Training Adventures with Sage in Cheyenne, WY

They were very friendly, and gave me a lot of information to consider. I guess the first step is getting with the wife and deciding whether or not she wants to move to Colorado to be closer to her folks, then I need to start looking around down there at potential employers. They also said I should easily qualify for their grant. I also need to decide if I want OTR or Regional. I am kind of torn there. My wife would rather I have a local or regional job, but I am strongly considering OTR. What other chance will I have to see the lower 48 states, and get paid for it? I guess I have a lot of decisions to make, and in a short period of time.

 

So, HazMat background check and fingerprinting for TSA this morning; classroom this afternoon. The videos we watched today were much more interesting than the initial 'endorsement' videos.

Ironpony, we actually watched the skid/jack-knife video today -- you're right, good information in there.

Tomorrow? More videos and classroom time. Nothing further to report.

 

I went to SAGE in Henderson, CO (north of Denver) - similar experiences, I thought it was good training. Some observations - I've been driving for Prime for nearly 5 years now...

That jacknife video is somthing you wouldn't get via Prime's instructional program. OTOH, Prime is very heavy on the practical side, and you get much more behind the wheel experience. Hint: There's only really one way out of a serious jacknife - don't get into it in the first place!

When it came to being on a trainers truck, there were things I knew about driving the other trainees didn't know, thanks to SAGE. However, I was much less prepared to drive a load into a receiver, and back into the dock for instance.

 

When I first got my CDL I got it through Prime! (Sept. '07)
I left Prime 5 months later due to a difference in opinion (my opinion was that if the recruiter told me something like "you'll be home at least once every two weeks, if not every week", that I should be home at least once every two weeks. Their opinion was.. well, lets just say I got home 3 times in 5 months.), however, I still swear by them and their training program -- IF you are prepared to be out on the road (and don't have a wife at home who tells you you're gonna be looking for a new family if you don't get home a little more often! ).

 

Well! Then we were in Springfield about the same time. I would have been in orientation the 15th through the 18th of September.

 

That is what one of the guys I worked with at High Desert is doing. He said he was heading to Salt Lake for training this week. He was the guy who applied for Fountain.

 

The largest part of "turnover" at the OTR training companies is first-year drivers, and being away from home and family is a large part of it. There is some truth to the fact that OTR is a lifestyle - it agrees with you, or it doesn't.