Drivers Solutions/PAM Transport Training Log.

I have been with PAM a few weeks and so far I am happy, they prefer newbies to team, and when I had to go solo for a bit the loads weren't great, but now I got teamed with a friend from CDL school and we are gonna be good. The people are nice, need more time in to form a more informed opinion, but so far so good

Chad, I have been following you since you left Stevens. I quit Stevens training in the second week because I just don't agree on going solo after just 9 weeks. I am looking at PAM to start again. Did you get the feeling Stevens had the dps office in their pocket? Anyway, please keep me updated as I will be looking back into CDL training again soon.

Chad, I have been following you since you left Stevens. I quit Stevens training in the second week because I just don't agree on going solo after just 9 weeks. I am looking at PAM to start again. Did you get the feeling Stevens had the dps office in their pocket? Anyway, please keep me updated as I will be looking back into CDL training again soon.

Hi, yeah Stevens Academy is a little shady, plus they are way to expensive! The company is decent, my brother is working for them and is getting miles.

Pam has been good, lots of drop and hook loads, ALL of my loads have been correct so no problem there. Get pre planned for the weekend if possible, or you may sit sometimes - part of trucking though.

Layover pay sucks, so that is one complaint, but we are getting miles and that means pay soooo it's all good

Chad wrote:

Hi, yeah Stevens Academy is a little shady, plus they are way to expensive! The company is decent, my brother is working for them and is getting miles.

To say they're a little shady without providing additional information is useless and serves no benefit to anyone. In one of your earlier posts, you informed the TT forum after your third attempt, you again failed the Steven's road test. Is that why you think they're shady?

Chad I am really glad things are going well with PAM, however badmouthing Steven's without supporting information or experience, doesn't make them shady. A case of sour grapes? If you want to expand on your claim, offer some missing elements of their training, etc., please let us know the "why" behind your statement.

Carla wrote to Chad:

Chad, I have been following you since you left Stevens. I quit Stevens training in the second week because I just don't agree on going solo after just 9 weeks. I am looking at PAM to start again. Did you get the feeling Stevens had the dps office in their pocket? Anyway, please keep me updated as I will be looking back into CDL training again soon.

Carla, not sure what you were expecting. Didn't Stevens inform you of that before you committed to taking their training? Most of the Paid CDL Training Programs move you through fairly quick, 3 weeks for school, 6-8 weeks of road training before going solo. If you think 9 weeks is too short at what point do you think you would be ready?

One look at my posts about my time at stevens will tell you all you need to know about why their academy is not good. Significantly less seat time, confirmed accounts of double dipping.

I have actually said multiple times that stevens is a good company, I am considering going back to them after my year.

Their driving academy is a different story

In one of your earlier posts, you informed the TT forum after your third attempt, you again failed the Steven's road test. Is that why you think they're shady?

Ouch!

Fail something three times that your classmates are passing and then you start badmouthing the trainers? Not good form my friend.

I quit Stevens training in the second week because I just don't agree on going solo after just 9 weeks.

Carla, it sounds like you started training, realized how difficult trucking is, and then started doubting the system. There is no such thing as training in the trucking industry that will get you to the point that you are comfortable before going solo. Not even close. Almost everyone feels like they're not ready at first but there's no other way to learn it than to do it. And keep in mind that training in this industry has been done this way for millions of drivers that have come before you.

Also, think about this - when training to fly airplanes you'll normally make your first solo flight after around 10 - 20 hours of flight training time. Hours. So to say you won't be ready to drive a truck solo after 9 weeks of training? Well, at that point you should be about as ready as you need to be to handle the rig safely and make smart decisions. You're not going to back up or shift like a savvy veteran but you should be plenty good enough to drive safely while you improve your skillset.

Actually Brett my class started with 24 students, only 5 passed their CDL road tests. That is a high fail rate for any school.

You average 30 min to an hour a day in seat time, then get rushed out to DPS.

While you are on the road most of the trainers I rode with were on their phones a lot, or simply staring out the window, with little instruction.

