Finished School! Now Chapter 2!
Topic 14040 | Page 1
Hey if you are interested in TransAm read my 4 threads. I work for them going in 5 days solo.
The last one is still ongoing in the General Forum.
Oh and I LOVE LOVE LOVE my automatic!! Their trucks are beautiful and are fully loaded with all kinds of goodies. They are also super spacious. I was afraid I was going to have too much stuff and I still have half the space under my bunk open!
I was hoping you would see this! You're posts have been SO HELPFUL! They have helped calm some of my nerves going in. I have read almost all of your posts. lol Hopefully we can meet one day!
Hey if you are interested in TransAm read my 4 threads. I work for them going in 5 days solo.
The last one is still ongoing in the General Forum.
Absolutely! I'm so glad somebody got something from my posts!
If you decide to go with TransAm let me know when you will be at the terminal for orientation and if I'm around I will stop by and say hi.
My truck number is 41913.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Awesome! I think they are gonna send me to Dallas though. ugh. I live in North Florida, I'm gonna ask about going to Kansas, I have a friend that lives just outside Kansas City I might could visit on the weekend. I've also heard REALLY good things about that TransAm location as far as the educators go.
Absolutely! I'm so glad somebody got something from my posts!
If you decide to go with TransAm let me know when you will be at the terminal for orientation and if I'm around I will stop by and say hi.
My truck number is 41913.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Everyone in the training department is awesome. They really take to time to help if you need a little extra work on something. I'd be willing to bet you can request to come to Kansas. They fly people in from all over the east coast.
Most of the driver trainers are excellent too. They know that they only have a short time with their students and they want to help them succeed. I say most because there are a few that are just in it for the miles. Make sure you get your trainer to let you do ALL the backing as you won't get too many opportunities in 11 days.
Congratulation and best of luck :)
I have read ALL your posts. WHEW! But could you elaborate on the testing stuff at the company? If you remember, I mentioned my test anxiety. :/ I was watching YouTube videos about TransAm. How does the testing work? When is it? General Knowledge test? Backing test? The guy in the youtube said one of his classmate got sent home because he fails some test, but did say what part. See here I go.
Everyone in the training department is awesome. They really take to time to help if you need a little extra work on something. I'd be willing to bet you can request to come to Kansas. They fly people in from all over the east coast.
Most of the driver trainers are excellent too. They know that they only have a short time with their students and they want to help them succeed. I say most because there are a few that are just in it for the miles. Make sure you get your trainer to let you do ALL the backing as you won't get too many opportunities in 11 days.
The testing is a driving course followed by several backing exercises. You have plenty of time to practice the course and they will spend extra time with you if you need it. There is also a very short (15-20) road test through Olathe. They take 2 students at a time and I would definitely suggest being the first student of the 2 to drive as there is a tough turn in the second half. Watch your mirrors on the turns and make sure you call out all the road signs.
I go into a lot more detail in the thread on orientation.
A word of advice: pay attention to the trainers when they are explaining the course! It's a bit confusing at first but watch a few times if you can and it gets a lot easier to understand.
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WHEW! What a busy 7 weeks! I started trucking school with Sage in Ft. Pierce FL. Extremely glad I choose that school. Educators were MORE than helpful, and always available. I REALLY enjoyed the one on one trucking. One Student, One Truck, One Educator. Sometimes it was me and another student, but we ALWAYS had our own truck. We had 6 maneuvers to learn: Straight line, sight side, blind side, left and right offset and the dreaded ally dock. ugh. I can off set like nobody business, but man my ally dock needs some work. My road stuff, I was pretty good on, I gotta remember to check my mirrors more (I check so much now, I feel like i'm gonna get sick), and make sure I use my blinker with turning left or right. (Always do when changing lanes).
SO after all the school training comes my test!!! I get severe test anxiety... like weeks before the test, but the educators assured me I would do fine, I did great on all my road drives and my maneuvers, but nerves got the best of me. On my very first test, ON THE PRE-TRIP! I FAILED! I knew I knew my pre-trip, I got a little ahead of my self and totally SKIPPED OVER my Air Brakes! WTH! Auto Fail! I was SO ANGRY! I mean, if I had failed on something I KNEW I had issues with, I wouldn't be so upset, but man I was angry. So week later, Test 2, aced my pre-trip, failed on the last maneuver. The computer choose Ally Dock for me (My nemesis!). Ugh. When it was all done and over with, I knew what I SHOULD have done to fix myself. So 3RD test! Aced EVERYTHING! I even got an Academic Excellence Award. ^_^ All the stress is GONE!
I have pre-hires with a few companies (I think they gives those out like candy). My top 4 in order are TransAm, U.S. Xpress, Schneider, and Stephens. TransAm because I WANT an automatic truck (better for my leg issues), I like what they offer on their trucks, and the recruiter (Lindsay) has been very helpful and nice, not to pushy and she's there when I have any questions. My goals is to gain experience, not get rich. (I know about their lease push, it's not happening unless they offer me a LoneStar. haha)
U.S. Xpress, mostly same reasons as TransAm, but I haven't heard from them since they issued a pre-hire. Schneider, 3rd on my list cause I feel rushed and pushed. She calls me once a week to check in (Great, I like that), however, I told her I failed my first test and she's like "Okay, you'll do fine next time, lets get everything set up" She set me up with a drug test date (closest for them is 1 hour away from my home), a departure date, a bus ticket and even a physical date. I'm like "I haven't even passed yet" She also informed me that they hook you blood pressure and heart rate monitors WHILE you are doing maneuvers and driving on the rage. I have nothing to hide, but I'm not a fan of all that, I'm not a veteran driver, I AM going to be nervous, my heart rate WILL be high and all those wires and beeps, it will make it worse.
Stephens, last on my list. I put in my application. Not one person called me, but the recruiter TEXTED me about it. LONG text messages, and at the end of them it says "TEXT ONLY" I find this HIGHLY unprofessional and disrespectful. I would get like one a week. ugh.
So now I am here, in Orlando at a friends, been up for like 20 hours cause I'm just so excited I finished and passed. I think I'm going to take a week or so and go see my mom in MS before going all in. I'll give TransAM a call either Monday or Tuesday.
Oh and my trucker name... FairyTales.
Pre-hire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
Pre-hires:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.