Comments By Lynn V., Unwritten

last Friday at the exam station in Eagan, MN. The need to study day in and day out is no more and this weekend I have really chilled out. Easy to do here as the temp this morning at 5:30 was -21 w/ a windchill. I lost a few points for what I considered putzy stuff, but it's all well and good, and in the same breath still important to get the feedback from my examiner. I graduate from school this next Friday and since I haven't called my recruiter yet from Werner, I'm not going to post the date yet of when I'd like to start orientation/training. I'm so pumped!!! Thanks drivers for information and support you've provided me. "Each day, a new beginning."

~crossposted in General Category

last Friday at the exam station in Eagan, MN. The need to study day in and day out is no more and this weekend I have really chilled out. Easy to do here as the temp this morning at 5:30 was -21 w/ a windchill. I lost a few points for what I considered putzy stuff, but it's all well and good, and in the same breath still important to get the feedback from my examiner. I graduate from school this next Friday and since I haven't called my recruiter yet from Werner, I'm not going to post the date yet of when I'd like to start orientation/training. I'm so pumped!!! Thanks drivers for information and support you've provided me. "Each day, a new beginning."

could that be an indication that perhaps I'm NOT meant to to be a truck driver or have any of you known of someone that has had the same struggles and benefited from perhaps a change of training style/venue?

Well it's impossible to say for sure if you'll ever enjoy trucking as a profession because we don't know you well enough as a person. But almost anyone can learn the necessary skills if they're determined enough to stick with it so it's almost a certainty that you're plenty capable of doing it.

Whether or not someone is meant to be a truck driver normally isn't about whether or not they can learn to handle a rig. It normally comes down to whether or not they can handle the environment. It's a risky job that requires a sense of adventure and a willingness to risk your own life and be responsible for the lives of those around you every single day. Your sleep schedule is erratic, you're often working 70 hour weeks, you're not treated very well most of the time by the general public you're serving, and you spend almost all of your time either alone or surrounded by strangers far away from home. Quite simply, you have to be willing to go far beyond what most jobs would ever ask of a person to make it in this industry.

If you're willing to stick it out and keep at it then I certainly think you should. We have seen many, many people come through here that struggled mightily during their training but then went on to do a fantastic job and have enjoyed their careers immensely. But, a big part of their success was a newfound understanding of what it's going to take from them as a person to make it in this industry. They figured out they're going to have to handle the pressure better, they're going to have to have a much thicker skin, and they're going to have to learn to accept a lot of things that are far less than ideal, and that including the personalities they'll come across along the way.

If you feel that perhaps a change could be of benefit, then would you recommend Company training that involves going out on the road with a trainer? Or would you stick with a Technical school which, in this case, has a 6 week program (5 weeks behind the wheel) that's alot and I do mean alot slower paced?

I think you might enjoy the technical school more, assuming they have instructors with pleasant personalities and a little slower pace. But don't make those assumptions because there are plenty of private schools with miserable instructors and a face-paced environment. Paying cash up front for a private school does not assure you of a pleasant experience.

The other concern I have is that I don't want you to get the impression that you came across some extraordinarily difficult circumstances at school. You said it yourself - you knew people that breezed through the program without too much trouble. So the school itself wasn't the issue even though they had instructors that were far less than pleasant. You're going to come across people every day of your life in this career that are far less than pleasant. You have to be able to deal with that kind of stuff. You should have been able to get through that schooling just fine, but you didn't. So if you want to be successful the next time around you have to make some changes to your approach.

So I would say consider a private school but go for a visit first and speak with the students that are currently attending and get the inside scoop. Don't assume anything. But I would also qualify that statement with this - you have to toughen up at the same time. Don't doubt yourself. Don't let miserable people derail your efforts. Don't think for a moment you can afford to be kinda soft and seek out the easier, gentler path in this industry because there isn't one. It's all difficult no matter what driving job you have.

Struggling with the driving part doesn't concern me much at all. Not everyone catches on at the same pace and historically that hasn't been much of an indicator of the success you'll have out there. You'll pick up the driving skills. The question is whether or not you have the personality for it. If you feel you're ready to give it another shot then by God you certainly should. Fall back, regroup, rearm, and go get em again.

I appreciate your insight and you have given me much to think about.

I think that with the support of my husband, family, my school and the wealth of information I have found here on TruckingTruth. I WILL be fine. I've been driving school bus since 1989, so with a 12 year sabbatical but still keeping my CDL, I drove for 15 years. It too is stressful and I'm hoping that with my experiences there that I have a grip on the possible, yet certain stresses of my chosen lifestyle/profession.

In light of your situation I want to give you my opinion based on my own experience.

I've always wanted to be a truck driver and my desire goes back to my early childhood. Back in the 70s, I enlisted in the Army National Guard and my MOS was "light and heavy vehicle operator" which was basically a truck driver. I enlisted because I was too young to get into truck driver's school. Needless to say, fast forward to now. Back in October, my husband called it to my attention that the school bus driving that I was doing was having a negative effect on me and that he thought I should try to achieve my dream. I knew what he was talking about and time stood still for just a moment.

I immediately started looking for a school. Decided on Interstate Truck Driving School in South St. Paul, MN. I signed up for the 160 hours course which consists of a minimum of a 100 hours of classroom and coursework AND 60 hours of simulator, backing practice on my own, backing with an instructor, behind-the-wheel, pre test behind-the-wheel and ultimately the CDL road test. Like I said, the 160 hours is a minimum that most trucking companies are looking for when they're considering hiring a graduate of a truck driving school. Also, a big seller about this school was the effort they put into assisting in job placement. Before I even started class on Nov. 16, I already had one pre-hire letter and three more in the works.