Stevens is a good company, but IMO their school sucks

Actually Brett my class started with 24 students, only 5 passed their CDL road tests. That is a high fail rate for any school. Stevens is a good company, but IMO their school sucks

Well I can see why you might think that, but that's because you don't understand the nature of company-sponsored training.

The most important thing you have to understand is that training drivers is very expensive and these companies are investing in drivers they feel have an opportunity to make it in this industry. Unfortunately a lot of the people that show up really don't have what it takes. So the training is fast paced for several reasons:

1) They want to find out who is taking it seriously (studying hard and practicing hard)

2) They want to find out which ones can handle the pressure. Trucking is an incredibly stressful career so they throw everything at you hard and fast to see if you can handle the pace or if you start to crack.

3) They're trying to give those who are performing best the first opportunity to get out there on the road

4) They're trying to save themselves money. Like I said, training is very expensive. Why keep spending money on someone letting them run laps around a practice track when the company and the driver can be making money doing laps around the country hauling freight, right?

All of the company-sponsored training programs are very fast paced. And for that matter, so are a lot of private schools. That's just the nature of training in an industry that requires people to have a lot of nerve and be highly committed to the career. It's obviously not like quilting blankets or flipping burgers. There is a ton of pressure, you put in enough hours each week to qualify as almost two full time jobs for anyone else, and you're risking your life every day out there.

These companies have very little time to figure out who has a shot at making it in this career and who doesn't. They're going to push you, they're going to test you, and they're going to stick with the people who are taking it seriously, are the most committed, and seem to have the potential to become professional drivers.

While you are on the road most of the trainers I rode with were on their phones a lot, or simply staring out the window, with little instruction.

Again, that's a common misperception that people have. They expect nearly constant play-by-play instructions and a lot of hand holding. But that's not how it works. First of all, most of the time you won't need much in the way of instruction. You're driving down Interstates or getting fuel or trying to get backed in at a customer. It's basic stuff. Secondly, they're giving you a chance to evaluate what's happening and make decisions on your own so they know where you're at when it comes to handling the pressures of the job and knowing what's going on around you. If they keep telling you every single move to make, how will they know where you need help? How will you be able to think in the first place if they're chattering in your ear all the time?

There's a lot going on in training that students really don't understand and I personally think this is a big mistake that a lot of companies and schools are making. Training in this industry is more like boot camp than it is like high school. They're going to put your feet to the fire to see what you're made of and to see where you need the most help. But students come into training expecting it to be more like high school where you'll get all the help you need to be successful and you'll be handled with endless patience no matter how bad you're struggling. That's just not how it's done when you're talking about something that's as stressful, demanding, and dangerous as trucking because you need to find the right people to begin with before you put the time and money into them. It's not high school - not everyone is cut out for this and not everyone is going to make it.

So I can see how students can get the impression that the training isn't adequate, but in reality there's a thought process behind the methods that students aren't aware of. I wish companies and schools would let people know that's it's more like boot camp than it is like high school. I think they'd get a lot better results. I guess they're just afraid of scaring people away. I don't know. But it's interesting that you and Carla both quit when you felt the training wasn't adequate and that's what they're expecting from a lot of people. If they didn't want anyone to quit they'd do things a lot differently, wouldn't they?

I understand everything you are saying. I didn't quit, I failed my road test 3 days in a row. The first test was a boneheaded mistake on my part, the second two were extremely small mistakes. They booted me after the 3rd test.

I didn't give up, I went home re-took my written tests and a week later I was in Ft. Worth at C1 and the difference between the instructors was like night and day. First day out on the road I was made aware of the wrong way I was setting up turns and turning (which was the thing that failed me 3 times) and when it came to my first (4th) road test I aced it. They also taught us to be very vocal when driving and call everything out. Over all it was a great experience. I have been on the road since May with PAM and I love it, I am teaming right now with a great teammate and we work well together.

Although it seems I am bashing stevens as a whole I am not, just their academy. They are a good company and honestly after my year is up there is a good chance I will go back to them. My brother works for them and he is happy.