Scheduled To Go To Knight's / Squire Training School 11/18/13.

I am 35 years old, 6 foot 1 inches tall, and 280 pounds. DO NOT think I am a lazy person, I mostly work outside on a farm on the weekends and during the week I walk/run 5-10 miles in an effort to reduce my size. I have NO major medical problems and for all intensive purposes am a very healthy person...I just like to eat :). My concern is that I have seen/heard a lot of people saying that when they get to school there is like 80 people there and then come a day or two later there is like 25. I REALLY want this and do not want to be a statistic (unless is it a graduate). Please help me to put my mind at ease or to let me know to wait until "certain things" are done to secure my status as a CDL holder. ANY advice on this particular training program would be appreciated as well. What they do, how they do it etc. I have read other blogs on this site but most are vague..I would like specifics. Thanks in advance people!

Welcome aboard J-rod!

Ok, first of all Knight/Squire is an excellent but fast-paced program. We do have a lot of specifics in our CDL Training Diaries section of our forum so check those out. Those are updates from people who have actually gone through the various Company-Sponsored Training Programs, including Knight's Training Program.

Indeed a lot of people get sent home from these training programs and the main reasons are:

1) Lying on their application. Be honest. They will look into every last detail of your employment, criminal, and driving histories. If you lie or "accidentally" leave anything out they'll purposely send you packing.

2) Fail the DOT Physical or drug screen

3) Have a lousy attitude or can not seem to learn at the pace the company requires. These companies invest a ton of time and money into training drivers and they want to make sure their money is well-spent. They're looking for people who get along well with others, take the training seriously, and seem to have the potential to become a safe, reliable, hard-working driver for the company. You'll see what I mean by people with bad attitudes when you get there. Every class has a group of knuckleheads that won't listen, don't learn, and think the company is one big scam waiting to happen and they're not going to get fooled by anyone. These people have no chance of success in these programs.

Hopefully that helps shed some light on the matter. Follow the link I gave you to our Training Diaries and you'll find some on Knight/Squire. There will be others in here pretty soon to give you more specifics about their training program.

TYVM Brett...I got a call from three other companies yesterday!!! Prime, Inc; CRST Expedited and Stevens Transport, In your opinion and vast amounts of experience what are your thoughts as to which one I should attend (or) are they all the same? Do you have a ranking? LOL I know this is asking a lot but every thread I read is all about making the right choices your first year and I am my own worst critic when it come to decision making (should I do this, should I do that) LOL. thank you in advance for your expert opinion.

Well you don't have to worry about choosing a "bad company". What you have to worry about is choosing a company that doesn't suit you well. You'll want to decide what type of freight you'd like to haul, how much home time you'd like, and things of that nature before narrowing your choices down to companies that fit the bill. The companies you've mentioned are all completely different with regard to equipment, home time, types of freight, opportunities to move around to different divisions, and things of that nature.

If you haven't already, read through our Truck driver's career guide. It will take you all through our site and explain to you how to choose a company, the various differences between hauling different types of freight, and how to choose a school.

But I wouldn't bother assessing the companies until you've assessed your own preferences. Once you know what you want you'll be able to narrow it down to a short list of companies and then simply choose the one you feel best about.

But it's not a make-or-break-you type of decision. Everyone makes their best guess when they're new to trucking. For some they find a company they'll stay with for years. For many others they simply stay with their first company for one full year and then have the option of literally thousands of companies to choose from. Once you get a year of safe driving under your belt almost any company in the nation will be happy to have you. So it's super easy to move around after you've been out there a bit. So don't sweat the decision. It's not that big of a deal.

J-Rode....a buddy of mine is 52 and he is a new driver. He been driving for Knight for the last three months and he hasn't regretted it. He gets his miles and the equipment is good.

scott

J-rod I'm 53 and new too this also. I made my choice based on the following issues that were important to me 1. Home time options 2. Company safety record 3. Equipment 4. Type of freight

That was what was important to me, but we're all different.

Important thing is like Brett always says, whatever choice you make be prepared to hang in there for at least 1 year....Which is actually pretty short considering you'll be doing this for many years...