As a veteran myself....I did end up paying my own because I'm not post/911 but most truck companies offer tuition reimbursement so you basically are repaid for the cost of your school. Plus depending on your situation, sometimes there are other programs, like YMCA or your state's Workforce Center that will pay for school. It depends solely on your situation.

Never once did I feel stupid for asking questions throughout my classroom or driving time. And I feel I have had sufficient time to prepare for the road test, which by the way is tomorrow, Jan. 15th. If I had felt I needed more time in any part of the classroom or driving, all I would have needed to do was speak up and ask for more time. I was told that one student had actually put in 300 hours to accomplish his goal of becoming a truck driver.

I have a job already with Werner. And yes, I did question the recruiter about going that far to say that. Because the pre-hire letter is just an invitation from a company to go to their orientation and it not a job offer. He told me, that I have a job period. So when I leave for orientation in early February I'll be bringing down, in addition to other paperwork, my school transcript and school completion certificate.

So in researching a school to go to- I work suggest that you also look into if they offer assistance with job placement. Like I said, once I toured the school the admissions person gave me a folder about the school and included in that was a two-sided sheet of paper listing companies that are hiring graduates right out of school. The list had all the contact information for a specific company including their website and recruiter name.

I'm going for my DREAM.

As far as the shifting, and yes I have struggled with that too. I found a 3 pt. series of videos on youtube.com Do a search for "Double Clutching 101" by yourboyetrucker. Great help for me, especially the second video where he shows the steps for up shifting and down shifting. I took notes while watching and actually wrote each process on a sticky note and would take them with for sim time and driving time to remind me of the sequence. For up shifting, I say to myself "clutch neutral, clutch shift" or "1,2" and for down shifting I say to myself "clutch neutral, REV, clutch shift" or "1 2, 3". The videos really did make a difference for me and I have recommended them to my other classmates that have told me they're struggling and they have come back and told me that the videos really helped them out. And yes, I have seen these videos recommended elsewhere in this forum. I have found a additional resources on www.truckingtruth.com which is a website that was recommended to me through school. Check it out, it is free.

Where there's a will, there's a way. And like another person commented, the school you choose doesn't define you as how you'll be truck driving. There are many different personalities in anybody working with the public and unfortunately some people get in the position to teach that shouldn't be there. Keep what information you can use and benefit from and let the rest go. As a school bus driver, I learned to never take anything personal. It's not that I don't care, but I have to take care of Number 1 and that's me.

I wish you the best and if there's any questions you have, feel free to message me.

All good comments drivers. Thanks so much. I'm in a special situation because my husband is a 100% service-connected disable Vietnam veteran and receives home health services paid for by the VA. That's all well and good and we're hoping to raise his services from three visits per week to five per week and fill in with two other friends (former caretakers of his). So I'm in the thick of things trying to figure out how to pay them, and how to claim it for a taxes. Now, after reading the comments. I don't know if I want to claim as if it's going to reduce our AGI, I don't want that either. My husband and I are going to be trying to purchase the house we're renting currently. So many questions, I know but I like to have all my ducks in a row.

Again, I appreciate the input. Be safe out there today.

Does anyone know where I can find or who I should call to get the 2016 list of expenses the truck drivers can claim on their taxes?

I'm planning on going to Werner. I'm hoping that by this time next month I'll be in Omaha for orientation. I do my road test is in two days and then I'll have additional training at school. By Friday afternoon, I should know when my last day of school will be. So excited is putting it mildly.

Kudos!!! Errol. I'm impressed. If I could only get that good with experience everyday. Knowing fully that there are both good and bad days backing for all experience levels of drivers.

Werner orientation is four days classroom with DOT physical first day and paperwork on day 1 and day 2. Days 3 and 4 are simulator time. Defensive driving etc. After that they advertise 270 hours with a trainer on the road, but the recruiter manager that came to my school said that the average length of hours is around 233 hours. So if you do the average time, you'll probably be home in 4-5 weeks. If you need more time, your total time for orientation could be around 6-8 weeks. Mind you the recruiter manager did say that you have the option, of going home for a few days or maybe a week, and then returning for the rest of your driving time. The time spent on the road with a trainer is "solo" time. The trainer will not be driving. He or she will be training you in real life situations.

My road test is this Friday, the 15th of January and my graduation date from school is the end of January or early February, as after I get my CDL, I return to school for some more specialized training. I'm hoping to be in Omaha by the first or second week of February.

Can't say enough about this place. Staff is great . Safety is number one priority . Couple days in classroom and paperwork . Then couple more on simulators, yard skills and testing. All testing is basically just to identify your weak points for trainer to work on with you. Most testing is not pass or fail. Unless you can not drive, you will go forward. But you must pass physical. Now that all that is behind me, I wait for assignment to trainer , then on road for 275 hours of my drive time . Complete that you must pass test then go solo P/s... Drug test did not pull hair

That's great to hear. I'm currently in CDL school with a graduation date of early February. I'm really interested in Werner right now, basically because they match what me and my husband put in our Need/Want list. I haven't committed to anything and am currently looking into other companies just in case I need a back up plan. Good luck continuing on with them.