SAGE - Waynesburg, PA

Hey, everyone. I'm sitting here in my home for the next month (a Super 8 hotel room), and I'm starting my schooling at Sage Technical Services in Waynesburg, PA. I will be regularly updating about what I've been doing in school in case any of you are interested in maybe attending a Sage school in the future, or are just interested in finding out exactly how Sage treats their trainees.

I'm pretty excited to see what the morning holds, so lets hope I can get to sleep at a decent hour, and wake-up and get there on time. Haha.

 

My first day was today. Nothing too exciting. Got to the office around 8:30, and talked to Mary Beth, the program manager here in Waynesburg, for a half hour or so. Also, I got a little paperwork done. At 10 o'clock, I had my DOT physical, so I got to run around in my shorts for the doctor and pee in a cup.

After lunch was all the introductory stuff. Rules of the school (pretty much don't eat/drink in the trucks or curse out the instructors and you'll be fine), schedule for the rest of the week, and the books we'll be using during the course were given out.

Mary Beth is just as nice in person as she is on the phone. If you have any questions or problems, she's the one you go to. She also does the introduction stuff on the first day.

Chuck, one of the two trainers, was another employee I got to spend some time around. He's a pretty cool guy if you ask me. My first impression of him is that he's got his stuff down. I'm looking forward to training under his hand.

Everyone there has a sense of humor, so it should be an entertaining 4-5 weeks if anything!

 

Second day, nothing exciting. We went over the general knowledge and air brakes portion of the permit test, and took a few practice tests pertaining to the aforementioned topics. One of my classmates and I already have our permits, so it's kind of boring for us, but the other two guys do not have theirs. And yes, you heard right, there are only three other people in my class. Sage keeps there classes to a maximum of six people per class. Waynesburg does at least. I have no reason to believe the rest of the locations are any different.

Tomorrow will be another day of review for me. We'll be going over tanker, doubles/triples, combination, and HAZMAT.

Since you already know what I'm doing tomorrow, I'll get back to you guys and girls later in the week!

 

Monday-
We watched a few more videos. One about pre-trip inspections, driver/dispatcher relations, and another that was so boring I can't even remember what it was about. In the afternoon we did some book work, and that was about it.

Tuesday-
Today was the most interesting day yet. The morning consisted of learning how to use Driver's Daily Log log books. After lunch, we went out to the range so Chuck could show us around a truck. Last week the emergency line broke, so we had to change that. While Chuck and another one of the students went to pick up a new airline, my other to classmates and I chatted a bit and familiarized ourselves with the truck. Today was the first time I've been up close and personal with a semi. I knew they were big, but I don't think you quite get the full effect until you're standing right beside one. It's pretty intimidating! Haha. I also sat at the helm for a while checking out the inside of the truck. Looking at the gauges, switches, etc.

I should start driving Thursday of next week. The first few sessions will be at the range learning to back and pull forward. I should be done with that by Saturday. Then, on to the open road!

Stay tuned for more interesting stories from Waynesburg, PA!

 

Hey, FayPitt. Actually, Kristy's last day was last Wednesday. She moved down to North Carolina, I believe, with her boyfriend. Yeah, she was pretty nice from the few days she was there while I was there. Now, there's a girl named Jamie. She's nice, but a lot quieter than everyone else there. Haha.

Oh, my gosh!...Chuck does look like Charles Manson! That's pretty funny! No, Geno quit when they moved to Waynesburg. Chuck told us he's a jerk though, so I'm pretty glad I don't have to go through training with him!

 

Wednesday and Thursday has just been more of the same. Book work, book work, backing video, pre-trip video, etc. Thank goodness we're a little over halfway through the classroom part. After a few days you get kind of sick of being in the same little room, in the same uncomfortable seat for 8 hours a day. Nothing you can do about it though. Sage requires 14 days of classroom training. After you complete that then you start driving. If Sage schools regarded as one of the best, I'd be complaining. Haha.

 

*If Sage schools weren't regarded as one of the best I'd be complaining.

 

Sorry for the lack of updating...to the whole 3 of you that have looked at this so far. Haha. There hasn't been much to update about to be honest. Only two more days of classroom stuff then I get to start the fun stuff. Thank goodness.

 

Good news! For a couple of hours on Thursday and the entire four hour afternoon session today, we got to mess around with the trucks! Yesterday, we moved tandems, slid the fifth wheel, and got some practice in dropping and hooking. Today, we practiced straight-line backing, shifting, and even got to try our hand on backing in a serpentine manner. Serpentine backing is some challenging/fun stuff!

I'm officially done with classroom time, so it's all driving from here on out! Tomorrow morning is my first day of range training. Just more of the same stuff, but with the addition of alley docking.