noob.....or seasoned

It varies from newbie to newbie . How "new " you are really isn't relevant . It's the aptitude and professional attitude . Some drivers can be at it a couple of years and still be unskilled and lack professionalism . I've seen others that are skilled professionals within a few months . You can't make time a factor . Pay doesn't matter either . With the low turnover rate at better paying jobs now some very good drivers are stuck t some very low paying jobs .
But enough from me . I want to hear from those ladies with experience too .

 

Seasoned is never settling for "Good Enough" with working knowledge of contentment.
Trucking isn't for lottery chasers,the returns are slow in coming but they do.
Learning to mind your own business and tend to your "house"
is how proficiency is attained.

Proficiency is Production,Production is Profit

 

At the company stand point they almost always go by time. But I've seen drivers with alot of time that didn't know how to inspect a truck let alone drive one. So time gets you in the door then your professionalism gets you the job.

 

a "noob" will be the one driving like an idiot,trying to be first,,,and the seasoned pro will be the one driving safely and smoothly,who really doesn't care about who is "first" in line,,,yet he always is,,

 

I'm not sure when I stopped considering myself a noob. I know the first couple of weeks were rough and things smoothed out a lot after that. My confidence grew quickly and after a few months I started thinking maybe I wasn't a noob anymore. But then I would do something to remind myself just how much I still had to learn. I'd say somewhere during the first six months I graduated from noob.

Seasoned, not really sure what that means so I guess I'm not there yet. There are just way too many situations and driving conditions I haven't encountered yet. I am confident that I'll make the right choices or figure out what questions to ask in those situations though, so maybe I'm getting there.

 

Better to ask 10 stupid questions then explain 1 stupid action

 

Hey, I used to tell my student pilots that. I like that right there. Good Stuff..

 

Just my $.02... I think the time you stop being a newbie and become a seasoned driver is not a cut and dry thing. It's not like you hit one year driving so now your experienced. I think the difference comes at that point when you are given a load or an assignment and don't second guess, over think, or fret about what you are to do. You just go do it.

I think it's when things become second nature. When you do things subconsciously instead of having to think it out first. It's a point when you know exactly how far to turn your steering wheel to bring your truck underneath you when backing. It's coming into a city and knowing what lane to be in and at what point without seeing the signs. It's pulling into a customer (even one you've never been to) and knowing right where to go and who to talk to.

Experience is underrated nowadays. Everyone is so interested in who pays the most, who has the best equipment, and "what dedicated run can I get on and how soon out of school." Experience is what seasons a driver. Not just time. At 14 years of driving I consider myself experienced and seasoned and professional. At the same time, I still have a lot to learn, no matter how much I know and how comfortable I am in my abilities.

When I started driving a truck at 21 years old my mom's uncle, who at that point was a retired truck driver who drove for over 40 years, gave me one piece of advice that stuck with me then and continues to stick with me today...
"The day you know it all, quit. Get out of driving. Your a danger to yourself and everyone around you."

 

$.02? That's a million dollar answer, Biscuit!