A Young Woman's Perspective on Driving a Semi

On your PTI, at first glance, it will look overwhelming. Its really not since your looking at the same items, just in different places. Sounds like your a pretty calm and collected person tho so you should do well.

Like has been said before, your real training will begin once you hit the road. Don't be afraid to ask an old timer for help when needed. They have a vast amount of knowledge, that most of them are more than willing to pass on. Ask for help in a respectful manner and you will be amazed at what they'll teach you.

Thanks for posting on here and I wish you luck in your new adventure!!!!

 

You're on your way! You may look back 20 years from now and hate us but hey, what the heck. It's good that you've place high standards for yourself and you should try to keep them. However, you must become very versatile also and learn to accept disappointment as well. So far you've shown us that you stay at it until you rearch your goal and that's great. But just be warned that there will be days that you wished that you never ever started this path. Those are the tough ones.

I suggest that you keep as many notes as possible and use bullet format. You'll want to make your point and save space so you'll have a good record on everything. Make sure you'll understand what you're saying years down the road. It should include parts of the truck that give you problems plus what works best for you in any given situation. I wish I had a laptop when I first started because I would have all kinds of files from parts and contacts to the best place to eat.

Just be sure to take it all in and don't get over zealous. This type of work can humble you very quickly and may even get you in trouble. I learned something new everyday or at least tried to. You do the job the best you can for YOU and no one else.

You've got a regional job lined up and I hope you get it. You never said how old your son is but if he's old enough the company may have a rider program. It may take you a few years to get exactly where you want to be but keep your record clean and with a little luck you'll get there. I always tried to do better the next day over the last one, that help me keep my skills up. Good luck.

 

Great information not only for Sara, but for all of us newbies.

 

Panhandle is right on PTI it is mostly repetative info, wheels brakes, rims, air, tires, and suspension (B.R.A.T.S.) for short just remember things like that and it gets easier. Also Set a routine for your PTI and stick to it. Pick where you will begin and work it the same way every time.

 

Get used to the long days, that's one thing that's not going to change with driving jobs. Except some days may be longer than others!

Great job on your tests!

 

woohoo..you go girl..if I can do it anyone can..although I elected to drive in the oil fields in ND which is even less glamorouse but boy howdy the pay makes it sooo worth it..your boy will be oh so proud of his Mamma for sure..believe me I'm raising a son also and have been in construction all his life and yep he went with me and I even home schooled him for a time..best time ever spent..now he's 17 and I'm old and turned to truck'n so pray that I can brave the icy roads of ND..and they are roller coaster roads..I have a couple pics in my profile of my son and I..I'll be praying for your success and reading your inputs..

 

Sara, I hope that your absence all week only indicates that you have been crazy busy this week and not that you have given up on your dream. Keep us posted on how your first week was.

 

BCinOH
Nicely put and I could not agree more!! Sara I am sure you are busy with school, studying, you son and fiancee' and LIFE IN GENERAL!!

Keep us posted when you can!!!

 

Sara
I went through roadmasters training coarse. I felt it was a good coarse with good instructors. I learned a whole lot in that 3 weeks. I still have much to learn.

I will tell you that there were days when I had to second guess my decision to drive a truck but I stuck with it and I was able to complete the coarse. All I can say is even on the bad days just stay your coarse and don't get discouraged and give up. You have invested too much time and energy to give up. It can't be that hard, there are thousands of truck drivers out there. They all had to start sometime.

You can do it! Don't doubt yourself.

 

Good Afternoon Fellow Truckers!!

I AM still here and STILL loving every crazy minute of this! The 10 hour days are difficult to adjust to and I am not like most of the folks going through the class who get to go back to a private hotel in the evening, I go back to home full of children and spouses so things are quite crazy. Cooking dinner at 7pm when I get home and then trying to relax and study until I pass out. I apologize for my absence, my goal originally was to post a daily update, but that was just not posible with all the studying I was doing.

I am grateful the weekend is here, but I am also sad the first week is over and yet, excited for the next week to begin.

Week one was a LOT if information. We studied maps and safety and brakes and combination vehicles and more pre-trip. We studied rules and regs, we studied DOT and just about everything in between. I'm happy to say that I WAS in the top 2 of my class, finishing the written education portion with a 95%. Go me!

On Friday we GOT IN THE TRUCKS!!! It was completely amazing. All we did was straightline backing, but that can be difficult at first if you don't understand the 'Turn Toward your Trouble' concept. It's amazing when it works though. Roadmaster uses the expression K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Stupid to remind us not to overthink everything which is incredibly helpful. I did pretty good on my straightline, my first two runs were flawless, but I did hit 2 cones on my third. I was able to recognize and correct my mistake but I was a little dissapointed in myself. Despite that, the experience was a good one because I had a chance to play with the truck and find out exactly what is was made of and how long it would take me to to get the trailer to do what I wanted it to.

A lot of what we did the first week were computer courses about saftey, coupling and un-coupling, braking and steering, stopping distance,air brakes etc. It was difficult to stay engaged to a computer with trucks rumbling along just outside, but I learned so much.

We were given quite a bit of free time to travel to the BMV to take our permit tests and fill out applications.
I failed the gen knowledge test the first time, but passed it the second time, along with the combinatation, haz-mat and tankers. I failed air brakes the first time but passes the second so I am PROUD to say that I am the pround owner of a CDL Class A PERMIT!! What a great feeling.

Listening to the recruiters is tiring. I never know what to believe and don't know what questions to ask. I learning about the calculation of mile pay, which is WAY more important than I realized.

The two companies I am leaning toward as of now are Rohel (pronounced Rail) and US Express. Both offer decent home time programs and better pay than I've found from other companies. It's confusing to try to balance the difference between percentage pay and mileage pay and not all companies have mentioned whether or not they pay deadhead miles.

More Later dedicated fans! Thank you again for all of your support and kind words