Factors Which May Influence Your Truck Driving Career Part 3:
Having A GED, Getting Your License Suspended, and Choosing A Truck Driving School

How Drugs And Alcohol Should Be Handled

It's great news that you don't smoke weed or do drugs. All companies are required to test you before you are hired, and randomly once you are. And believe me, they do. To be honest, most people don't take drinking nearly as seriously as I do - because it's legal, obviously. But to a driver, drinking is the greatest evil. For the love of God, please make a hardcore, black and white decision right now and forever forward - on any given day you either drink, or you drive. Period. There's nothing wrong with drinking if you don't have to drive, as far as your career is concerned. But even if you allow yourself a tiny gray area - like one beer and then you're fine to drive - it will turn into two eventually and it will be all downhill from there. I am really, really hardcore about this, and always will be. I won't even taste someone's drink to see if I like it, even if they offer, if I have to drive at any point that day. Not a sip. Swear to God. Drink or drive - make it a completely black and white decision. It's not at all hard to do. Do this and you'll be fine. Your career, your life, and the lives of the people on the road with you depend on it.

I'm not some goody-two-shoes, stuffy kinda guy. I would be classified as a kewl dude on all accounts, but I'm serious about my license, career, and safety. You can still be a kewl dude and be responsible. In fact, many, many times over the years people really showed a lot of respect for my resolve. Most people don't carry as much conviction with them through life as they would like to and they respect it when they see it in other people. So be smart. There are a million decisions to be made on the road every day and you will have to put safety first and foremost in all of the decisions you make or your career, and possibly your life, could turn out to be a short one.

Wow, I really got all serious on your ass on that one, didn't I? LOL! Well, sometimes ya gotta be serious. Not very often though, thank God. I'm normally terrible at it! Much more of a clown.

What Are The Best Options For Getting MY CDL Training?

As far as choosing a private school versus getting your license at a trucking company, I would say the decision really comes down to money. It normally doesn't cost anything up front to get your training through a trucking company, whereas the schools will require you to pay before you begin. However, financial aid is very easy to come by because the schooling is short, the career pays very well, there is a high demand for drivers so jobs are easy to come by, and therefore you should have no problem whatsoever paying back the loan after graduation. So I would say that if you can come up with the money, either on your own or through a student loan, I would take the schooling at a community college or a private trucking school.

If coming up with the money up-front is a problem then don't sweat it. Just go to school at a trucking company. I have spoken with many hundreds of drivers over the years that have gone through one type of schooling or the other, and nobody has had any problems either way. Regardless of your choice, you'll get your license and be on your way with your career.

Let me add a couple things. First of all you're correct - if you get your training through a trucking company they will indeed require you to stay on for one year, or you will have to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. If you go through a private school you will have the freedom to work anywhere you choose. If you haven't seen my blog on free truck driving schools yet then check it out.

No matter what route you choose, I highly recommend you stay on with your first company for one year. It seems like a long time, but it isn't. One year without any accidents at a company is like a free pass in the trucking industry. If you do that, you can pretty well go anywhere you like - as long as there is nothing crazy like a DUI, a ticket for reckless driving, or anything like that. If you get through one year at a company, you're generally free to move around quite easily.

And one year is a very, very short time in trucking. You know very little about how to really handle a rig, schedule your days, and handle the day to day affairs within your own company - like with your dispatcher, load planners, and safety and logbook departments. Your entire first year will be like hardcore schooling - believe me. Don't think you're a real trucker when you graduate from school. Schooling only teaches you enough to get you a job. Once you're on the job, the real training begins. You'll sure see what I mean when you get there. Listen damn close to your trainer, watch everything very closely, and learn from everything you do. Get all the advice you can from the other drivers out there. 98% of them will be more than happy to answer your questions and give you some good advice. After all, they have to share the road with you - and so do their families and friends. Besides, they remember quite well how it feels to be a new driver. Some people act like they've forgotten, but believe me, nobody has. Focus on one year of safe driving with one company and then you'll be ready to try something new. Moving around too much too soon in a driver's career and expecting to be treated like king of the road right out of school is a big mistake that I've seen a lot of drivers make. Be humble, listen far more than you speak, and watch everything that everybody does - and learn from it. Doing that, along with some very smart decision making, will turn you into a real trucker and lead to an awesome career.

Well Phil, I warned ya - I have the gift of gab. I love talking about this stuff and helping people out though. Trucking has been such a huge part of my life and I've enjoyed it immensely over the years. The experiences, the money, the scenery, the people you meet, and all the fun you have out there - it's priceless. It' not that the job is easy - believe me it's not. I've loved it as much as I have because it's so rewarding in so many ways. It's a career you can really enjoy, and really be proud of.

Here's one last article I think will help you a lot regarding the most common question people ask, will I enjoying being a truck driver? A father asked me whether or not drivers enjoy their jobs because his son is getting ready to graduate from trucking school and he's concerned about all of the negative things he is reading on the internet about the industry. It gives a lot of information about why some people love trucking, and some don't.

I sure hope this helped you out! If you have any more questions, never hesitate to ask. I just put up a truck driver's forum. It's brand new and it's hard to get people to sign up in the beginning but it's going to be outstanding help for everyone!

Well, stay in touch and let me know how things progress. I hope to hear from you again soon - and I hope to see you in the forum!

Best of luck,

Brett Aquila