Stevens Class of Sept 26, 2011

You sure about that URL, doc? Safari can't connect to it.

 

I live in ft worth. They gave me a bus ride home. I know there is a station right off of 360 by GM.

 

Sounds to me (and probably Stevens too), that Nycmex77 doesn't really want to go to work.

Car broke down, and you live 45 minutes from the orientation location.
Man up! Get a ride! You don't need a car to drive a truck! Just making excuses now (silly one at that). Get your ### to work!

 

Yup. Gotta add that ".blogspot." part!

 

Come on ppl. I need the answers on what Stevens is like for CDL holder fresh out of school. I'm schedule to attend class 10/09/11, I hope that I have all my docs and info needed to process smoothly. Can anyone fill me in on the what you go through and what they do when you arrive at the training.

 

Your reasons were completely different. You made a decision. A man can respect that.

 

You go through hell. They tie you down and flog you trying to make you quit. They send you home in a box if you do.

And if you survive all that and don't quit, they put you in the oldest, rankest, skankiest truch they have with man-eating trainers who went through Navy SEAL Instructor training to get you to quit.

How's that?

 

Let's see...seems I wrote about this before, but let me try again
SATURDAY: You will likely arrive via greyhound after a rousing two day trip that stops at every Podunk town you can imagine. You'll make a vow to never ride a bus again as you alight from this chariot of fortune.
Then it's a ride with other candidates to your new home...Americas Best Motel.
Lack of interdiction by the County Housing Dept. allows this establishment to remain open. Most of the clientele are Stevens wannabees.
It's clean, you'll have a roommate and the AC works...kinda.
Many fine eating establishments surround the immediate area, so securing an epicurean's delight shouldn't be difficult.
Personally, I prefer the BBQ place, right behind the Waffle House, but if you're a burger kind of person, Sonics or DQ are right next door. Macs can be had with a brief walk under the freeway.
SUNDAY: Ah! The feelings of trepidation only intensify as you find yourself waiting in the predawn darkness with a gaggle of uncomely fellow candidates. There are close to 60 compatriots. Each of you is enjoying your first 'free' meal. One of sticky buns from the day old bread shop, washed down by orange colored water or coffee made from the saved grounds of the previous week's class.
Actually, I'm kidding. The coffee isn't as good as Pilot's, but its ok.
It's at this point you'll take note of the 60 or so other candidates standing around and wonder how they'll pack all of you to class when that 9 passenger van approaches.
Now you know you don't want to be late, and certainly you'll try and look casual as you calmly muscle your way to a place in the van.
Let this cadre of left behinds wait in the dark. You'll sure to be to Stevens on time and they can wait!
When you first enter the premises of Stevens, you'll likely be impressed at the rows of clean and modern tractors lined up in front of the dozens of orderly trailers.
The yard and facilities are impressive and you will should relax in pride at the fine establishment you're about to become a part of.
After alighting from the van, you'll now stand in a mix pool of candidates, waiting until this van can transport the 'left behinds' to your location.
First lesson taught about trucking: Hurry up and wait.
You'll then be guided into the Orientation Room where you'll now spend all day listening to speaker after speaker introduce themselves and explain policies and procedures. Some are very interesting and tell great stories. Others may remind you of your fifth grade math teacher.
But all in all, it will be a filled and interesting day.
You'll have met some new acquaintances and continue meeting more as you head back to the motel around 5PM.
Lunch of pizza will be supplied, but dinner is on your dime.
MONDAY: You're older and wiser now. The coffee is free, the juice is..well, the coffee is free and if you don't care for the sticky buns, there is always the bulk cereal bin that dispenses...well...cereal!
You will drink several cups of coffee or water, feel confident and then wonder why there is a 23 passenger van out there now that wasn't there yesterday.
However, on to Stevens you will go, where you'll enter the classroom via a door being monitored by a friendly, if not paunchy looking man called Bill.
Now based on yesterday's procedure of arriving, claiming a spot, then heading off to the bathroom to release the morning coffee, you'll be 'delighted' to hear Bill say you cannot leave this room until your drug test is complete.
The creeping memory of being admonished to come prepared did not seem to include the caveat: Don't drink too much before arriving!
Alas!
The entire morning is taken up by drug tests and seeing the company doctor, followed by the day's lunch of tacos or hamburgers or something akin to those.
After lunch, more talks, but you'll notice the room is a bit lighter. A few faces are missing.
Hmmmmmm.
In the afternoon, you'll go up on the 'hill' for the first time, where you'll participate in some safety procedures, become acquainted with some of the training staff and be shown how to crawl under trailers, into trailers and out again.
The procedure is to ostensibly introduce you to the equipment. There are other reasons for these exercises. It is to ferret out potential problems that candidates may have, such as being able to crawl under a tractor or into a trailer or even up into the upper bunk, which will be your home during the 5 weeks out with your trainer.
This is all followed by a dinner of Soy lent Green, and then up to the hill again where you'll practice yard skills such as backing, shifting; parking...and some of you will be taken out for a qualifying drive test.
To digress for a moment on the drive test. Don't worry about it. This probably causes the greatest worries for candidates. So long as you can make 50% of your shifts, stay off the sidewalks and don't run over any street persons with a shopping cart, you'll pass.
Stevens doesn't expect you to know how to drive. They expect you to have the rudiments down and be ready for a trainer to teach you.
Relax!
Home to Hotel Nirvana around 10pm.
TUESDAY: A repeat of monday without the drug test. Again, the class will seem a little bit smaller. More candidates have fallen into the classification of Med Hold which can be anything from near cardiac arrest from anticipating their drive test to high blood pressure.
The ones that failed the drug test are gone.
The meal tickets will change again, with assignments of something akin to Hamburger Helper being the blue plate special at dinner time.
WEDNESDAY: Virtually everyone here will make the cut. The greatest fallout is in the drug test, followed by med problems. Most med problems are for unreported issues that candidates failed to disclose on their applications.
Just a moment to stress to you that honesty is paramount to success at Stevens.
Some simple health issue that is otherwise easily handled becomes an issue of integrity when the doctor finds you withheld its identification.
Things like missing digits, a surgery to repair a torn rotor cuff or even diabetes.
Wednesday is much like Monday and Tuesday. You will have completed your skills training on the hill, your qualification drive and you'll go back to the hotel around 6pm.
THURSDAY: You will have been instructed to bring all your belongings to class Thursday morning. The morning bus will be over packed and the classroom will look like a refugee camp. Anyone there Thursday will have made the cut and hired. You'll fill out the paperwork, have your picture taken for your ID badge, be given final instructions and encouragement and likely haul all your baggage back to the motel.
A few of you will be dispatched from the classroom to your trainer's truck.
FRIDAY, et al: Each day you are still there; you will bring your luggage in with you, wait around all day and hope you'll be sent out with your trainer.
Most everyone will be sent out on Friday and Saturday. It's the availability of trainers that is the variance.
What you don't know is many of the trainers have been there on the yard, and even worked with you on the hill, but have to finish up their requirements and get a 34 reset before they're ready to roll.
But don't worry...you'll get out.
Again...hurry up and wait.
And that about sums up the first week of training In O-1.
Hope that helps.