienced certified CDL instructor for 3-4 weeks in a real world environment.
- Get 75 hours of behind-the-wheel time with one-on-one student/instructor ratio.
- Earn 10,000 miles toward total 40,000 miles needed.
The subject title says it all.
Wasted energy playing what-if scenarios. Yes a backup plan is a great idea, but no need to execute it until plan A has been exhausted.
Give yourself some time to relax Jeremy...it's something you need to get in the habit of. No time like the present.
I’m still in CDL school but I have 6 pre-hire letters. I am still working on more. I am doing this in case an orientation doesn’t work out, I have plenty of options for others. Always good to have a back up plan.
Yeah, I might have dropped the ball on that one. I had never even heard of pre-hire letters until I started reading here. Definitely something for me to get after if things don't work out this time around.
You can never be too prepared. On the last day of my PSD training at Prime, they threw me a curveball. They needed my proof of employment for this year. I had already submitted my 1099’s for the previous 3 yrs. The recruiter asked if any of my references could vouch for me. Luckily I asked if I could just give her copies of my “settlement” checks. That did the trick.
I had 3 other companies waiting in the wings just in case. Good luck Jeremy. Watch that anxiety & overthinking though, it got the best of me twice on my backing & again on the road test.
Yes, sir, it's that last minute curveball that I dread.
If I make it to the road test I wil certainly do my best to stay focused (but no promises, lol.)
The subject title says it all.
Wasted energy playing what-if scenarios. Yes a backup plan is a great idea, but no need to execute it until plan A has been exhausted.
Give yourself some time to relax Jeremy...it's something you need to get in the habit of. No time like the present.
Relxation is not something I'm accustomed to, but I keep hearing that it pairs real nicely with patience in this career field.
Just want to make sure I'm ready to return to the plate if this attempt strikes out for some reason. I made a promise to someone a few days ago that I would succeed at this no matter what. So, now I'm a little more focused on making sure I do just that. I know I can't change the future by worrying about it, but I guess I just wish I felt more prepared.
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.
BMI:
Body mass index (BMI)
BMI is a formula that uses weight and height to estimate body fat. For most people, BMI provides a reasonable estimate of body fat. The BMI's biggest weakness is that it doesn't consider individual factors such as bone or muscle mass. BMI may:
- Underestimate body fat for older adults or other people with low muscle mass
- Overestimate body fat for people who are very muscular and physically fit
It's quite common, especially for men, to fall into the "overweight" category if you happen to be stronger than average. If you're pretty strong but in good shape then pay no attention.
Pre-hire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
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.
PSD:
Prime Student Driver
Prime Inc has a CDL training program and the first phase is referred to as PSD. You'll get your permit and then 10,000 miles of on the road instruction.
The following is from Prime's website:
Prime’s PSD begins with you obtaining your CDL permit. Then you’ll go on the road with a certified CDL instructor for no less than 75 hours of one-on-one behind the wheel training. After training, you’ll return to Prime’s corporate headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, for final CDL state testing and your CDL license.
Obtain CDL Permit / 4 Days
- Enter program, study and test for Missouri CDL permit.
- Start driving/training at Prime Training Center in Springfield, Missouri.
- Work toward 40,000 training dispatched miles (minimum) with food allowance while without CDL (Food allowance is paid back with future earnings).
On-the-Road Instruction / 10,000 Miles
- Train with experienced certified CDL instructor for 3-4 weeks in a real world environment.
- Get 75 hours of behind-the-wheel time with one-on-one student/instructor ratio.
- Earn 10,000 miles toward total 40,000 miles needed.
I've also had a few worries about nothing. My biggest one is that "In february when I went to Atlanta the place I slept the night smelled of weed. Will that show up on a drug test?!"
I've never done drugs, so I've actually had to ask a few people about that. Yup. Worrying about nothing.
I've also had a few worries about nothing.
Glad I'm not the only one! 
I know you are worried about the employment thing. have a couple family or friends sign notarized statements that you were working and wgat you were doing. any bank can notarize it. it wont hurt. prime accepted a couple from a business owner and a woman who cared for an elderly relative
I know you are worried about the employment thing. have a couple family or friends sign notarized statements that you were working and wgat you were doing. any bank can notarize it. it wont hurt. prime accepted a couple from a business owner and a woman who cared for an elderly relative
Already on it, Rainy! 
Not sure if it was you or someone else that had mentioned this in another thread here, but I gathered 3 letters (signed, dated, notarized) so far and hoping for two more this weekend. Hoping those will supplement tax docs, biz docs, etc.
Wow, with all of the posts that are made here every day, that was really thoughtful of you to remember one of my big worries. Thank you!
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Jeremy I do understand what you are going through, wanting it to begin "yesterday".
Not that you are asking, but I suggest investing additional time studying these links:
- Pre-Trip Inspection Study Guide
- Daniel's Pre-Trip Inspection
- Pre-Trip Inspection Checklist
- Pre-Trip Inspection Practice Questions
PTI accounts for 1/3rd of the CDL tests. Any preparation now, will likely payoff later.
Good luck!
Pre-trip Inspection:
A pre-trip inspection is a thorough inspection of the truck completed before driving for the first time each day.
Federal and state laws require that drivers inspect their vehicles. Federal and state inspectors also may inspect your vehicles. If they judge a vehicle to be unsafe, they will put it “out of service” until it is repaired.
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.
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So, I'm set to head out in about 9 days to be company trained.
I've tried my best to get my all my ducks in a row, getting paperwork together, studying my butt off, and absorbing all the advice (Trucking Truth) I can digest.
Now... There are some things within my control and some that are not. I'm doing everything within my power to maximize the possibility that I will be able to complete the first leg of this training journey and find myself on a rig with a trainer. But... The place where I'm headed has been known to send people packing for any number of reasons. And while I concede that most of those reasons probably had a lot to do with the person rather than circumstance, sometimes there is just bad information from a recruiter or something that was acceptable at first but not acceptable later. Whatever, I'm sure this company is NOT unique in having this happen. And I'm sure we don't live in a perfect world - sometimes things happen that just leave us scratching our heads.
I cannot plan (or worry about) things beyond my control. What will be, will be. However, I am curious if I should be working on a back-up plan just in case something beyond my control does see me exiting company training early.
As an example (I've posted elsewhere on this site) some companies I spoke with were fine with my employment history and some wanted documents that don't even exist. Clearly, I pursued one of the companies that were fine with it. But in doing so, I also quit pursuing anything else. I looked over the handful of initial opportunites I had and just went full-force after the one that appealed to me the most.
Now I'm wondering if I should have (or still should be) pursuing those other opportunites, as well, until I'm actually in a drivers seat somewhere. I usually succeed at things I get after simply because I adopt a "There is no plan B" attitude. But I'm really starting to second-guess myself this time around.
I'm sure this an extremely abnormal amount of anxiety, but since my time (unfortuantely) became a little more free after this last Sunday, I don't have much left to do for the next few days except study and overthink things.
Should I still be filling out applications and making phone calls?
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.