Old School and Professionalism

Good point however someday our kids and our kids kids will be driving and I'll bet it's a different industry (depending on your current age LOL)

"back in my day you could go to school for 3 weeks and get a CDL" they'll laugh at us with their masters degree in flying trucks!

Some day us newbies/wannabes will be old school. The circle of life if you will.

 

I don't think the problem with new drivers, or old drivers, or any drivers can be blamed on schools. If a driver wants to be professional he will look for good examples and make himself better. Trucking just doesn't attract very many of those types of people. For most of us trucking is just a paycheck. Some of us may even have contempt for it on certain days.

Here's my thought experiment: Do you think a random person that has an above average interest in professional conduct is more or less likely to enter trucking? Some drivers enter or stay in the job because it allows for wearing cut-off sweat pants for a week with flip-flops and shaving every few years just so we don't look homeless.

This industry needs so many drivers, so many drivers would rather be anywhere else, and we have so little supervision it often doesn't matter how we do things if nobody is killed and the freight arrives.

None of us needs permission to act professionally and look like a professional. All of the "you drive your truck, I'll drive my truck" types are exactly the sign of a dysfunctional trucking culture. No industry with a better safety environment than trucking have such an attitude so widely represented. In many ways trucking culture is like one of small children. When the majority of drivers will park to minimize walking, rather than avoid blocking the whole rest of creation, there isn't much professionalism.

The drivers that claim they will be more professional when they are paid more or treated better are just making excuses for not being more professional. The benefits of being better are mostly internal, so being a slob or a jerk hurts you more than anyone else.

 

well i just saw this thread....and i will post later, but have to post this now so i can find it again...lol

 

A lot of stuff they learn at the 'academy' gets unlearned real quick once they get out in the real world.

 

Giggles, thanks for finding this post. Extremely well put, and should be brought up, as a reminder. I forgot all about this Hammer, Very well said.

 

I do not take anything away from the veteran drivers out there. I have a great respect for those with many years of experience and knowledge, whether they attended a school or learned through the ol "birth by fire" method. I respect those who are represenatitive of what a professional truck driver is and should be. I hope to have the opportunity to sit and hear some of the stories from you true professionals and soak up as much information as I can so one day I can perhaps get to where you are.

That said, I do believe there is a value to more structured schooling, especially in todays world. It provides a foundation upon which to build.
These days, in my state and many others, you can't even get a CDL without a certificate from a qualified school. For a newbie, a school provides a safe, controlled learning environment taught by (hopefully) people with experience and knowledge and a positive attitude. A good place to make lots of mistakes without significant consequence,

I have no illusions about coming out after 4 weeks of school thinking I know how to drive a big rig. That would be naive thinking.

I realize that upon completion of the school I will just know how to safely "Operate" a big rig and pass tests. I will then go out with, hopefully, an experienced professional veteran trainer. Learn as much as I can from him/her, and then go out into the world and really learn from you experienced professionals out there how to actually "Drive" a big rig. It's a process. I know I will make mistakes and thats ok. It is a huge learning curve.

So what describes a true professional?
I suppose it depends on whom you ask.
You can spot a true professional easily, if you know what to look for.
A true professional knows that it takes time and experience, patience and of course plenty of mistakes along the way to be deserving of the title. A title which is earned not given.
He knows he has to take his licks and build from the ground up. A true professional is perhaps a bit wiser to the world and the ways of his trade. He does not have to boast, be ####y or arrogant. He doesn't need to put others down in order to fill superior. A professional is comfortable, calm and confident. A leader in his field.
A professional is well respected by people in his industry yet doesn't need to be recognized everyday. He keeps his ego in check.
At the same time a professional shows respect for others and will always offer to share his experience and help a new guy learn...and will do so... professionally.
A true professional looks the part and is a master of self control.
He doesn't need to argue to make a point. He is a master BS detector and will just smile at those who spew it.
He remembers where he came from, knows his own limitations... and a true professional is fully aware...that he does not know it all and he too,will never stop learning.

Just my take

 

*dancing a happy jig* i got commended for MY STALKIN SKILLS!!!!!!!!!

 

flame, what do you mean mistakes along the way??? i didnt make any mistakes??? LOL j/k.....best wishes.....

 

I don't agree at all. I'm both new school and old school. I grew up in this and have been doing myself for a decade. I'm 35 years in and have been behind the wheel for 10 of those years. There are a lot of guys out here who've been out here for 20+ years who aren't worth the rags they are wearing. And that's the truth. They've done it to themselves and blame everybody else for their problems and the state of the industry. Yeah, new guys don't know a lot. They are frustrating when you're in a hurry and they take 20 minutes to back in a dock. But then again, I don't see a lot of you "old hands" getting out and helping. There's a sense of entitlement among some in trucking that is scary. Nobody owes you anything. Some have forgotten that if you want respect, you have to earn it. The newbies aren't the reason the trucking industry is in the shape it's in. Sorry it is what it is. Ask yourself how is it a driver can be out here 25 years and still not have a pot to piss in? Sure, he's got his bottle to do that. I'm sure there are some who look down upon the older guys. But I don't think it's because they went to driving school and you didn't. Might have something to do with the piss poor attitude and the lack of respect for yourself and your profession.