Appointment With Recruiter Tomorrow At Diesel Driving Academy

And if you can get the tuition aid from WIA the school accepts the $2400
as full payment to the school, they waive the remaining balalance!
That way you're not obligated to any company, you can leave anytime!

But, attending a company with their own school is very easy!

 

You hit the nail on the head! Its really tough to realize if you are going to like it or not unless you spend the 6G's, go to school and then through training. Even after that it takes a good three months or so before you are acclimated to what's going on out there and can make an informative decision as to whether you like it or not.

As far as being comfortable, by no means are you going to be comfortable after finishing school. If anything you will probably be more stressed. Rest assured though, usually after your first 12 hours of driving with your trainer in the real world will you have a little more sense of what you are doing.

I won't blow smoke up your butt! It is going to be stressful! You need to learn to relax though and realize that it is just going to take getting used to. You will be white knuckled to the max driving through a construction zone in the mountains with barriers on both sides or another big truck passing you just about rubbing mirrors, but if you just relax, pay attention to what you are doing and go with the flow you will be fine. It really makes it a lot worse when you tense up driving. Your brain automatically goes into panic mode and you don't think clearly. Its like a fight or flight response. You either stand your ground or get the hell outta there! Well this isn't going to work for you out there so it helps to learn to turn that off. Get in the mindset of having fun and learning the experience! This will hopefully relax you a bit and give you a different train of thought.

Living it is a whole different story! However if you really prepare yourself for what you are getting into it will make things easier and hopefully take some of the shock out of it. I'll be honest in that I have a lot of experience driving but whenever we would buy a new truck I would freak out! It was just the whole different set up and feel of the truck and location of things and what I was used to day to day in my other truck that would send my mind spinning. Also whenever we got out of the truck and got an occasional hotel room I would also freak! It wasn't just me, the same thing would happen with my wife. We just spent so much time in that little box and were used to our everyday operation that when it changed it would throw us for a loop!

Don't mean to ramble, just trying to maybe give you an insight as to what to expect when you do get out there. For me personally, I started very young and when I was cut loose in that truck for the first time on my own, I was in shock! I had a pretty good idea as to what to expect but when I was there doing it is when it actually sunk in. Plus the thought of wow, I'm not going home for a long time kind of hit me too! At the end of my first stressful day I wasn't going home to sit in the lazy boy and relax in front of the tv or take a hot shower in my own bathroom.

You will get used to it though. Like I said, give it a good three months before even deciding if you like it. When you are issued your truck, make it your home. Take the time to set it up the way you want and have what you need in there to make it home like.

Sorry Survivor, I took just one of your sentences and went off on a tangent!

 

i currently attend diesel driving academy in little rock.

 

I've been trying to avoid DDA but it's looking like it's going to be my only option. Looking forward to seeing your thoughts of going there.

 

Truck driving schools and company training programs only teach the basics, mostly what you need to get your CDL. What you need to know about trucking comes with experience, starting with the trainer you saddle up with and continues via the school of hard Knox.

If you can find a school that saves you money, put that money in your pocket. No school is going to churn out great truck drivers,,, it's mostly get better as you drive

 

I am sure that DDA has a solid program after reviewing some things online, but I didn't go there so I wouldn't know. If they are your only option then go for it. Remember, you make the decision to go to school and not the recruiter. I personally would try to find a different route because based off their programs they will push FAFSA and take a look at the cost: http://dda.edu/disclosure/

Federal Aid, the so called "help" for education is pushing tuition sky high. In 2008, before federal aid was "hot" with schools the average cost was about $4,000. Now its inching higher and higher...$10,000 for truck school...

 

Chompi...that was a good write-up......I sat in the backseat in a semi and it was intimidating as a passenger!, I know my butt cheeks are gonna be tight for a while..hehehehehe.........

and talking about the PANAMA CANAL, I lived there for the last 2 years, massive operation! That will more than double the amount of traffic currently going thru....that canal is a capacity right now.....ships waiting in line 24 hours a day...it's like a sign I saw in a bar in the Keys, "Take a number, then stick it up your #####!"