Well, CRST, It Is!

Finished up today with recruiter there online.... Well, since that private school was a waste of too much time for nothing. I have bit the bullet (team driving) and signed up with CRST Can't believe the bad reviews out there, will have to go see for myself. I'm out of options, so it is, what it is now lol. I'm gunna just stay at their dorms, makes more sense, since I'm tapped out $$ and car needs tires......

I Start on 9/9/19, which is my mom's 79th birthday, if she were here. So an easy date to remember The private school won't help me out, other than them "trying" to gain more funding ($1,000) from the local WIOA/EDD program (not gonna happen!) Again, proof that private schools ain't all that great in the big picture! (20% pass rate, most need 2-3 tries, because of a crappy truck)

Yes I messed up my 3rd DMV test last week. Surprised me, since the lady examiner let me go thru the whole dang In-Cab spiel. THEN, she tells me she heard 20 psi, when I told her 55-75 psi on low-pressure warning devices !

And here I thought to myself during in-cab, "ok next is parking maneuvers, you got this!" Boy did she burst my bubble! I for the life of me don't get why she even let me continue on with the in-cab portion if in her mind I had failed air brakes???

Well, thru the course of the day sitting at DMV observing others, I noticed she and another female failed EVERY tester they had that day! hmmmmm Interesting lol. Well, to end this I will do my best to go thru the whole time with CRST, keeping in mind there's a rainbow at the end of the tunnel (maybe) Besides, I'm not 1 to just tug my tail and whimper off, and my buddy and his wife here are such Negative Nellies, it's ridicules.....I'm constantly tellin em they need a better attitude with positivity thrown in!

Telling me I should just quit and do something else HA! Not after I invested 6 months of time and effort into this whole enchilada! Hindsight IS 20/20

Stevo, you've had a tough time getting started. But you have hung in there and still have a positive attitude. I'm glad I'll never have to test out where you are. Good luck with CRST going forward.

Good luck.

You are aware CRST is ALL TEAMS - and you will be living with a cellmate for a year?

Just sayin. Many people would not choose that lifestyle.

But we wish you all the best...

Rick

Can't believe the bad reviews out there

They'll give some people an opportunity that most companies wouldn't. If you choose poor people, you'll get poor results most of the time. Those types never shoulder the blame for their failures or their poor performance, which is why you'll see so many negative reviews blaming the company.

Telling me I should just quit and do something else HA! Not after I invested 6 months of time and effort into this whole enchilada!

That's not really a good reason to continue. If you really want to drive a rig then you should continue. Hopefully, you really have the desire to do this, because the hard part doesn't begin until you leave your home, family, and friends and get out on the road. I don't doubt your ability to do this, but you really have to want this. Otherwise, you might just invest that much more time and effort, commit yourself to a contract, and quit anyways leaving yourself in a much deeper hole.

Hindsight IS 20/20

If you had no one with experience advising you, you would have to make your best guess and learn from the result. But you've been with us for five years. You've heard at least 1,000 times that paid CDL training is better than private training. I have to admit, I can't remember the specifics of your story. How did you wind up at a private school to begin with? You don't need to make decisions blindly and rely on hindsight to determine if they were the correct decisions or not. You have fantastic guidance from us.

You also say you can't believe all of the negative reviews. We've said for years to ignore that kind of garbage. It's nothing but Terminal Rats Derailing Trucking Careers. Why are you even wasting your time with that sort of garbage and clouding your mind with doubts?

We're damn sure pulling for you. We want to see you succeed. I can't help but wonder if you've been getting poor advice from elsewhere, or just ignoring ours, but the situation you're in and the things you're saying aren't what I would expect from someone that has been with us for so long.

