I need some advice... recent CDL grad

O.K. , call me harsh but anybody that failed the state test twice and got rejected by 2 started companies should get a clue and find another career . There are plenty of more qualified students out there that could take his place .
How would all of you out there encouraging him feel if he backed into your truck at a truckstop or clipped a family members car parked on a street ? Driving is supposed to be a PROFESSION and not everybody has the needed perception and coordination .

 

Everyone learns at their own pace, and not every school has set up a good learning environment in the first place. You picked two of the hardest companies to get on with.
Read the following thread about Prime. You never know.

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...27-new-prime-inc-what-expect-springfield.html

 

You have a license to drive D as well.

Go drive a straight truck. Chicago should have plenty of delivery companies you can start at then move up to tractor/trailer.
Also look at shunting jobs.....you will become pretty good at using your mirrors and backing up.

If you have a license, finding a job in Chicago shouldn't be an issue.

 

yup, you need to learn how to crawl before you can walk. start smaller and work your way up. experiance is not book smarts, time put in any profession should make you better and more confident. good luck and happy trails

 

if i were you, i'd get my money back from whatever school you went to. did you get credit for 160 hrs of training at least? if your out of work, check into some government programs to get funding and go to a better school. i mean 18 hrs? i'v got about 16 hrs road time and a minimum of 24 hrs on the range practicing alley docks and what not, and I'm only a third of the way through my classes.

Honest advice, find a new school that will properly train you, find out how much it costs (make sure its a 160 hrs), then look into some options as far as paying for it.

 

+1 on the D then moving up, shunting outfits often require at least a year of prior shunting experience, i wouldn't recommend it full time for new folks, best scenario would be if you could do it once in awhile, or at your own pace

 

I recently saw a Craigslist ad for yard jockey where they were willing to train someone. You would get all the backing practice you need.

 

trainers that yell and scream are not either a mentor nor a teacher. some people are natural drivers and some need more instruction, for a teacher to get impaitant with you is not very professional. looks like you have outlined your options above and just need to implement one of them. i would find the company with a training program and be up front and honest with them about your abilities and see if they have a very patiant trainer. i trained a guy once ,took over 4 weeks and i was thinking he will never get it and one day he just flipped a switch and shortly after that we turned him loose. happy trails

 

I could have written your post for you vscore24. I went to a school and got an instructor who immediately lothed me and yelled at me and taught me in a way that I did not understand anything he said. As far as backing, I was taken to a truck parking lot by another instructor, and within 15 minutes I was long dock parking with no hassle, doing it again and again. It is the teacher, not the student. They also had their favorites who got more of a "quality" education-- and left the rest of us to rot in the dirt. In a way, I think that whole experience destroyed my attitude toward truck driving. I really think you need to go to another school to get another chance.

Sorry you were out so much money. I know what it is like to be unemployed for a long time-- the world treats you like garbage, and people who probably think they are fine upstanding citizens act in a way that makes you wonder how they can live with themselves.