PAM Trucking?
Topic 5401 | Page 1
Sorry, but I can't help you with any personal experience info on PAM other than that they do have lots of trucks on the road. I did talk briefly with a PAM driver while fueling one time. She indicated that their mileage rate was on the low side, but that she was getting lots of miles. I think she was on some kind of dedicated run between Laredo and Dallas. Good luck to ya!
Dedicated Run:
A driver or carrier who transports cargo between regular, prescribed routes. Normally it means a driver will be dedicated to working for one particular customer like Walmart or Home Depot and they will only haul freight for that customer. You'll often hear drivers say something like, "I'm on the Walmart dedicated account."
Jessie, don't limit yourself to just one company. You really should get yourself several pre-hires lined up before you commit to anyone. You can read our section on Understanding Pre-Hires to see what I'm talking about. Also take a look at How To Choose A Company, there is some very valuable information there.
Here's the deal, you are so new at this, and getting started in this career can be challenging to say the least. More than likely you will be required to do a team driving stint if you go with PAM. Personally, I think team driving has a whole set of challenges for a new rookie that are sure to discourage them from the get go, but that's just my opinion. You will always be in some sort of a team situation at the beginning because you will be paired with a trainer, but at PAM, if I'm not mistaken, you will be teaming more than with most operations.
Options are good, you have got plenty of time to be researching and looking around. There is a wealth of information here on this site, and many helpful people who can respond to any questions that you come up with. Have you considered any of the companies that you would normally go to for Company-Sponsored Training ? Even though you will already have obtained your CDL , you could still go to work at any one of those companies. They would be glad to have you and some of them like Prime have some of the highest wages in the industry for rookies.
Remember that you don't have to live anywhere near any of these over the road trucking operations. I live in Texas and my first trucking job had their headquarters near you in Tennessee, then my second job had their headquarters in Phoenix Arizona. As long as they have freight that goes into your area they will be willing to hire you.
I have nothing against PAM, nor am I that familiar with them, but I think you should look around, get a feel for what you are looking for, and find a company that suits your needs. Whomever you choose you want to be able to make a one year commitment to that company. That is solely for your benefit. That first year is such a huge learning curve that you want to be able to stay put somewhere so that you can get yourself established in your career, and then if you want to move on to something else you should have no problems with one good solid year of safe driving under your belt. Best of luck to ya in your search, and please keep us posted, or ask us some more questions if you need to.
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.
Over The Road:
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.
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.
Pre-hires:
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.
Company-sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
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A little info first: I applied to Chatt State here where I live for CDL Training, Was accepted, applied for a Grant to help pay for the training, got it. Now, to start schooling I have to have 1 MMR and one Mumps Vaccination (Only got the Measles and Rubella shots when I was a child...not sure why my parents didn't have me Vaccinated more). So, I decided to apply to PAM. Just wondering if anyone knew anything about them, good place to train, treat people right, etc.? Info needed, I'm supposed to call them Monday Sept 29th to discuss my app. Thanks in advance and I will probably be thanking you again for your responses.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles: