truck driver

driver

line cook

trailer mechanic

mechanic

Prime Inc

Prime is a training mill. If you goto the Springfield terminal you will see them marching the new recruits around in reflective vests (that they sell in the company store to the students).My time at prime was insane. Be real first for what you are getting into. This is over the road trucking,it is also the first step in starting a career in trucking. suck it up and do it.forget going home,forget your friends.You are driving everywhere all over the US and parts of canada.They will tell you to lease a truck,your instructor may even tell you how great it is hes making 3k to 4k a week. if you lease a truck,tinking you can be your own boss and go home everyweek you will lose everything if you had anything. you are warned.yes the truck makes revenue but that's it. its numbers on paper.you will sucked into trianing and become a prime slave working 80 90 hrs a week and making less than a company driver.YOUR WARNED!! DONT DO IT ITS A SCAM. You are not going to make 200k your first year and solve all your debt proublems. The average wage for a truck driver is 25k - 75k.understand that and you will be ok.drive company. IF YOU CANT DRIVE OVER MOUNTAINS PRIME IS NOT THE COMPANY FOR YOU.plan on making around the 25k mark. as a company driver I made some weeks 300. for 70hrs work. dont get discouraged, your gaining experience and opening doors. after 6 months you can start applying to other companys.
Things I ike about prime over other OTR companies.If you do your job dont bother your F/M dont question anything,dont call him on the phone,they leave you alone. the load comes in te truck know where you have to be and when.Want to hit te S#$% list quick.wake up late and be another worthless driver they cant trust.The trucking industry is full of worthless drivers who you'll hear at te truck stop,let it be late I dont care im tired.Dont be that guy.Its not ok,your DAC will show that and no one will hire you but the training mill.
They have a captain of the ship policy. if you feel it is unsafe shut down,no proublem. I have only shut down a few times and it was because I was in high winds with an empty. I have chained the tires over donner and other mountain passes. Thats just me.it only takes 20 mins and beats hearing the B.S talk at the truck stop.
They are pretty good at getting you home every 3 weeks. you can stay out or go home. they also in most cases let you bob tail the truck pretty much anywhere. you will never see a terminal after training. only to get work on your truck done or swap a load. they have a pet policy requires 1000. deposit they will deduct from your check weekly.I think its a great company but its tuff long sometimes 20hr days. you drive 14 hrs get to your delivery.log off duty its now 12am no sleep yet. you check in at receiving office then bump a dock now forklifts drive in and out of your trailer banging the truck up and down. no sleep yet. now go back check out at receiving .no sleep yet because you cant sleep there also,you need to find a truck wash to get your wash out.then get some sleep.soon as you fall asleep the next load comes thru at 3am your break started at 12am you left your receiver on off duty drive because you were empty and out of hrs. be ready to get broken down and tore a new ASSH%$#@ drive thru the night be tourchered most days.

Don't misinterpret my review. I am NOT dissing on Prime, nor discouraging you from applying to work here.

Prime Inc., as a whole, is a great place for entry level drivers to train and receive their CDL. Upon obtaining your CDL, you will be training for a long LONG time. (Please note that you will have to sign a ONE YEAR contract to begin your CDL training)

After receiving my CDL, I was in the "TNT" training phase for nearly 6 months. I will not lie or give false hopes that Prime Inc. is the best when it comes to training. I had a trainer that was only in it for the money, and when I received my own truck to go solo, I had to learn many things out in the real world on my own. The training system at Prime, in my opinion, is broken. Management will not care or care to know your name, home-time during training is rare and almost non-existent because you are at the mercy of your trainer. All communications with management for you (the trainee), will have to be made through your trainer to the home terminal. Mistreatment, belittling, and verbal slander is common during training.

DO NOT COME TO PRIME INC IF YOU HOPE THAT TRAINING WILL SOLVE YOUR MONEY ISSUES. Training pay, averaged out after taxes, will be anywhere between $450-$600 per week. You will be getting paid $.12 cents a mile. Yes. You read that correctly. Twelve CENTS a mile.

Upon completing the training program from Hades, you will receive the option to Lease, or drive Company. I leased a truck. Big mistake.

