Starting School Next Week - Words of Wisdom and Advice

im not a trucker yet, but this related to everything... ever since i got out of high school i always had a negative outlook on life, never really got me anywhere, wasted 4 years doing nothing but at home sulking about how bad things are. This year i changed that way of thinking and its gone way better for me... hoping for a better future.

Look to the future with a positive attitude is the only advice i can give.

 

Pay attention. Ask questions. Let the other students go first. So you can learn from THEIR mistakes. Any free time you get , go over pretrip.

ANYTHING you dont get about a maneuver , ask your instructors.

Last, show up ON TIME!!!!

 

Make sure you know what you are getting into. Define what your long term goals are. Decide how much money you want to make vs. how much time you want to be at home. Once you know what you want to do in "trucking", then your pathway becomes much more clear.

As for school, it's the same as any other attempt at learning. Absorb EVERYTHING. Learn as much as you can from the instructors and try to get as much practice time behind the wheel as possible. Make sure you are able to pass both DMV exams (knowledge test and driving test).

Since you said "school", I'm assuming that you are going to an independent trucking school that is not directly affiliated with a particular trucking company. If so, then be very wary of "recruiters" who will visit the school during your training. They are not paid to tell you the truth, they are paid to get you to sign on board with whatever company they happen to represent. Do your OWN HOMEWORK. Once you have a valid CDL, you may legally apply to ANY company you want to. But, once again, you need to figure out what type of trucking you want to do. Do you want to be gone for months at a time or do you want to be home every weekend? Do you want to pull flatbed, tanker, reefer, or van? Maybe you want to be local and drive a dump truck with a Class B. All I know is that you must figure out your own goals before anyone can give you any other more specific advice.

Good luck!

 

Haha so true. I let the other guys get embarrassed while the instructor chews them out. By the time it is my turn I do it correctly due to watching it 5+ times already.

 

Run...... Fast and long

 

Study the heck out of the pre-trip and soak up everything like a sponge.

 

Relax, have fun while you are at it! School was a blast for me and I had a good time training too! Start looking for companies now so that you aren't rushing to find one later. Take the school suggestions with "a grain of salt". They get paid by the companies to send you to them. Think outside the box and don't follow the herd.

Good luck man!