So.Ga. Tech.College , Americus Ga.

Just finished up the 8 week program & thought I'd share my experience.
Maybe it will help someone decide on a " type " of school ?

To start , before I even began class I had to get a learners permit , med card & drug test ,which translates to - no week of paying for someone to watch me read a book .
Then it's off to the book store for a trucker's atlas , 2 log books , an Hours of Service & Driver's Log Book ( 185 pages ) , a tractor-trailer driver hand/work book ( 600 pages ) & an FMC safety reg pocketbook .

Class size - 5 full time including me . You heard correct. There was 1 guy that did a week refresher & 2 others that were finishing up when I started.
Instructors - 2 , nice ratio there.
Trucks - 5 , works out to around 1 per student , I can live with that. Volvo's & Internationals . Sometimes 1 would be in the college's garage for maintenance .
Transmissions - 10 speeds . shucks , no automatics...
Trailers - You couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting one , all shapes & sizes.
Hours - Mon- Thursday 8 -3 , but no one said you couldn't get there early or stay late. Fridays - Do bookwork @ home .
Practice Range - 2 full offsets , 2 alley docks & 2 parallels with plenty of room between them .
Simulator - it's doing a pretty good job taking up space , it gives the room its sitting in that " full " look .
2 way radios - All trucks have them .

Day 1 hour 1 , See that truck ? Get in it , your seat is the 1 with the steering wheel in front of it . My 1st couple of days I was with the guy doing the refresher so that worked out well.
Day 2 thru week 6 , thorough pretrip then practice , practice , practice ! Man I bet I drove 1000 miles in reverse , wore the steering wheel out , along with my neck & shoulders. Wore a few cones out along the way too .
When the instructors think you're ready you take a skills test like you would for the CDL and after passing its out on the road !
About a 70 -30 split between hi-way & city .
Not saying I'm a pro by any means but I did get to log 475 driving & a total of 975 in the truck so if nothing else I got a feel ( ? ) of what its like to drive .
And no , I did not hit anybody or anything , however I did manage to scare the chrome off one guy's bumper .

Also mixed in the course were trailer coupling /uncoupling , pre trip / air brake tests & some class room discussion .

Then came the CDL airbrake/skills/road test which is NOT administered by your teacher . It's administered by someone certified by the state that gets paid whether you fail or not , so don't hit any curbs...

All in all , after reading about some " schools " on this thread I feel pretty lucky to have been in my shoes this past 8 weeks , really , having my own truck all day almost everyday ,who could ask for more ?


Also want to point out that the teachers were great , very calm , never critical , pointed out mistakes and how to correct them & were always encouraging & would answer ANY question asked ( even ones like " are truck stop showers coin operated & are they on a timer ? "
( gee , I wonder who asked that one ? )

Also - While there several former students stopped by, some with their co. trucks in tow so I also got some good intel about different co.s training procedures , life on the road etc.
Heck , In my book them just stopping by says something about the program .

Also also - I was fortunate in that my training was paid for with help from the WIA program and HOPE scholarship which left me with just paying for the permit , med exam / drug test & books.
Look into those options if your unemployed.

For me the Tech School route was a great experience ,
lots of hands on , with the emphasis being " hands on " .
I know that I struck gold with my timing as for
the student / truck / instructor ratio , I also know that
all of the grads of the last class that applied for a job
have one.

So if you live near one check it out , can't hurt.

 

Simulator - it's doing a pretty good job taking up space , it gives the room its sitting in that " full " look .
So, did the class not use it at all?

Well , I did spin the steering wheel and make sort of
an " ah-rune-ga " sound and another guy did wonder if
it were possible to hook up a video game to it so I think
a good lawyer could argue that we indeed did " use " it .


Seriously thou , not knowing what all they " simulate "
I can't say if I was missing anything by not using it .
And we did have good weather ( only 2 days of light rain )
so we were able to use the real thing the whole time
so that might have figure into the equation .