Prime's equipment and terminals are definitely the best in the industry. That's all that is really outstanding about Prime however. 

Management, dispatchers, etc could not care less about you as a driver. I have had many arguments with my dispatcher and the micromanagement is ungodly here. 

Do your one year and save yourself the heartache of finding out just how brutal Prime Inc really is. 

Typically your gonna be up working for at least 12 years on average. With E-logs you'll never have to worry about burning the midnight oil because well they dont want a huge fine from DOT lol. They are good at telling you one thing and then doing another within seconds, but more often then no they are fair about most every business transaction. I would highly recommend this company to anyone looking to get into the trucking industry. Pay is very very very good starting off .48cpm in a smaller trucker solo. I talked to many drivers on the road and a lot talk about making .30cpm and thinking that was good starting off. I never sat longer then maybe a day on a bad month, typically after a load was dropped I had new orders within an hour. Sometimes they'll throw a wrench in your sockets but thats life and you gotta just roll with the punches. I have a wife and kid is the only reason I left the company because they have some of the worst home times in trucking history, so if your young and single and looking to make a lot of money sitting behind the wheel of a big rig then this job is literally made for you! This has been the best career of my life and if i was ever able to go back id go back to Prime in a heartbeat. Dispatches are always on stand by when or if you need them. Sometimes your gonna feel like a number rather then a person (Because that's what you are) but they run thousands of trucks across the states so you cant honestly expect them to remember us all. my first year I ran in a brand new 2017 freightliner, and loved every minute of it. They govern company trucks to 62mph so you are officially the slowest vehicle on the road but hey slow and steady wins the race, and they give you plenty of time between orders to get to the consumer. I ran on average 2500+ miles wkly so the smallest checks I ever had was like 800+ on average however I would bring in 1000+. Like I said great company and would recommend 9/10. <3

Came to the company through the training program, as a woman I had to fight to stay, did everything I was supposed to do, got my CDL my only fault is I stayed too long with my trainer. They kept trying to force me on my own truck, but I wasn't willing to make ridiculous weekly payments when they basically make sure you run just enough to pay them for the truck.

Your home time requests, you can forget it. I stayed out 2months at a time and when I decided to go home for just 3days I went through a bunch of mess just to get that little time with family.

And let me just say that dispatch works together so if 1 has a problem with you, they all do and will make you sit for days just to show you that they can control what you make.

So let me be clear, just because you are a lease driver doesn't mean a thing, they treat you like a company driver and will mess with your money and loads if you stand up for yourself or turn down a load.

The best thing to do with this company is get in, get your CDL, complete your agreed upon 1year but only as a company driver and get out, because if you are not a favorite of the dispatch department then you won't make money.  Basically if you are willing to kiss their butts and be there running person and do multiple favors for them at a financial loss to you, then you are in, but say no and decline any of the multiple favors that your dispatcher asks of you, then you are financially done.

Again, in a lease they will make sure that you can make that weekly lease payment, and if you are lucky, you will have a little change left to eat until they stick it to you again the next week.

Also the money they put up front in training, you will pay back weekly once you are done until all meals are paid back.

Current Job Responsibilities & Experience:
-Experience in transportation environment, (i.e.Shipping, receiving, assign and distribute loads, new hire training, dispatch,understand shipping lanes and strategies for keeping a fleet profitable.
-Operate mainframe computer system: currently operating AS 400, with knowledge of Xata, Excel, Microsoft Word, Outlook, Pro-TREAD, Lotus notes and Logistics software. -Knowledge in D.O.T., OSHA, QualComm, Citrix, QTracs/400 and Hours of Service.
-Currently researching PEOPLENET’s Blue.2
-Responsible for daily route scheduling and oversight of dispatch management.
-Administrative duties (answer phones, communicate with customers, data entry, work directly with drivers to communicate route requirements, and store delivery windows).
-Customer satisfaction/problem resolution.
-Able to multi-task, work well under pressure, work with a team and willing to be flexible with work schedule.
-Ability to take initiative, maintain confidentiality, and juggle multiple competing deadlines.
-Ability to communicate with people at all levels, strong interpersonal skills, and superior organizational skills.
-Experience working in a high-stress, fast-paced, detail oriented environment.
-Possess ability to communicate effectively with management on all levels and be customer focused.
-Experience working with minimal supervision by managers, leads and assists in resolving transportation problems, and capable of working in an environment of competing priorities.
-Maintain daily records, audit drivers logs regularly, system documentation, and operating procedures.
-Logical, cause and effect thinker; good problem-solving skills.
-Track High Value loads deliveries throughout the 48 contiguous States, Canada and Mexico.
-Maintain vehicles by scheduling repairs and maintenance.

