Trying to remain positive... But #### !

What he said. I speak from experience as I also started right out of school with R&L in Lebanon PA. (I live in Schuylkill County, right up the road from you) Get your testing done.If/When you think your ready, I'd go right to the terminal she was going to hook you up with, and ask for the terminal mgr. Tell him/her your story, and then offer to take a road test.(mine was driving about 2 miles,then coming back to the yard and backing into a dock bay between 2 trailers). But belive me, they are worth pursuing, as you'll start at at least $16/hr or more, with good benefits. You'll be a dock/driver combo. (I never had to work the docks,as there were always runs available) I left them quickly, but only because I lucked into a job 5 miles from my house, and I was driving an hour to get to work with them.However, I wouldn't hesitate to go back if something came up. Good luck buddy.Hang in there,it'll all work out for you in the end,trust me.If not with R&L,then with someone else.(Im pretty sure Conway also does the dock/driver thing for new guys,as does ABF I think?) Or you can go OTR if you'd prefer. But you will find a job, I'm positive of it.

 

If you miss a gear DONT get nervous just look at speed or rpm and fins the gear. The truck we were trained in was a piece of crap.and 5th gear was really hard to go into at times. I started in 4 gear at a large intersection and forgot after I made the.turn were I was but I did not panic and I was able to recover by looking at my speed I knew I should be.in 5 th and seeing how on that truck.5th hates me, I grind the gear really bad, I just laughed and told the examiner ( im not sure why but 5th gear hates me ) she.laugh to. Just dont panic when you panic its hard to.recover.

 

Stay after it....if you can.... practice , practice , practice!

 

If you are upshifting and miss the gear, give the accelerator a slight love tap and grab the gear...It is all about feel..Apply a little pressure to the gate(the gearyou want to go to) and when the rpms start falling and all the speeds match it will drop in like butter..Comes with experience, but you'll be able to feel it..

 

Keep trying you.will get it we had a guy that took the test 7 times. And he finally passed.

 

i totally agree with Vinsanity. And don't ever call when you're feeling 'defeated', it can be heard in your voice.

There's a big difference between being honest, and putting yourself in a confession booth. It's natural to get nervous in situations like with the recruiter, take a breath - tell yourself to calm down. It's also human to defend ourselves, my old way would be to talk more, and when your talking you ain't listening!

i had an old Chinese guy tell me "when I'm mad, I'm not very smart", he was 100% right.

Maybe take a week off too. Get relaxed and refreshed, before going back to school. Have a little fun during that time too! I think it might help to stop that committee in your head from focusing on this 24/7.

I know from what I speak, trust me on that!

Good Luck DRIVER!

 

Keep your head up dude.

 

It's ok to keep a positive mindset but it's mandatory a person know there limitations. Truck driving requires a certain skill set, and IMO, half of these skills are inherent, meaning you were born with them (or acquired them at an early age), or you weren't. All you need to do is be honest with yourself. If you really want to truck, and you really feel you're on the cusp of breaking that barrier, then keep at it, but you also have to know when it's time to realize you're going down the wrong road.

Somebody had to say it, so I'll take the beat down

 

Well said. You have NO IDEA how hard that was for me to say to someone from TX.. O.K. Ready for the "shoot down".