Really BAD First Job Experience... Don't Want to Repeat... Suggestions?

What the OP experienced can be found at any of the training companies. There really is no obligation to train you of nothing so don't expect it.

Each party goes int the training situation with different expectations. The company wants to "teach" how to run and get away with things without tell you themselves how its done. They want several weeks of a profitable team to run on the loads in which the planner let sit out. They want the excuse that they provided you with 6-8 weeks of on the job training should they need to go to court for a accident you got in to.

The trainer is looking for the extra money. Many suffer from little man syndrome, and find they must overcompensate by playing boss. The Dunning-Kruger effect is common in a majority of the trucking company trainers.

Hopefully you are in it for a job. You will learn something, but you learn something new everyday in this job. Do not expect to be trained in anything in mega-crap training. If you cannot back, trip plan, figure out the Qualcom, write a log or turn a corner you need to go back to school. You may learn what you need from a company trainer, but they have no obligation or motivation to do so! Don't expect everything to be by the book or even safe. They will not. Suck it up and choose your battles. If you don't know by now what is important and what is not, once again, put blame on your trucking school. It is true to say some of these trainers are the biggest safety derelicts in the trucking world. CYA - don't get hurt, in accidents, or tickets but be aware of the consequences when you make a issue of something in someone else truck.

As far as this forum, we need names and so forth. No need to hold out on us so thanks for the names. As such there is nothing good to say about CRST or USA truck. You time is better spent looking elsewhere.

 

There's a ton of real-world wisdom in Toomanybikes's post. Two thumbs up.

 

I had to google "Dunning-Kruger effect". Wow, that is so accurate.

 

I just got my license through them a month ago , only got paid for one load was training with a owner operator , my trainer was cool but I havent got paid in 2 weeks all the loads we had picked up except for 1 had to be relayed because the truck had a problem, so I was down for 2 weeks then call and asked do I get paid for being break down they was like wait until the truck get back in service then I'll get paid so finally I had enough and got a bus ticket home and now i'm planning on switching to Schneider

 

I thought Melton would be good, but I was wrong. I get to day 2, and keep it mind, I passed my backing up test, my road test, my physical, and 110% sure I passed my drug test flying colors. We get issued personal protective equipment today. I asked the instructor if I can wear my knee pads outside, because we were going to get on our knees and go across some steel pipes. He states I have some out there. I try the knee pads, and they wouldn't stay on, so I asked the instructor if I could get my knee pads I was issued, and he wouldn't let me. After we went back inside. The instructor wanted to see me in his office, I was like okay. I went to his office, and I closed the door as instructed. He said, "I have got to send you home". I knew what it was about. I replied, " Sir, I asked you if I could come back and get my knee pads you issued to me, to send me home for nothing I did wrong is not justifiable". His reply was, "I'm sorry". I got up and quietly walked out of his room after he ordered my bus ticket back home. I sat in the break room for the rest of the afternoon. I called corporate and asked to speak to the owner and he wasn't in today. This instructor allowed 1 guy that couldn't pass his backing up test to stay, and the other guy ran through a red light on a road test to stay. If I didn't have any good luck, I wouldn't have any luck all. Everyone in orientation saw it and said, "That was wrong for him to send you home like that. You were trying to be safe".

 

I am already feeling your pain in certain respects. I am still in CDL school, recently retired from a twenty year career. Now in my past career I've heard it all. I want to throttle some of these "Know it all kids" who amongst other things have no respect in how they talk about how they will do what they want when they "Get their truck". What burns me the most is their blatant disregard for learning, sleeping in class and screwing off at best while others are trying to learn. Ive been in school for two weeks now and have heard amongst other rants how they hate cops and they couldn't give a #### less about following the rules when they get on the road. I am biding my time, smiling at the little jack #####, whom most haven't held a job for more than a year at my best guess. Sooner or later I will just have to break my silence and tell them what I think.

I pray that upon starting with a company I don't have a trainer like that. I receive a pretty decent pension, however, I too want to drive a truck as a career and to travel.

Oh by the way, remember when I said in my last career I had heard it all? Well my 20 yr. career was in Law Enforcement, of which 5+ years was a Field Training Officer as well as many years as an instructor in various other facets of Law Enforcement. I do not subscribe to the "I'm better than most, cause I was a cop" theory, but instead I guess it's an "Eye opener" to the rest of the world around me.

As a side note I have been told by a friend of mine who is OTR not to tell anyone I was a cop as truckers HATE them. This sucks if true because I am very proud of my previous career.

Think I will post this as a separate thread as well for input.

 

Some do, no doubt.

My experience has been that about 95 + % of policemen are fine people. Yet in any career field you will have some bad ones. And it seems in a setting such as your in the bad ones will have the greater influence.

The one thing I enjoyed about driving a truck was if I did my job properly the boss knew it, & driving a truck I usually did not have to pull another persons load because they're slackers.

Hope things will go well for you.

 

WHAT? Did they say they fired you for wanting to get your knee pads? Be careful because firing you for wanting to something safely is a violation of employment law. He does not have to give you a reason but if he said he was firing you for asking to go get your knee pads that is not legal.

 

Any team situation with a stranger is notoriously a bad experience. Trainers at these companies are really just a glorified team. They spend a couple days giving minor direction and then you're on your own just working as a team.

Now, from experience, it's not always the trainer. I've had codrivers that would literally push and push and push and push until I flipped. Work ethic is important, when you're driving in a team setting, if you're there to sight see, to travel, to see the country, you're not going to make it. You're going to have to spend time driving where all you see is black on both sides of you, then during the day, you're expected to sleep. You need to be able to look at a map, and see "Oh, the highway is going to turn right here", or unlike one of my codrivers I've had, at least be able to follow a GPS (he got lost with a gps following one single road).

I'm not blaming the OP, but from experience, it's very possible that he was his own fair share of his experience.

 

Will these companies accept new drivers out of CDL school? I've googled them and from what I've gathered most of them want a year or 2 of experience. A few of these companies have terminals within a few miles of me. So working for them would be awesome. I'm just not seeing where they'll accept drivers out of CDL school.