You are paying more than 1000 a week to lease, they give you loads, they play with you, your income is capped, they can starve you easy anytime. Guaranteed minimum is a joke, only to operate the truck, your income is not guaranteed. So many ways to hurt the driver at Prime because you are on the bottom an they can do anything they want.
You are not independent contractor, you are totally dependent steering monkey at Prime.Very long hours everyday, you are not in control of your LLC, your dispatcher runs your LLC and this is garbage, you pay for all but have no say at all.
Talk people, talk, speak to other drivers around you at shippers, you can find the truth about pricing.Something wrong at Prime,  as a driver you has no value, just a number, cant make money, you constantly in the truck, driving, delivering loads every week, but your pay is up and down, can go as low as 100 dollars per week for 4 delivered loads.
The student Program that is where Prime makes billions.
Quit this, get your experience and quit, that all i can say. They play to much with human lives, and you will be married to the truck you don't own.To much risk,responsibility, rip off, disrespect, negligence toward driver.
Good company though, runs like a machine, but sadly driver is a poor looser and a working donkey while office staff show off at the gym and jogging around, you as a driver running back to your truck to keep on rolling.You drive and live your life for all of them, dispatchers,sales etc. they get paid from loads you deliver, thats why Prime pay is so low and useless commitment so high.Prime wins no matter what, they charge you to the bone, one mistake and you are out, you are good as long as you keeping your mouth shut, eat whatever they give you and drive drive drive.
This is my personal opinion.
Good company to start but to work for 1400$ a week for lease before taxes, is a bad strategy.Company driver makes around 900$ a week, before taxes.

Orientation is a cluster. 70-100 people come in every week. It’s a madhouse. Lots of chiefs on staff, not enough indians. The management can’t seem to all get on the same page. 

CBT’s (computer-based training) the majority are an absolute waste of time and outdated. Useless waste of time, but it’s busy work and a good way for staff to see who slacks and who doesn’t. 

PSD (Prime student driver) trainers have one job: get a CDL in your hand. Not much real world backing training, not a lot of tips given in terms of how to make the most out of the job/lifestyle. Lots of the ole “of the wheels are turnin, you’re not earnin” adage and not much else. 

TNT phase requires you to go over the road for a minimum of 30,000 miles with a trainer. IF you are continuously learning new things about the job and getting better each day, this amount of miles makes sense. If you’re a slow learner, need extra help, aren’t all that great of a driver, running more miles with someone with more experience makes sense. 

If you haven’t smashed anything after 10-15k miles, you wake up on time, do your job well, have a go-getter attitude and good work ethic, 30,000 miles doesn’t make sense (for you). Maybe it does financially for the company and trainer. 

Your trainer will quickly see what kind of driver/worker you are, then chill in their bunk making sure you run at least 500 miles a day. Unless they have to, they won’t be driving the same amount of miles per day as you. If you are deemed to be competent, you’ll quickly turn into a wheel monkey. 

If at all you don’t like your trainer, request a new one, then another if you have to until you feel good about the situation.  The trainer will make or break you and sets the tone for the job. If they’re lazy, sloppy, mean, etc, and something you don’t think you’ll want to put up with for 7-10 weeks, change immediately.

