It's Prime Time!

SWEET!! When you get some time, I would love to hear about your experience in orientation..you can PM me if you like..

If you wouldn't mind posting it here, I'd sure love to read about it. That's awesome that your instructor will also be your trainer! :)

The orientation is, well it simply is what it is. If you really want to be a professional truck driver you will get through it no problem. If you feel that everything should be handed to you on a silver platter then it's another story. There was a lot of hurry up and wait. Tuesday is the official start of orientation for those without their CDL. If you ride the dog to Springfield on their dime you will arrive up to and including Tuesday morning just before it starts. I am very thankful that I saved up and got a flight and arrived early. Anyways, on Tuesday you will have to have your packet completed that they give you when you check in. You will have to account for at least five years of personal work/school history and its best to know your history back to ten years. The packet is not hard to fil out just takes about 45 minutes. DO NOT LIE ABOUT ANYTHING! They will find out and put you and your stuff on the curb. The background interview, a bit of a joke if you ask me, took all of 5 minutes as they were just checking to see that my computer application and paper application matched up. Oh, make sure you study hard for the most important test that day...the pee test lol. After that is done you will do your DOT physical, yes you have to have it by prime's doctor. If your BMI is over 39 you will have to do a sleep study. It costs $625 and will be deducted from your check once you have your CDL and are hired. Keep in mind that until you pass the CDL A tests you are not hired during the PSD (permit portion) of your training. The rest of the week is spent in the sim lab and on computers doing classes if you come with your permit. If not you will be doing classes to get your permit. IF AT ALL POSSIBLE SHOW UP WITH YOUR PERMIT. I got to start on my sims Monday at 4 thanks to having mine and finishing early with everything and getting more one on one instruction was a big reason I was able to get a good instructor. Be prepared to be annoyed, ****ed off, impatient, jubilant, happy, sad, pretty much all the emotions you can imagine. Sometimes people are rude, remember that you are being evaluated constantly. BE PROFESSIONAL AND COURTEOUS AT ALL TIMES AND NEVER BE LATE. Early is on time, on time is late, late is get ready for the greyhound. It's as simple as that. I got bored, had fun and met some really good people. Orientation will end and you will get out on the road. Stay positive and feel free to ask me any questions you want. I wil do my best to answer timely. Please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors as it is hard for me to type and edit on my iPhone.

Awesome rundown - especially from your iPhone! It's very encouraging to see how well prepared you are. Not only do you have the permit studies out of the way from the High Road Training Program but you understand how important attitude is. And you're also right about the fact that they're testing you. They're not going to make this all peaches and cream. Sometimes they're going to push your buttons a bit to see if you have the temperament and commitment it takes to be a truck driver.

Just keep doing what you're doing. You're well prepared and you understand the circumstances far better than most. Keep smiling, keep learning, keep working hard, and don't let anyone with a lousy attitude or poor work ethic interfere with what you're there to do.

The orientation is, well it simply is what it is. If you really want to be a professional truck driver you will get through it no problem. If you feel that everything should be handed to you on a silver platter then it's another story. There was a lot of hurry up and wait. Tuesday is the official start of orientation for those without their CDL. If you ride the dog to Springfield on their dime you will arrive up to and including Tuesday morning just before it starts. I am very thankful that I saved up and got a flight and arrived early. Anyways, on Tuesday you will have to have your packet completed that they give you when you check in. You will have to account for at least five years of personal work/school history and its best to know your history back to ten years. The packet is not hard to fil out just takes about 45 minutes. DO NOT LIE ABOUT ANYTHING! They will find out and put you and your stuff on the curb. The background interview, a bit of a joke if you ask me, took all of 5 minutes as they were just checking to see that my computer application and paper application matched up. Oh, make sure you study hard for the most important test that day...the pee test lol. After that is done you will do your DOT physical, yes you have to have it by prime's doctor. If your BMI is over 39 you will have to do a sleep study. It costs $625 and will be deducted from your check once you have your CDL and are hired. Keep in mind that until you pass the CDL A tests you are not hired during the PSD (permit portion) of your training. The rest of the week is spent in the sim lab and on computers doing classes if you come with your permit. If not you will be doing classes to get your permit. IF AT ALL POSSIBLE SHOW UP WITH YOUR PERMIT. I got to start on my sims Monday at 4 thanks to having mine and finishing early with everything and getting more one on one instruction was a big reason I was able to get a good instructor. Be prepared to be annoyed, ****ed off, impatient, jubilant, happy, sad, pretty much all the emotions you can imagine. Sometimes people are rude, remember that you are being evaluated constantly. BE PROFESSIONAL AND COURTEOUS AT ALL TIMES AND NEVER BE LATE. Early is on time, on time is late, late is get ready for the greyhound. It's as simple as that. I got bored, had fun and met some really good people. Orientation will end and you will get out on the road. Stay positive and feel free to ask me any questions you want. I wil do my best to answer timely. Please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors as it is hard for me to type and edit on my iPhone.

Great update, thanks again for taking the time to do it..like Brett said, It couldn't have been easy to write all that on an iphone..I know, I have one.. Will definitely be following along and looking out for any and all posts about your training period..

Brett, thanks for the kind words. Roadkill, I will post as much as I can. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask. To update everyone, I am currently sitting in MS waiting on a load of sweet potatoes to haul to Wisconsin. This will be my longest haul so far. Have done a couple of 250 milers with a good bit of city driving to make sure I am good and broke in...glad I don't have any heart problems hahaha. Really enjoying life right now. It's not been all sunshine and cupcakes though, there have been some very tough moments of missing home and being out of my comfort zone and dealing wih others attitude issues. But I just try to keep my head held high and be nice to anyone and everyone. Kill 'em with kindness, it's always worked for me. Ya'll stay safe out there.

Amen to kill em with kindness! My Grandma used to say that all the time and she lived it. She was super sweet and everyone loved her. My parents were the same way. When I got into trucking I was only 21 and I was a kind person but I would get pretty testy sometimes with dispatch and dock workers and the like. But I learned real quick that being kind and respectful to everyone was the only way to go.

It's going to make your life out there sooooo much easier because you already know and practice this. I learned a few hard lessons before figuring it out. But once you see how much better things go when you're kind and respectful to people there's no denying how important it is.

Well, I got back to Springfield two days ago. Was gone about two weeks and accumulated about 85 hours of drive time. Spent two days on the pad polishing up my backing and took my tests for my CDL A today. The result...I trifecta'd! Get a $250 bonus for passing everything on the first try! Leaving out for a load to California in the morning.

Hey congrats!!! I mean, it doesn't get any better than that! Pass everything the first time and then straight out to California the next day???

You're making this trucking thing look easy.