Comments By CIDRAY

Week 3

This is the week when people stary to really separate themselves feom the others. More driving and range skills. They score you on a scale of 1-5. By this point you should be improving. If not, ASK QUESTIONS.

You'll should get to drive with each driving trainer. If not, thats fine. Just keep improving. They all have different styles, but the goal is the same.

The food is getting lame, but its free so eat it up. There are food establishments and churches in walking distance.

Recommendation 1) bring some spending money for laundry supplies, toiletries, and snacks 2) brings books and/or music w/headphones for down time 3) bring warm clothes. its getting cold 4) come ready to work

Week 2

This is the week you get in the truck. You will learn straight line backing, off-set backing and parallel parking on the ranges. You'll also get time on the road driving. LISTEN TO THE INSTRUCTORS.

You'll drive in the morning and do the range in the afternoon or vice-versa. Also, keep studying the pre-trip and air brake check.

There are some positive students here and some negative ones too. Stay focused and remember why you're here. Some people were sent home for urinalysis and background results.

Week 1

The first day was paperwork and learning about the upcoming program. Second day was learning pre-trip and what to look for. You will also take a drug screen and they'll run your background. (ADVICE: Don't lie and don't show up with dirty urine. THEY WILL FIND OUT. )

We spent the remaining time learning straight line backing and off set backing. You get to use the simulator to work on shifting and driving. They really cover the pre-trip. The video is played daily in clas and constantly on television.

Celadon provides housing and three meals a day. The food is ok and the housing is fine. The only issue is that not everyone has the same hygiene habits. The gym is very nice. They take you to Wal-Mart twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday, if you need supplies. You will have your own room if you stay at the Academy.

So far so good. The instructors are helpful and every question I had has been answered. There can be down time on the range, but you can use it to study and watch others.

Note: They do reimburse for DOT physicals and permits. You must have your receipts. If you pay your way here they will reimburse up to their cost of getting you here via Greyhound.

So if you apply for a new job and one of the companies you worked for either:

a) no longer exists

or

b) was bought out by another company

or

c) merged with another company

Then how does it work as far as employment verification?

I just sent in my W-2's from those employers. No problems.....

Here are a few links that might help:

Celadon Truck Driver Training: My Training Experiences

Celadon Company-Sponsered CDL Training Program Review

Thanks for the links......

Expect the entire process to be like one long job interview. They're going to be watching everyone closely. They're not just looking at trucking-related stuff, but for attitude and work ethic too. It's not just about teaching people how to back and shift. It's about identifying people who have a shot at sticking around for a while and being successful in this industry.

Probably a quarter of your class will be gone after two days. Half of them won't even get their CDL. The dropout rates are high. Go in there with a great attitude, work really hard, listen closely to everything they're telling you, and ask a lot of questions. Stay away from any students you find with a poor attitude. If they're not taking it seriously, they're not working hard, and they have a skeptical or cynical attitude just stay away from them and stay focused on the challenges you're facing. You're not going to believe how many terrible attitudes you're going to find amongst the students, but as I mentioned, most of those guys won't be around for long anyhow.

Just keep a great attitude, keep working hard, and roll with things. There are going to be times you'll feel overwhelmed or you might think you've chosen the wrong company or the wrong industry altogether. Just keep pushing through it. Everyone has doubts at times. Everyone is confused and overwhelmed at times. You have to push through it and stay the course.

Also, go through our Logbook Rules and Truck Weight & Balance sections in our High Road Training Program. You're going to need to know that stuff in order to do your job out there.

Best of luck to ya and let us know how things go.

Brett,

Thanks for the information and heads up. I definitely plan on going hard. I also wanna thank you for this site. Without it I wouldn't have passed the CDL permit tests. I'm going to start going through the Logbook Rules and Truck Weight & Balance sections today. I'll try posting once I get there to give current updates about the program.

Leaving in 11 days for Celadon. Anybody have any tips on what to expect? I already have my CDL permit and DOT physical completed. Also have a passport.