Comments By Cece

Hello ,

Last time everyone heard from me I was going to Knight. Orientation was going well but there were discrepancies on what my recruiter said vs what was said at orientation. No problem I know some recruiters fudge some. Cant blame Knight. Hometime and Tuition Reimbursement wasnt I was told so I thanked them for the opportunity then drove straight up to CFI orientation in Joplin. Everything lined up and I am a new hire. 👌🏾😊

Sucky part they dont have any trainers available to for weeks. As the Safety & Training department said: I'd be extremely fortunate if I see a trainer in 2 weeks. So they paid for me to get back home. I'm on call. Anything I can do to keep me on my toes with trucking while I wait?

Thanks all 😊

I'm very nervous about going out with a trainer this winter. It has been pretty bad. Orientation ends soon so I'm praying for a good trainer. Be safe out there Kearsey

11/12/2019

TODAY WAS INTERESTING .

Shuttle arrived at 8am took us to the terminal. Within the first 30mins the gentlemen that was on class threw up the ✌ said he could go make money and be rich somewhere else and walked out 🤣

Then the poor guy trying to give us all our PowerPoint presentations today keeps getting interrupted by the lady in my class. She has 4.5 years experience so EVERYTHING this guy says she has a response to. She says "well I do things like this" or "that's stupid" or she will go into a full blown story. I think the guy giving us instruction is kinda new to this so he just let's her rant then he will look at me and say "do things the right way"

It's only me and the other lady at orientation now. For lunch the Terminal Manager came and took us to a Mexican restaurant. My favorite food so I enjoyed. After lunch more PowerPoint on company policies, payroll, ELD, then we went outside to practice pre trip. And learn the way Knight teaches it.

I'll say that the people at this terminal are great and full of information. It's the lady in my class making it hard to get through. Tomorrow is our last day of orientation. We will be taking a test just to see if we've been paying attention about policies and such. Covering some last minute things. Then I'll figure out if I have a trainer yet. If not, they said I'm free to drive back home over the weekend and everyone will keep in touch.

Sidenote: I LOVE all the bonuses Knighr has to offer. It really is great incentives. Be blessed everyone.

Yes Sir, will do Old School. Also anyone reading Knight does not allow male trainers with females. Too many problems have come up they said. So I know for sure I'll be with a female just dont know when yet. I'll figure out as orientation goes on

11/11/2019 0730

I arrived at Knight Terminal in Tulsa, Ok. Along with 2 other. I'll give the demographics: I'm 25, african american, married. The other 2 in cladd with me are white, one man and one woman. Both early 50s. I'm just being detailed for those who are going to freak about me bringing up gender or race.

First we did our DOT physicals. It was from what I hear more in depth than other companies. We had to step up and down on a ladder for a minute straight as fast as we could. They took our heart rate beforehand then right after. Then we were timed for 3 minutes and the goal was to get our heart rate back down to what ot was before the exercise or very close. After that we had to squat. Then squat with 40lbs. Then pick up those weights and out it above our head and repeat. Then we had to pick up 75lbs chest level and walk it back n forth 10 times . Listen, I had a blast but I like working out. The others did not enjoy or said it was hard. But it definitely was a little workout. Also they have to get your height & weight and BMI. Eye exam, hearing exam, etc. I was good on BMI so no need for sleep apnea testing but the other 2 need to do a sleep apnea test. IT DOES JOT DISQUALIFY A DRIVER SO DONT BE WORRIED!

They had Raising Cane's chicken catered to us for lunch. After that we did a lot of online training. The woman in my class went to do a road test because she had 4.5 years experience. Myself and the gentlemen wont road test until after we complete 4 weeks with a trainer.

The woman in my class had a very abrasive personality. I'm not a fan. She used to drive Swift and she says she only got home 7 times in the whole 4 years she worked there and how horrible it was. I dont get why she would choose Knight then since they are partner companies ? But whatever I dont believe her anyway. But she is always "giving" me advice since I'm the young one. Taking that with a grain of salt. She stays interrupting our instructor. I'm only mentioning this to let people know "it takes all kinds" lol. Anywho other than that no complaints. The hotel is right by a lot of restaurants and shopping so that's great. The hotel itself is just okay but hey we all get our own rooms so that's a bonus in my book.

We got done around 3pm.

Back tomorrow at 8am for powerpoints and company policies.

Did I leave anything out ?

Turtle, I have a feeling I'll be hitting a ton of brick walls so be ready for me to ask a lot of questions 🤣🤣

Can't wait to hear your success story. It's all right there inside you. When you think you've hit a brick wall, please come to us. We'll try to help you find that resolve. Best of luck to you!

Thank you so much Old School. I'll be at the Tulsa Terminal. My recruiter was Dustin out of Phoenix. He said I'll be meeting with a gentlemen named Jason. I opted for a male or female trainer. It doesnt matter to me as long as I learn and I'm in a safe space.

Hey Cecilia, that's great news!

Let me tell you something. Getting this career started is tough. There's just no getting around that. I know it seems like you've accomplished so much at this point. You've been conflicted with decisions, stressed out over choices of companies, and overwhelmed with all there is to learn. To be honest, you have accomplished a lot, and you've come a long ways. Congratulations!

You are about to enter the next phase of this wild ride. Guess what? It only gets more real, more challenging, and more exciting. It's like you just got on a roller coaster ride that never ends, and the further it goes it just gets more intense. Hang in there. I'm pretty sure I've detected a really competent truck driver developing in you.

Let me also tell you the people at Knight will treat you really well. But, this whole process of starting as a new rookie driver is not painless. It's stressful because it's all new. It's long hours and demanding schedules that are filled with anxiety and stress. Every new job has it's levels of being uncomfortable, but trucking has a level that is multiplied over. I think it's partly due to not getting to go home at the end of our day and unwind with the people we love and are comfortable being around. Instead we just go to sleep while still inside our workplace (the truck) and we have our new co-worker, who was a total stranger to us up to now, sleeping right in there with us. That's just weird!

Hang tough and keep coming in here to us if you have concerns. I know Knight does a good job of trying to have good trainers, but there are still problems that arise. It's just a difficult situation at times being with a trainer. Hopefully you'll have a great experience - many people do. Just remember we are here to help if you're struggling.

I'm really excited for you!

I will be doing a training diary 😊👌🏾

To everyone who gave me advice I really appreciate. I've wasted time being unsure of myself and companies when there was no need. Special thank you to Old School. Anywho, I start orientation with Knight this monday ! Veteran's Day. Hopefully I can get free meals after class. Happy early veterans day to anyone else who is a veteran here. And once again just a thank you to everyone on this website who has encouraged me and given advice. I'm driving my personal vehicle to orientation because it's only 2 hrs from my house. They will reimburse me for my gas. Hoping everything goes well. Have a good weekend all.

Terminals. How many a company has or if there are any near your Home of Residence. Why is this important or unimportant? Also for the experts besides Hometime, Pay and Training is there anything else you would tell a rookie is very important to look for. My CDL School I went to would tell us to look up safety score on FMSCA and cpm. That is the only thing they really preached of importance.