Orangeburg Calhoun Tech Trucking School

Have you started yet? I hear octech is good, I start Nov 14, I'll let you know how it goes, or maybe see you in class?

 

Good luck to yourself and I hope everything goes well for you also, fishinbub. I had planned to go to Prime Inc's training but I have a +15 mph ticket and can't get hired until feb when it drops off my 3 yr mvr. No big deal, I'll just wait.... I got my permit in january, but never got a chance to use it until august, after it expired so I renew it and things don't work out so I still don't get to use it, then I find out SC has some stupid rule that you can get a cdl permit twice in two years, and mine expires 2 weeks b4 I was supposed to go to prime in feb! So now I'm stuck paying for my own school so I can get my license b4 my permit expires and I have to wait two years. I'll probably go with anyone that will hire me for now, in no one does, then I guess I'll wait for prime in feb.

 

If I had a redo I would have gone somewhere else.

 

Why is that? I finished Dec '11 and I had a very good experience with them. The instructors knew the material and did a good job teaching it. My trainer here at Werner even said he hasn't had a student as prepared for this industry or as good of a driver as i am straight out of school, and that i must have went to an exceptional school. I would recommend OCTech to anyone wanting to become a driver, especially after the horror stories I heard from other new drivers at orientation, about how few hours they had behind the wheel, the attitudes of the instructors and of the general atmosphere of the school, and the poor condition of the equipment. OCTech's tractors are not new but are in good mechanical condition, and fairly well-kept given the abuse they suffer from numerous students, some of which have abnormally poor motor skills. I'd like to hear your story, maybe I'm missing something.

 

Hello Hank, I am considering OC Tech also. I happy to hear that you had a good experience. Just a questioned or 2. Do many companies recruit from Tech? what were your hours of the class and how long does the training last.

Thanks in advance

 

They have night classes, I'm not sure of the schedule on that, but the day classes start every Monday and last six weeks. If you're having problems they will let you stick around for a seventh week. Classes are from eight to five, Monday through Thursday. After the classroom part, you will split into groups of two-four, depending on class size, and go with an instructor in a truck. When we had to do night driving, my instructor sat down with my group and we planned out the hours we would drive at night that didn't interfere with anybodys schedule. We even went 10 hours a day and cut our lunch breaks down one week, and only went three days, so that we could be off thursday to go to some event in town and not lose any class time. So long as the whole group can come to an agreement, class hours can pretty much be what ever you want once you're in a truck.

 

Thanks for the information. Sounds like a good school. Do alot of companies recruit from there. Looking to get into flatbed, but will take anything for now.
Thanks again.

 

We had a recruiter from Comcar Industries, Werner, US Express, and I think one more company, can't remember now which one, either came or was supposed to come and cancelled out on us. I applied to 4-5 other companies before deciding on Werner, and they all said, "Oh, OCTech, we've had a few drivers from there in the past, seems to be a good school." Be careful about asking companies if they take drivers from there before you actually go and graduate, bc some of those same companies told me before I went that they had never heard of OCTech, and didn't know if they were accredited, then after I graduated their story changed... I think they were trying to get me to front $2000 for half of tuition at their school and get me hooked in a contract, just my opinion lol. One thing I was told by several veteran drivers is if you sign a contract, make sure it expresses the driver's and company's obligations, in terms of pay, benefits, company policies, etc., and only that, DO NOT sign a contract obligating you to them for any amount of time. Just in case they turn out to be a dirt bag company or you just don't like them, you can get out and find another without worrying about owing any money or having your dac screwed by a p.o.'d company that's bottom of the food chain. Sounded to me like good advice, especially coming from more than one driver, better safe than sorry I figured.