Made The Decision To Change Career Path

Ohhhhh myyyyyy so much to do, ok so I read about Primes school which sounded great but heres a question, it says forced dispatch and forced NYC. Prime seems to pay very well, more then what other schools do it seems but given NYC is forced is it worth the extra money?

Cindy...some companies may advertise No Forced Dispatch. But the truth is, if you start turning down loads from your dispatcher , you will end up sitting alot, making no $$, cuz your dispatcher is teaching you a lesson. And this holds true with ALL companies. When your a company driver, its their truck, your just the person who aims it and gets the freight where its supposed to go. You can't go into trucking thinking that its a paid vacation, that you can pick and choose where you will and where you won't go. And owner operators may be able to pick and choose, but the same holds true for them....if they start turning down loads, their dispatcher will starve them for awhile, to bring them "back to the fold"... Think of trucking like this...Its a job, like any other, except your office and living quarters are the very same, and very mobile. You will generally take whatever load they toss at you, unless its illegal, or you are not endorsed to pull it. Companies will tell recruits ANYTHING.....be ware...be very aware...Thos Prime is a fine company, and a great training school. We have heard nothing but good from the guys and gals who have gone thru and still drive for them...ask around.

Yeah Guy...why would anyone bother to count down the days til you have to have your underwear packed, and all the other stuff done?? after all....its ONLY truck driving school !!!! I'm sure that some of those dufus' that get sent home, operated on this kinda thinking. I'm glad they aren't out on the road makin' it ugly for the rest of us. Ya'll just get ready, repack 10 times, get all your endorsements you can, take any paperwork needed, and any that you think they may want....and go make us proud !!!! Thats how focused professionals do it !!

I wasn't trying to rain on anybody's parade... I was just teasing Kathy, because, like her, I'm getting excited and I don't even have a start date yet..apologies if it sounded like I was making light of it..

I don't want to be negative but being a women seems to be more about who can and will train you and what the waiting period is if they only allow same sex trainers. Some will allow you to have a male and if you are requesting a female trainer then you might have to wait.

GUY !!!! I was just kiddin' with ya !!!!! I didn't mean to come off as catty....sorry if I did...I got this image in my head of a person who has 30 minutes to get to the bus station, and the suitcase is sitting open, and empty on their bed..I always pack atleast 2 days prior to leaving, AND I've made my lists weeks before that. I HATE to not have what I need or want when I'm away from home...like chocolate !!!! But all in fun and games....nothin' serious on this one....carry on.

Bhall, the trainer trainee thing is a slippery slope for both the women, and the company. But when the opinion and final word of a trainer will make or break the career of a lady trainee, you can't help but think that there are trainers out there that will use that to their advantage. And the amount of men in trucking that think that women still belong in the kitchen with a baby on their hip still amazes me. Even companies are finding that women can very well make better drivers, because they are more careful, and don't seem to get that "cowboy" attitude. But on the other hand, women who go into trucking had better grow a tough hide. They will be subjected to some really rude, ignorant, and disgusting treatment, at the hands of other truckers, shippers, receivers, and people in general. Its definitely is not for the faint of heart.

GUY !!!! I was just kiddin' with ya !!!!! I didn't mean to come off as catty....sorry if I did...I got this image in my head of a person who has 30 minutes to get to the bus station, and the suitcase is sitting open, and empty on their bed..I always pack atleast 2 days prior to leaving, AND I've made my lists weeks before that. I HATE to not have what I need or want when I'm away from home...like chocolate !!!! But all in fun and games....nothin' serious on this one....carry on.

Whew...you had me worried there...for a while I thought I was gonna get my honorary membership to the LoTT forum revoked... but in all seriousness, I am the same way, I HATE to get caught without because I forgot to plan. I have a personal mantra that I try to live by that was taught to me when I worked for the Ritz Carlton, "If you're 5 minutes early, You're LATE!"

First time poster, long time reader here. And a future lady trucker too, if all goes as planned. :)

Cindy, my mother is an RN of 20-something years and she says the same thing -- she's totally burned out. I myself am in college for radiology but I'm getting cold feet and having doubts about it. The medical field really doesn't appeal to me. It's just something I chose for the money and for job security, which are the wrong reasons to choose a career to begin with. My heart's always been in transportation.

From what I've learned about C.R. England's school, their interest rate on financing for tuition is sky-high...like 18% or something. You're never really able to pay it off because of the interest. I've been researching schools for a while and I kept coming back to Swift because its program just sounded like the best fit for me. I just got off the phone with my recruiter. I'm starting the entire process right now. Been studying the "High Road" course on here, so hopefully that'll help.

I've scoured this forum high and low for advice on getting through school and making it as a trainee driver, and the one thing I've seen nearly everybody say is STUDY, STUDY, STUDY. The more prepared you are, the better you'll do in training. They throw a lot of stuff at you in those few short weeks and you don't have much time to learn it. The more you learn ahead of time, the better you'll do. That's what I'm doing anyway. I'm trying to learn as much as I can before I head to school!

Houki....you are headed down the road the right way !!! And it IS study study study..so do it on the high road, and when you get to school, while others are draggin their behinds thru what you already learned on the high road, you will be workin' on something better, like driving !! Its alwasy good to get ahead start, since you may run into an area, like shifting, backing, etc, that you may need a little more time with. Doing it this way could well make the difference between making it thru school, and washing out..... So do your studying...and ask any questions you need to, we're here to help you !! And be sure and visit the Ladies of Trucking forum..check in, and get to know the other ladies who have the same adventurous spirit as you do...we're a fun bunch....just ask Guy

People are scared whenever they here the words "New York". Not sure why. The city is actually a very small part of New York state.

I have driven in just about every major city in the U.S. including inter city in the Bronx in new York and inter city new jersey in a OTR truck and 53' foot trailer and I can tell you its nothing to fear. It different than open highway. I much rather deal with New York on its worse day than going anywhere near I75 or I95 when there is a stupid baseball/basketball game hosted in southern Florida or near the "Carolina's during NASCAR season. The IQ that is normally in NC or SC suddenly drops into the negatives during NASCAR season. Makes driving in those states undrivable.

Point being is this....don't worry about big city driving. You will always go some place that you don't want to be with any company you choose so make you company choice based on the company and not what on the "what if the go to this area".

As regards CR England tuition, I can tell you what my personal experience has been. The interest was $195. What they told me was that as long as I keep making regular payments, the interest has been payed as the first payment was for the interest. I am paying it off after leaving the company. I would have to assume that as an employee it would work out the same way where the first $195 payed is considered interest. But they take weekly deductions that way so not 100% certain. One thing I can tell you is that, at least in my situation, as long as you are making an effort to make payments it has been a very straight-forward arrangement. I think what happens is when people aren't making an effort to pay then there's additional interest. Basically the loan was $3000, $195 interest, so $3195 total. Of course it's been almost a year since I was there so things could have changed.