Company Driver Flatbed -they lie about how much you will be paid.
They withhold information. They don't tell you up front that you will need to spend $3200 on flatbed equipment. Plus you need to get your own ladder, and should get moving blankets to protect your $200 dollar tarps.   Yes some weeks you get paid $1000 but the next 3 you will get paid $300.     Dispatch treats you like you have 10 years experience and you are a robot.  Depending on your dispatcher you may or may not get home every 3 weeks. Communication from training to working is terrible, and laughable.  Not all trainers are the same but mine told me hardly anything and when I asked questions he answered in the most bizzare ways. He rarely made sense.   in flat bed all of your free time is spent resting in the sleeper. No time for sight seeing,  no time for restaurants. food-You have to microwave it if you want it hot.  

you work 12-16 hours each day for 21 days in a row. Yes you are logging as off duty but you have a lot of work to do, otherwise you won't get any miles and you have appointment times. 

Picture tarping your load of hay with 3 tarps in about 2.5 hours. then you take the hay to a farm and untarp when its 5 degrees and the tarps get in the mud and cow manure.  2 days later you are in some place warm and have to put the same filthy tarps on a load of structural material and you must lift them above your head letting the manure get in your hair and all over you. Then the load has so many jagged edges that it tears large holes in the tarp. Which you hope the receiver won't mind too much that you got the material wet and dirty.  then you run out of hours and have to park on an on ramp or you park next to a real noisy truck and cant sleep.---  there's a thousand reasons not to do this job.

Once the hype Prime pitches to you about the company wears off, you will start to see it for what it is. It's a decent place to get experience and move on to better things.

I was told Prime was a over-the-road (OTR) 48. However, I spent the majority of my time in the northeast, particularly running five states. It was more regional work, with the average loads running 300-500 miles. OTR is designed for team driving with Prime as a driver trainer.

I'd typically stay out two to four months at a time. Then I would take four days off.

I never turned down a load in my year there.

One good thing about Prime is that all the equipment is brand new and in excellent condition.

As for staff, I ran into quite a bit with horrible attitudes towards drivers. They were extremely rude and condescending when being asked basic questions. However, there are very nice and friendly staff their as well. I understand that they get 100s of new drivers a month, and the same questions can get mundane. However, that's the business they are in. They need to be respectful about it.

Your success depends on your fleet manager. My fleet manager had a problem with me. He did not like the fact that I didn't want to run strictly regional northeast. After two weeks of strictly running NJ, PA, OH, IL, and MD, I would ask for a change. The change would last for a week or two, and then I would be right back to the northeast. Typically, the change was only to KY or TN.

As for money, it's up and down. Most of the time I struggled to make $1000.00 a week. However, it averaged out due to some weeks making $2000.00 or more. In a year driving with them, I made around $55,000.00.

Overall, it's a decent place to start your trucking career. There are a lot of better companies out there for experienced drivers that pay more and respect the driver.

I'm a lease operator and I been here for 7 months now and just recently I haven't got paid for 6 weeks. I asked my dm and he is no help call pay roll it's your dm there no help. You ask to go take the ace 2 and my dm still hasn't sent me and I never get to Springfield or pa. Way back In the day this company was good. No it's not. They also lie to you in the beginning you don't get to pick your own loads and if you turn down a load they ask questions. This company is also in bankruptcy I found out one after I started. Also they are going to automatics this year. Please don't lease it's not worth losing eve thing you own they yell and scream at you when you want to go home. They Thow loads on you when you are low on hours. They also go into your log book. They say oh we can fix your hours and you say no they do it anyways. They promise you the moon and nothing. Your dm is in control of your money. It is forced disbpatch. Then they night dishbatch will send you a message on your 10 hour break and if you don't respond they call you and ask when are you rolling. The truck run between 59 and 62 miles per hour . Then to come to find out you rent there trailers for 1000,00 week and you ask what that is they say we don't know what your talking about you also have to pay for anything on the trailer of a blown tire etc. you have to pay rental fee for the apu and when it's serviced you have to pay that also qc you have pay weekly fee for that you pay weekly for using the prime app and scan in your bills it's 5.00 dollars week. You don't have a life if your a sole driver you go out to the east cost run up and don't make any money. They don't tell you up front but you don't own the truck after the lease is up you have to come up refinance of 13,000 to 20,000 . Look at all the reviews and do homework. I advice you not to come over look somewhere else.

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