LOL Rick, Yes I am well aware of the team thing, but at this juncture I'm out of options, and resources ... This was my Last option, unfortunatrely. But I can handle it or at least give it my best shot to get thru it, if only long enough for the 1 year mark. Where I will have saved up $$ and in a better position to move forward........Believe me I really didn't wanna do teams, but oh well, 10-12 months wont be that long in the big picture of things lol

No Brett lol I have not paid attention to any negative, from anyone around me or online. I have gleaned and learned soooo much by being here the past 5 years. That's why I don't listen or pay attention to negative people, who most, have NO clue about the "lifestyle" of trucking. And I decided long ago this was something I wanted !! Have no one here to be "home" for really.....

I ended up with this private school here thru the WIOA program, which had a budget loss and were only paying $3,500 not $5 k anymore. Roadmaster, wouldn't budge lower, and turned out my EDD worker is long time friends with this schools owner, hmmmmm, and got him to take me. so he did her a "favor" I found out later, accepting only me from their program @ that rate.....2 others from the same EDD office I met @ school came out of pocket for the $1500 difference

Lol so NO I have never ignored ANY advice I've learned here, I have kept it all in my mind the whole time.....And back then it's what made me realize I actually WANTED this more than I knew!

Stevo,

As someone who also went the "non-company-sponsored" (tech college) WIOA route and had a few setbacks himself... I just want to say best of luck to you GOING FORWARD. At the start of the day... the ONLY THING THAT MATTERS is what you make of your current situation.

(I found TT.com after already starting class and though I had to fight for it WIOA ultimately did fund my sub-$3,500 tuition and even paid mileage and other expenses). Had my examiner wanted to see my light checks (I drew "front of tractor to rear of tractor and, of course, coupling system" and he said trailer lights wasn't part of it... sever cold may have been a factor too...) I could have failed the pre-trip as my almost last minute (1 week earlier) truck swap tractor apparently did have an electrical issue (not solved the week before when swapping trailers)... For the most part the equipment was well maintained by the diesel mechanic students and staff...

I thought J.B. Hunt Amazon 7-State Regional $.54 cpm was perfect. "for me"... Screwed that up by falling getting out of a truck, kicked Cancer's A$$ and now believe I am about to go where I will actually have a much better chance of success (structured training, 37-State OTR), lower cpm.

I plan to make the most of the new opportunity which I have been given.

Stay in the present. Keep your eye on the prize. And I think you know where to get career advice going forward.

Keep on truckin'!

Marc Lee states:

I am about to go where I will actually have a much better chance of success

I have to caution against this mindset.

Remember when you thought your driving school gave you a better chance of success? Remember how you thought they must've been special, because JB Hunt never accepts someone straight out of school? ( or something to that effect)

How did that work out for you? They kicked you to the curb in a second.

I know you mean well, but false expectations aren't going to help you. Your only chance of success lies within yourself. Not the school. Not the company. Not the color shoes you're wearing.

Best wishes going forward. Just keep your mind in the right place.

Marc Lee states:

I am about to go where I will actually have a much better chance of success

I have to caution against this mindset.

Remember when you thought your driving school gave you a better chance of success? Remember how you thought they must've been special, because JB Hunt never accepts someone straight out of school? ( or something to that effect)

How did that work out for you? They kicked you to the curb in a second.

I know you mean well, but false expectations aren't going to help you. Your only chance of success lies within yourself. Not the school. Not the company. Not the color shoes you're wearing.

Best wishes going forward. Just keep your mind in the right place.

Good points Turtle.

Ok the time has arrived ! Leave for their dorms tomorrow and get this party started RIGHT lol just to sort clothes I'll take, less is more for it all ! Sleeping bag only plenty socks gawd even few pairs of jeans lol Been in shorts mostly the past 5 years, since after my 2 right leg injuries its more free movement in shorts

Going into this restart, with my eyes n ears open my mind fresh, no expectations, other than be finally actually to get to the driving! hahaha Time to pay my dues and move forward, and not look back. What struggles that came along are but a faint memory......

Anyways, will try and keep a diary on this leg of the adventure, hopefully they'll have good wi-fi lol Like the old Toyota t.v. commercial ..............."Life is but a journey,,,,,Enjoy the ride!"