Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) (My Journey)

I agree, it was a relief. I was nervous and stressing these test but in all reality they trained me very well and the testing came natural since I knew how to do the maneuvers, take the turns, etc. I was shocked on how it just clicked in.

 

September 19th-23rd:

I have no words for how this week went. I am both sad and glad that I am done with school and got my CDL. I am sad because the fun I had was like no other, the people I trained with were great people. I have no regrets making this school my choice because the instructors are truly people there to teach you by dedicating time and planning routes to your needs / skill level. I had my issue with some of the instructors but overall I will leave there knowing more about this industry then I did going into it. If any of the instructors from that school reads this, I just want them to know how much I thank them for their dedication. Mr. J, thank you.

Now onto the week.. Since this was a testing week I figured I would summarize it since really the day by day task were testing. Monday we started out with our Pre-Trip inspection test. I got lucky and got the side of the tractor, coupling, and incab (Even though the last two everyone got). I missed 3 items on the test which I should not have missed, but it is what it is. After that we went out with a different instructor as Mr. J was testing. Pretty much the drive went normal, nothing major. Tuesday came, and we had our skills test. I was the first one up in the morning. I got a straight back, offset to the left, and a parallel to the right. The best score being 0 on each maneuver, I scored 0 on all 3. It made me feel great about myself.

After the skills test, we went out with a different instructor again. We drove interstate the entire time so nothing you haven't seen yourself happened. Wednesday rolls around and we have our final test.. Driving. I was extremely nervous on this portion because my turns isn't my strongest area and those are a major part of the test. As I waited my turn for the testing all I could think about was not hitting the curb, over and over (haha). When my turn came, I pretty much made every turn as wide as I could (Not so wide to impede traffic) but wide enough to ensure I wouldn't hit the curb. I did ok for all of my turns expect one and I freaked on this one. It was a turn to the right which yielded to traffic. With a median in the middle of the two lanes, when I started my turn I cut my self short and was about to run up on the curb but before I did I cut it back to the left to pull myself out of that situation which worked.

Needles to say I passed, after that we went out on the road with Mr. J. Nothing to spectacular went on during the drive. Thursday I went out in the morning and got my licenses. I went in at 12 to do the driving portion of the day. Went out with Mr. J and again nothing to spectacular happened. Though one of the trucks trailer blew a inside tire and when our truck stopped at a rail road (train was coming) a Saturn comes around this curve then goes straight in between the signal equipment not even checking if the train was close. Let me take back that whole "the day wasn't spectacular" and make it "People make stupid decisions".

Now onto today, Friday. Today was from 8-2:30/3. We drove from Jacksonville, FL to Reddick, FL (Idk if I spelled it right). During my drive I got to deal with a detour that was on a road with street lights that hung really low (fun). And during my interstate drive to the Petro, a small truck blew a tire in front of me. Well he was about 4 seconds ahead of me in the left lane. I just hit my brakes enough to grab a downshift and create enough distance in between us that he could just get over without problem. I have to had it to that guy, he handled the truck very well. Instead of swerving like a idiot he maintained his lane until he could safely get over. I was impressed. When we got back to the yard my instructor had all of the students in the portable.

We had a small ceremony with him telling us how good we did and how this is just entry level training and the real training starts when you are with the company your going with. He also brought up how they can't teach everything and how to handle each situation and as he said that he also brought up how well I handled the truck that blew the tire. After that he handed out the frames with the certificate inside of it. As he did, he said something about each student. When he got to me, he said "What can I say about him, when he turned 21 6 weeks into the program he started giving me alittle attitude (joking around ofc) but he always made bold choices. Going on the narrowest roads, roads I would never think of putting a truck on." (Summing it up basically). But it made me feel great. So that ends my story and my adventure in this training. I will miss posting updates about this school on this thread but if any one has any questions, feel free to PM me or ask.

As my instructor always told me.
Man, your making a bold choice today.

 

Roehl Bound Oct. 3rd.

Sucks having this entire week off, but I had things I needed to wrap up before going.. This downtime is killlllllllllllllllllllling me though.

 

Just a update since it's been awhile.

I made it through orientation with Roehl Transport, got my truck assigned to me and coming back off hometime tomorrow morning. With alittle determination and hard work things pay off. I know that in my first 6 months I will go through hell but I am prepared for it. Ready to tackle this lifestyle. Good luck to all of you who have followed my thread and drive safe. I will only post in this thread to answer questions if any arises. FCCJ was a great school, great staff and I will always highly recommend them. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions you don't want to post.

 

Strawberry they had the same thing for Roehl. Well 8 days long but they taught us the Roehl way of doing things. Pre trips trip planning etc etc. after orientation we got our trainers and went out the day next. I was gone a total of a month. I'll explain more when I get home. To hard to type on this iPhone. And thanks chompi. I just shut down in Maine and I can really say NY traffic suckkssss