First stop...Century College Truck Driver Training School, which is a CDL training program run through a local technical college. While I was impressed by what they had to offer, I felt I needed to check out at least a couple of other options to be sure I was making the right choice. After all...this is a big decision. With that being said, I felt it was also important for my husband to go with me to the school since this entire process very much includes him and will affect both of us.
The next stop was doing some online research. I knew about Roehl Transport as it is located in a town I lived in for 19+ years, so I decided to look at their website to see what they had to offer. I was excited to find out they actually had a CDL paid training program that you can apply for. If you apply and are accepted, they will actually pay you while you go through their training to get your CDL. Then, once you get your CDL you are hired by them as a driver and then go into their orientation program, then driver training, and eventually have your own truck to drive. I decided to go through their online application process and within a day I received an acceptance email. I was shocked to hear back so quickly. After a couple of days, I called to ask a couple of questions and let them know that I would be willing to start in a couple of months after the first of the year, and the recruiter told me I would need to reapply then because this is apparently a very fast-paced program and they strive to get you into the program within a couple of weeks of applying.
So while I was waiting for the new year to come to move forward with my plans, I just kept doing online research about trucking and found a wonderful site that has been so helpful. It is called Trucking Truth, and I highly recommend it to anyone considering becoming a truck driver. It will literally give you so much information and maybe even open your eyes to some of the things you didn't even consider could be a part of the trucking profession as well as has great tools to help you study for the CDL permit. Seriously...check it out http://www.truckingtruth.com.
So here it is December and we are just getting through the holidays...and I will be applying soon for the Roehl program, right? Well, that was the plan until I went skiing and had a fall and broke my spine and severely bruised my tailbone. Whoops! Now there's a bump in the road. That put me out of commission for a couple of months. Since I could do not much more than just lie around, I started studying for my CDL permit and watch TV.
While I was watching TV during my downtime, a commercial came on about a privately-owned truck driving school that is nearby so I pulled them up on the web. They are called Interstate Truck Driving School http://interstatedriving.com/about-us, and their program according to their website seemed pretty impressive. I watched the virtual tour, but there is so much more to be said for going to the school and actually meeting the person and seeing things in person. So, once I was able to ride in a car and move around where it wasn't too painful, I emailed them and set up an appointment to go there for a tour with my husband.
The recruiter took us around the school and spent over an hour answering all of the questions we could come up with at the time. While their tuition is more than Century College, it seemed to be a better program in my opinion mostly because there you can get started without having your CDL permit ahead of time and they have simulators there so you can learn how to do your double clutching before actually trying it in a real truck. While a simulator probably isn't exactly what a truck will be like, I would think it would at least help you get down the rhythm needed to shift correctly. Now since I have not started school yet, I could be wrong about that. I guess I will find out once I get started. I plan to blog about my school experience and will be sure to give my opinion on the simulators once I try them.
While I was pretty set on going with the Roehl paid CDL training program, I decided to switch gears. I found out through the recruiter at Interstate Trucking about the companies that go to their school and do recruiting events (Roehl included) looking to hire students right out of school. The majority of these companies also reimburse you for your tuition so going through a paid CDL training course really isn't necessary and this opens up the door a bit to being able to choose the company you want to work for and I could still apply to Roehl. In the meantime, this would allow me to go to school locally and not have to pay for a motel room during training and be in the comfort of my own home for a good night's sleep and a quiet area to study each and every night during school.
So I signed up and am starting school at Interstate Truck Driving School in just over a week. i gave a 2-week notice with my current job and am done with that in just a few days. I am not sure if that was necessary or if I could have continued working while going to school, but I am going into this full force and want no distractions. I want to focus on school and do the best I can and be able to study and practice as much as possible.
The best part of this that I wasn't expecting was that I will be starting school with my permit in-hand. How did I do this? I put my mind in the "determined as hell mode" and studied like crazy for the CDL permit. To get me through the air brakes, I found some videos online that explained and showed their parts and how they function. I tend to be a very hands-on, visual person and this was so helpful. Once I got the air brakes figured out, it was time to move on to learn the combination vehicles section. In case you weren't aware, there are 3 parts of the written test that you need to get the CDL permit: General knowledge, air brakes, and combination vehicles. I studied 2 weekends pretty heavy on all 3 sections and then one Sunday night I ran out of work only 2 hours into my 8-hour shift and decided to study all night (I currently work 3rd shift). By the end of the night, I felt pretty confident that I knew as much as I was going to know so at 8:00 a.m. Monday morning I drove to my local DMV and took all 3 tests and passed. Woo hoo! Talk about a huge relief and confidence boost. If I can do this, I can do anything, right?
I have attended a couple of recruiter events at Interstate already for a couple of different trucking companies and plan to attend more while I am in school. I want to compare each company and be sure I find what feels like the perfect fit to me. While not probably realistic, it would be so nice to find a company and stick with it until I retire. My husband and I will be compiling a list of the things that we find most important to us such as home time, having a passenger, pay, benefits, driving route, etc, and then try to find the company that comes closest to meeting our needs. While my husband does not plan to go on the road with me as a team driver, he will go out with me as a passenger from time to time and I need to find a company that allows that.
Well, this post has gone on enough and I will be amazed if any readers stayed interested enough to make it to the end, so I will sign off for now. Like I said before, I plan to blog as much as I can about my school experience so that anyone that is considering this can hear about the experience I went through. If it will help just one person, whether it be to give them the confidence to do something they aren't sure they can do or even give them a good laugh that I am doing something so crazy, then this blog will be worth it!
Bye for now!
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