Headed To Training. Excited And Very Nervous!

Hey all.

My name is CJ and I signed up for cdl training last week with a private school about 45 mins from here. I will be commuting daily. Class is from 6-6. I am doing this career change fast and am trying to make sure I am prepared. I actually start Monday the 11th which is less than a week after I talked to them. Last one in the class of 6.

I have been studying the high road training material and am acing the quizzes. Just real nervous about passing everything. I have seen the pre trip is extremely difficult. I kind of had my head in the sand as I have always been good in school and thought the DOT physical would be the hard part. Whew after looking at this site and half way through all the material was I wrong.

I posted this because I wanted to get any help I could as far as tips to increase my chances of being successful in training. Also if anyone knows that once placed with a company after private training do you head out to the company right away or usually wait a few weeks? I'm sure this differs from company to company.

Any advice for a 39 year old newbie with a late career change as the sole bread winner for wife and two kids (college and middle school) would be extremely helpful. Thanks for your time and hope to see you soon.

Corey (CJ)

Hey all.

My name is CJ and I signed up for cdl training last week with a private school about 45 mins from here. I will be commuting daily. Class is from 6-6. I am doing this career change fast and am trying to make sure I am prepared. I actually start Monday the 11th which is less than a week after I talked to them. Last one in the class of 6.

I have been studying the high road training material and am acing the quizzes. Just real nervous about passing everything. I have seen the pre trip is extremely difficult. I kind of had my head in the sand as I have always been good in school and thought the DOT physical would be the hard part. Whew after looking at this site and half way through all the material was I wrong.

I posted this because I wanted to get any help I could as far as tips to increase my chances of being successful in training. Also if anyone knows that once placed with a company after private training do you head out to the company right away or usually wait a few weeks? I'm sure this differs from company to company.

Any advice for a 39 year old newbie with a late career change as the sole bread winner for wife and two kids (college and middle school) would be extremely helpful. Thanks for your time and hope to see you soon.

Corey (CJ)

Hi CJ, Relax. I have not been to school yet. But, from all the research I've done they will drill the pre trip into you, piece of cake. I have read lately the in cab inspection is tough. So something new to worry about,lol. Just wanted to wish you luck. Also it is my understanding it will depend on the company.This site is full of tips!! Keep reading.

Thanks Mikki,

This cdl training on the site makes me feel more prepared. Learning a lot. It also makes me a bit nervous with all the braking and everything else. I'm sure I will get the hang of it once in the truck. See ya out there!

Sounds like you've been hard at work studying but make sure to understand what you are studying or at the end of the day you will still fail. The Exam you take at the DMV will try to trick it and if you don't fully understand it, it will get you.

CJ, if you start acing all the questions on the High Road then you will be fine. I got to the point where I knew all the answers on the High Road, and then blew through all my written tests at PennDot, including all my endorsements, within 45 minutes. I exclusively used the High Road for my general knowledge and all my permits. To save time, you can skip the sections Transporting Passengers (unless you wanna drive a bus), and the last four from Pre-Trip Inspection to Weight & Balance. Out of the last four, probably the Pre-Trip Inspection would be most helpful. I didn't study any of those last four sections. You can go back and review Weight & Balance and Logbook later.

To do well on my private school's tests, I did make sure I was familiar with what they wanted me to highlight out of the PA CDL manual, but most of that info I already knew from the High Road.

I will strongly suggest you follow your school's method for the pre-trip. If your school will be anything like mine, they'll want you to do it their way. I didn't even look at the High Road's pre-trip stuff, so that I wouldn't get confused on the steps and order of execution. Content-wise, I'm sure it's the same stuff anyways. I used flash cards for my pre-trip knowledge. I still have it all memorized.

Wishing you the best buddy! Concentrate and study, it'll be worth the effort in the end.

I agree with 6 string rhythm - your school will teach you the way they want that pre-trip done and if you follow their method it will be designed to get you past the DMV tester. Once you are out there on your own you will develop your own method of pre-tripping your truck.

Try to take a deep breath and relax - these private schools usually get a very high percentage of their students passed - it's worth it for them to take extra efforts with you. Quit often they are very dependent upon grant monies for tuition scholarships and those grants are based on their pass/fail ratios. So they will do everything they can to help you get to where you need to be to pass.

Thanks so much for all the advice! In my first day of training and already know everything their teaching thanks to the online training here! It is awesome. Can't wait for yard time. CJ

Thanks for the replies all! Just a quick update. Thanks to the online training on here, I was able to spend 2 1/2 days at a school that only teaches the 3 test for your class A.

I can say that I tested today and for all written exams I passed General, combo, air brakes, doubles/triples, tankers and hazmat!!! Out of 6 test I missed a total of 3 questions. THANKS FOR THE TRAINING!!! Can't wait for road training and starting my new career as a Trucker!