well folks I'm back,

completed 5 week course at crowder college. And I must say what an excellent training program. the amount of hands on time in the truck driving was great. the only thing that would have helped me was getting more shifting time on the high end. They've got their act together at crowder. instructors were awesome. when John had his heart attack after the first week Garrett did a great job taking over & represented John & crowder superbly. Skid pad was a great experience. PLenty of backing time, obstable course was fun & certainly forced you to use your mirrors.

I'm scheduled to be at Conway for orientation on Monday the 30th of March & then if all goes well, with trainer on Wednesday. will update my progress later.

also thanks to all who have helped by answering questions & making suggestions along the way.

Bye for now

Thanks for all the info you've given about Crowder. I start there April 6th and am pretty excited about it.

Let us know how your experience with Conway goes.

Good Luck!

MADE IT THRU ORIENTATON

well folks its me WANNABE46 its been 2 weeks & sofar, so good. my trainers been real patient with me other than having to crack the whip a few times,lol.he's been thanking me for loosening his gears up for him.But as of today ive got about 5400 of the required 7500. Now just sitting at terminal in michigan waiting for load to get out of here. i've had the chance to experience the mountain runs to the west coast, late nights with rain, not to mention the long miles & short. right now just hoping for any miles. lol But so far no complaints. gotta go for now . you all take care & be safe.

here i sit at home with window open & cup of jo in hand listening for toms to let me know their location, but due to rain they're not talking.
got to come home for few days due to load not delivering till tuesday. sure is nice to see my wife. everythings in full bloom here. hope this damn rain will stop soon so i can go fishing before i hit the road again. gonna be chasing the long beards tomorrow since it'll be opening day of turkey season.

well, i better get going i got laundry to do. bye for now

I'm glad to be finding recent posts ('09) where the training, orientation, and working experience has been positive for a few folks. I hate to change the tone, but my experience has been quite different. Entered the training program at a local college, spent the money, the 5 weeks, and licensing time while working hard on the side to secure call backs from 3 (apparently) decent over the road companies. (Spotless driving rec, no DUI, stable work/residence history) In the last 2 months I've heard many requests from recruiters to stay encouraged while they try to "work me in" to an orientation. I've been put on standby no less that 5 times to attend an orientation on the other side of the country and was sidelined for reasons of trainers in particular districts being relieved of duty by the company, to workers family members passing as excuses. I wish some of them would be honest with me and tell me the overflow of drivers seeking employment is prohibiting me from finding work or even an orientation for anytime in the foreseeable future. With all that off my chest, god bless you sir. I'm very happy as I said at the beginning to see that it's adding a quality to your life, and that you have found some sound and quality employment.

well everyone, im back home after my final week of training with andysho. boy did 3 weeks fly bye. arrived in Joplin on Friday, unloaded my stuff from truck 26296. Andy took me to the shop for truck assignment & was placed on the list. Was told it should be some time next week. Apparently because I'm a new student i get placed at the top of the list so i get right back out there & i dont forget what i've learned.
After 24 years in the construction industry & being unemployed for the first time, it was very difficult to contemplate a career change. But after several months of nothing & the daily news reporting the economic outlook to continue to worseen. I realized for the financial well being of my family I had to do something. after 1 month of hard research i realized that trucking was the only thing out there that could come close to matching my previous income level, without having to wait several years for pay raises. Since the first conversation with Cristine at recuiting I had a gut feeling which way I was leaning. When she offered me the option of waiting till april or filling an opening at Crowder for the feb 23rd class. I sat down with my wife & told her that the way things were looking we couldnt afford to procrastinate, so I called Cristine back & told her lets do it. That left me 4 days to get all my ducks in order. I called Cristine everyother day it seemed like to update her on my progress & by weeks end I was ready. Cristine if you read this THANKS
Its been a long journey since Feb 23rd when I began at crowder & let me tell you it was hard, every week watching companys coming by crowder & presenting their companys to students & since I was committed to Conway not being able to participate. Your doubting yourself did i make the right choice, is Conway going to honor their promise. All I can say now is that I am so glad I took that leap of faith & that I chose Conway to put that trust in because they have honored their word every step of the way. Every step of the process has been one of the utmost professional experiences of my life. These guys have their act together. Sure theres been bumps along the way, but what career doesn't. After almost 7 years in the Army, you learn to adapt to change & learn to decipher truth from Bullxxxx. I've read alot of blogs during this process of 4 months & guys i know it may not be the most glamorous job out there, but at least it is a job. And I intend to make the most of it & be thankfull.
With my trainer Andy, I got to experience the long runs & short. the long waits & the short, frito lay (OMG). the good weather & the bad (Andy thanks for not making me drive in the snow & ice on day 2, you were right I wasn't ready).
Andy thanks for all the support & though at times it may not seem worth the xtra 10 cents per mile having to share your truck with a stranger not to mention wondering after continuously reiterating things to do or not to do, why doesn't this idiot get it, then BAM the light bulb goes on & suddenly it clicks. This is when you should feel a moment of pride knowing you've made the difference between failure & success, which i feel should be the driving force behind all trainers. Because like teachers at school it takes a special certain person to make learning anything a positive experience not mention accomplishing positive results. And for this I salute you & all trainers. andy hope to meet up with you on the road in the future & dont give up training your a true professional & Conways lucky to have you, I know I was.
So for now I sit here drinking my coffee wondering do i go fishing or cut grass. Oh bye the way Andy, Dave owes you a beer. I shot a Tom Sat. morning. lol Thats all for now & best of luck to all you out there & drive safe.

got phone call yesterday, was assigned truck # 22076. Looks like someone had a preventible. repairs to be completed in a few days. took 1 week for truck, hope freight doesnt take as long. lol

midnitebug, saw your post, looks like things have tightened up, even at conway tl. their only hiring teams right now. best of luck to ya & dont give up