3 Trucking School Tips By a Newbie Who Is Playing To Win

Also I have a question ; union or non union shop ; which is recommended?

 

That's like asking should I play baseball in the Major Leagues or AAA in Iowa? If you can get into the union jobs, do it. Not many union jobs available.

 

Right now my hubby has a union job. He has been with this company 5 months, worked for them at a different location initially but wasn't getting the hours. Now he has a bid, its overnight and dock work. However, he would prefer to be a driver. So would it be crazy to give up the union job (he is just on the list), in 18 months, and go team driving with me?

 

[QUOTE="
Tip # 1

Get your DOT physical well before school starts

Tip # 2

Take your DMV tests, and get your CDL Class A Permit BEFORE you start school.


Actually, I passed the first 6 tests in less than 40 minutes after studying those 4 days.


Tip # 3

Get your hiring background done in ADVANCE as well.

I check my credit scores once a year on all 3 credit bureaus, and after reading these forums, I also knew that folks get kicked out due to background issues.

Me, being me, I figured why not use the SAME firm to send me my background as most hiring firms use to check me out?

So I went to the site below, and ordered my FREE comprehensive background report, so I could see what they will see.

http://www.HireRight.com

[/QUOTE]



This is great advise for a newbee in the trucking industry like me:


I obtained my DOT medical card before I did anything else (pay for CDL school, take tests) Only got a one year because of being on BP meds but I understood that going into this that was going to be the case.



I just passed all six written tests available at the State of Ohio BMV.


If there are more than six someone please chime in..


General Knowledge


Air Brakes


Combination Vehicles


Doubles and Triples


Tank Vehicles


Hazardous Materials




I sent away for my hiring background I should see that in a couple of weeks.



Again, I researched CDL schools, decided on one that offers weekend training (160 hours 10 weeks long) because I have a full time job now. I then went and got my DOT card before I shelled out the money. I am paying for the training out of pocket. I truly believe it will give me more options when I pass the next three tests and get my actual CDL license.


One note: I studied like a mad man for a couple of weeks and used all sorts of practice test web sites and phone apps. I even logged onto the Ohio BMV website and took there practice tests for all the above endorsements.


One thing to understand when you take the written portion of the test(s) is that there still will be questions you never saw or practiced for. Don't panic use the “skip” key and move on and answer them later.


Looking forward to starting my CDL school April 1st.

 

just did my Hire Right. Good luck to you. I start school around the same time.

 

@powerstroke67 It's refreshing to see someone actually put thought into and plan out their leap into this industry. Good job. And good luck to you!

 

Thank you @RustyBolt

 

If bad credit would keep people out of the trucking starter companies then I would be screwed as well as many others. I know 2 people who have been in the trucking industry for YEARS and both tell me that bad credit is not going to be an issue.

Hell, I may have to file bankruptcy before I start a school.

My bad credit didn't stop me from getting my Passport nor my TWIC.

I'm not bragging about having bad credit and I will be checking www.annualcreditreport.com in a few weeks to see just how bad (or not so bad) my credit really is. I will clean it up as much as possible but have been told on numerous occasions that it will not hurt my chances of getting into a place like CR England for example.

 

Thank you @morpheus and good luck to you as well..

 

Actually, in the real math world, less hours with same pay at end of week/month = more per hour, not less. Back to math class you go.