I look forward to following along as you enter the industry. Dont be afraid to jump in with any questions ya have. You cant go wrong with either company. You may want to confirm it with a recruiter, but doesnt PAM force you to team for the first 6 months? I'm not sure how you feel about it but personally living in an area the size of a walk in closet with a stranger isn't for me.
Operating While Intoxicated
Bryan welcome to the forum.
I highly suggest investing quality time reviewing and studying the content found in the following links:
The above information; aka the Trucking Truth Started Kit is chocked full of valuable and truthful information designed to prepare you for what’s ahead. Please take a look and begin your journey with the correct expectations and realistic goals.
As a point of reference I began my career over 6 years ago with Swift and to this day, continue driving for them on a Dedicated Walmart Account.
Good luck!
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
Operating While Intoxicated
PAM no longer requires new drivers to team. They stopped doing that last summer.
New! Check out our help videos for a better understanding of our forum features
Well, I’ve been accepted into both PAM and Swift’ s training academies-PAM in Indianapolis and Swift’s in Waco, Ga.(Just 30 miles from my home). Got my 2 year card and class AP permit. Never been a big traveler so I have no conception of what it’s like being an OTR driver at all. I really don’t think there’s anything that will prepare a parochial non-traveler like myself for OTR. Watching You Tube and reading driver accounts aren’t the same as actually doing it. So, I guess I’ll have to do it to find out. In order to keep unnecessary stress down , the attitude I’m trying to take with me is that many things in life generally speaking, are beyond my control and I am certain there are things in trucking that will also be beyond my control. I won’t be able to control other drivers for instance. Living near Atlanta and commuting to Midtown Atlanta daily for 20 years have taught me that. Why complain and grow overwrought over things you have no control over? I’m just trying to make this as easy on myself as I possibly can. Making this enormous change in lifestyle is going to be difficult enough. I’m going to mind my own business, control what I can and if it’s beyond my control, I’m not going to sweat it. I hope.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.