It Begins

So I take the required tests. At the end of the first round my employment specialists catches me and tells me he has good news and bad news. The bad news is that the County has reached the end of its fiscal year and no checks would be cut until July. The good news is that once all the testing is done and the paperwork submitted I should be the first name on the list.

I am home less than an hour and receive a call from my employment specialists. He informs me that I failed to pass the Math test. Well duhhhh. No one said there would be Geometry questions on it.I will have to take it again. There me be a light at the end of the tunnel. I met a local driver who was in my shoes not too long ago and has some funding info he will give me..So I'm keepin my fingers crossed.

 

I was applying for funding available through the county, not sure of the initals. Anyway the trucker directed me to another school here in Ohio. The recuiter spend a good 1/2 hr with me on the phone and informed me of a goverment grant site. Good news is I am eligable for funding, the bad news is there is no upgrade course. I gotta sit thru the whole 600 hrs.
But hey, if it doesnt cost me anything but gas and lunch money, I can sit through anything...

 

Well I submitted my information to the Federal Website and it was approved. Went to the school and met with their head recruiter and spent about an hour and he went over everything I could expect. He even showed me companies that offer tuition rembursment. Among them were some of the companies featured here on the Report A Bad Company thread. So I have a lot to think about.

 

Well its offical, I start school at Hamrick's on the 28th. What the Federal loan didnt cover, the school did. I will spent 5 weeks in class with minimal yard work, and then 5 weeks with one of their trainers for driving. At the end of the 10 weeks I will do an internship ( I think that's what she called it) at a local company. The ones connected with the school offers tuition rembursment as I hone my skills.

I won't bore you with the daily experiences, as many of you have already been through it. However if its something of note I will post it..

 

Finished my first week in school. Yeah, it was a little boring, listening to all the basics, but i'm in a class with people that are serious about this new career path they have chosen. Better that 1/2 of us have driven for a living. A number of Class A drivers that life took down a different path and are now returning to trucking and good number of Class B's like myself ready to move up. The rest have never been in a truck.


Unlike the folks that I encountered at the county agency, these people want to be there, and understand its they have to apply themselves to get that license. Everyone is pretty friendly, the exception is the class ahead of us, some of them think their sheet dont stink. All the instructors I encountered are pretty open and friendly and have imparted some great stories and wisdom during the breaks.


Some company recruters are due in next week, and thanks to this site I know whom to avoid. Told a lot of the students about this site and encouraged them take the practice tests and to register, as some have questions about the current state of the trucking industry that I cannot answer.

 

Well the classroom portion of the school is finally over. I passed the mid term and final scores in the 90's, there were a number of students that got 100%. The instructors were impressed because they was a lot of laughing and joking throughout, but the information was retained. About a dozen reciuters came in an gave presentations, and thanks to this site I knew the ones that were full of it. The last 2 weeks we divided our time between the classroom and the yard learning the pre-trip the way the State of Ohio wants it done.


Since a lot of class did not have their temp licenses they were crowded around the truck doing the pre-trip, those of us that did were invited to get in another truck and attempt the straight line backing maunver. OMG! How do you people do it?? A slight turn of the wheel and I am off the pad and on the dirt, at least I was able to shift. After a dozen failed attempts one of the instructors got in the cab and I watched how he did it. He then exited and I was on my own, I actually did it twice.

"Don't worry rookie, you will have PLENTY of time to get it right", I was told. They are no nonsence about the hands on training. They send one motard home a few times, once for showing up in flip-flops, another time for being late and the third for showing up wearing baseball spikes. He was one of those people that show up and are asleep 10 mins later. There was no particapation of anykind from him, and despite being given a handout of the engine compartment he was unable to point out the shock absorber.

The instructor woke him up a few times, I would have booted him from school and told him to return when he was serious about learning.

 

Thanks driver, I'm gonna need all the luck I can get. Yeah, minimal steering is what they said I wasn't doing. LOL

 

Well I was finally assigened to a road instructor. I broke a sweat as the first student drove us to a place called The Circle, actually an industral park where they would see if I could shift. Well I can upshift with the best of them, its the downshifting I need a lotta help with. Drove for about 2 hrs and then its back to base for lunch.

That Afternoon I was put behind the wheel again, only this time it was all highway and State Route driving. My ### musta sucked all the padding out of the seat and I sweated like a ##### in church when they directed me to a construction area where trucks have to use left lane, avoid the temporary wall and stay in your lane because 4 wheeles are passing you on the right. I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU DRIVERS DO IT..