Did My School Prepare Me For A Job?

OK, so I went through a rather expensive cdl course at a private school, got an A in the course, passed my DMV tests the first time, and now I'm scheduled to go to orientation for a regional job in January. Hopefully I'm just nervous like I expect most everyone is, but I find myself wondering if I'm properly prepared. The school I went to really taught "to the test", including spending most of my road hours on the exact route where they knew the road test was giveb (only the dmv does testing in my state). I think the fine print in the contract said you were only guaranteed 23 hours of road time. I think i got less than that (for reasons I won't explain here), and if I don't count the hours spent driving in a loop learning to shift, I'll bet I got jo

OK, so I went through a rather expensive cdl course at a private school, got an A in the course, passed my DMV tests the first time, and now I'm scheduled to go to orientation for a regional job in January. Hopefully I'm just nervous like I expect most everyone is, but I find myself wondering if I'm properly prepared. The school I went to really taught "to the test", including spending most of my road hours on the exact route where they knew the road test was giveb (only the dmv does testing in my state). I think the fine print in the contract said you were only guaranteed 23 hours of road time. I think i got less than that (for reasons I won't explain here), and if I don't count the hours spent driving in a loop learning to shift, I'll bet I got jo

truth be told, no school really prepares you for the real world.. I think they just want you to pass so they get credit and look good.. They real training comes from more driving. Yes it will be difficult at first, but keep a level head, trust the training you got, and you'll be fine. The regional job should provide you with extra training hopefully.. You should be stuck with a trainer and given more 1v1 time. hope it helps

David

*sigh*...my fat fingers hit the wrong key and posted before I was done. Anyway, I'll repeat the entire thing and maybe a moderator can just delete the first post.

OK, so I went through a rather expensive cdl course at a private school, got an A in the course, passed my DMV tests the first time, and now I'm scheduled to go to orientation for a regional job in January. Hopefully I'm just nervous like I expect most everyone is, but I find myself wondering if I'm properly prepared. The school I went to really taught "to the test", including spending most of my road hours on the exact route where they knew the road test was giveb (only the dmv does testing in my state). I think the fine print in the contract said you were only guaranteed 23 hours of road time. I think i got less than that (for reasons I won't explain here), and if I don't count the hours spent driving in a loop learning to shift, I'll bet I got no more than 10 hours on the road. Now I'm reading about what goes on at orientation and training, and I see that they take you out driving and evaluate you. So I'm wondering, will my skills be up to it? I guess I know the basics of how to do turns, but I got used to the turns on the road test course, and I (except for during the actual test) I always had the instructor sitting next to me coaching. If I'm taken out and expected to negotiate a tough turn, I'm not really that confident about my judgment.

So, do 10 hours of actual driving in traffic sound like way too little? If I go to orientation and can't negotiate a turn, will they coach me or send me home?

I am willing to bet, that most, if not all CDL schools, including Company ones, only teach a student enough to obtain their CDL.

Once you go to your chosen company, you will be trained, usually for a minimum of 4 weeks, with a trainer, who will teach you how to operate the truck, safely. In many cases, if you still don't feel comfortable, you can request more training time, and the company will usually allow it. Also, a good trainer, will even suggest that you train longer, if they feel you need more training.

It is ok, and even good to feel nervous, and completely normal. Just trust that your trainer will have you up to speed by the time you upgrade to your own truck.

congrats on obtaining your CDL, btw

Stay safe

*sigh*...my fat fingers hit the wrong key and posted before I was done. Anyway, I'll repeat the entire thing and maybe a moderator can just delete the first post.

OK, so I went through a rather expensive cdl course at a private school, got an A in the course, passed my DMV tests the first time, and now I'm scheduled to go to orientation for a regional job in January. Hopefully I'm just nervous like I expect most everyone is, but I find myself wondering if I'm properly prepared. The school I went to really taught "to the test", including spending most of my road hours on the exact route where they knew the road test was giveb (only the dmv does testing in my state). I think the fine print in the contract said you were only guaranteed 23 hours of road time. I think i got less than that (for reasons I won't explain here), and if I don't count the hours spent driving in a loop learning to shift, I'll bet I got no more than 10 hours on the road. Now I'm reading about what goes on at orientation and training, and I see that they take you out driving and evaluate you. So I'm wondering, will my skills be up to it? I guess I know the basics of how to do turns, but I got used to the turns on the road test course, and I (except for during the actual test) I always had the instructor sitting next to me coaching. If I'm taken out and expected to negotiate a tough turn, I'm not really that confident about my judgment.

So, do 10 hours of actual driving in traffic sound like way too little? If I go to orientation and can't negotiate a turn, will they coach me or send me home?

as Dan and I said, they really only teach you enough to pass the CDL.. everything else is done with your company..

I started out with swift in 2012.. We did 2 weeks on the range/blacktop doing Pre-trip/backing/unhooking after we passed all that, we did 5 days of driving in phoenix, AZ.. I think i logged 1 1/2 - 2hrs per day, so I pretty much had the same amount of drive time as you.. When I went to my Orientation, it was 3 days of paperwork, company policy's and DOT physical.. On the 3rd day I left with a trainer for 4 1/2 weeks and had to log 240hr behind the wheel. My trainer drove for the first day, then I did all the driving for the first 50 hrs with him sitting in the passenger seat all the time. after that we switched to team driving where he slept when I drove and I slept when he drove.. (Couldnt wait for the final 190hrs to be finished)

So, your trainging will be similar Im sure. You company may do a dry test to see where your at. Don't get to worked up over it. Its just for them to eval you and place you w/ the right trainer. You should get all the training you need with your trainer.

David

Kurt has some second thoughts:

Did my school prepare me for a job?

Answer: Yes. Your school (you went to a private school, this works for a company school, too.) You signed up for the school to teach you how to drive a commercial semi-truck. If you passed the CDL skills test for the DMV , and got your full CDL, mission accomplished, congratulations! Now some or several trucking companies will be seriously interested in hiring you.

Answer: No. You have the CDL license, and can get your truck down the road, and maybe even make a right turn, but you're a long way from being able to take a dispatch, pick it up and deliver on time it three states away. Those details come from road training that you'll get after you are hired.

The real bottom line is your school will get you a job, but you need several thousand miles on the road for seasoning.

Kurt, I agree with the others on trusting the training you got. And you're right about them only teaching you enough to pass the test. That's really all they were supposed to do. Your trainer is supposed to take those very few skills you now have and put the finishing touches on them. It's like this instructor at the CDL school Swift sent me to likes to say: "We just teach you enough to get your license and make ya dangerous! It's up to your company to do the rest!"

Thanks guys, that does make me feel better. Errol, I did realize that I'm far from someone handing me the keys and sending me off on my own, but if a company hires me as a recent graduate of one of their "approved schools", then i suppose they expect some level of competence, and i was concerned that i'm not really there. Also, this company's training/orientation is only 3 weeks with 7-10 days out on the road (that's probably giving away which company it is).