Monday, April 28, 2008
The Beginning
I have been considering starting a blog about my truck driving adventures and finally have done it. I am not a truck driver yet. I begin CDL school on May 1. But, I thought I should explain the process I have gone through to get to this point.
Back in October 2007, I was in Oregon spending time with my parents. I was sitting in the living room watching TV and all of a sudden I felt a tremendous urge to get out of debt. I believe in God and I believe He was telling me it was time to get out of debt. I have always been tight with money, and have wanted to get out of debt for a long time. However, I had never done anything about it. Suddenly I feel a real push to do it. So, I say, "OK, God."
Now the problem was how was I going to do this. I was thinking it would be good to try to work from home. So I began researching doing medical transcription. The problem with that is it takes about 2 years of school to get into this field. The message I am getting from God is to get out of debt now. Medical transcription was not fast enough.
When I got back to Tennessee I started thinking about truck driving. I had thought about being a truck driver in the past, but was kind of embarrassed to actually do it. I figured everyone would think I was nuts. I have a family and if I became a truck driver I would not be home with them very much. The thing about being a truck driver was the school was short and I could start making money pretty quickly. Going to work for Walmart just wasn't going to take care of the problem. With the cost of fuel I would never get out of debt. All the money I would make there would go to pay for gas. The closest Walmart to us is about 30 miles away.
Well, I decided to ask a friend what she thought about my becoming a truck driver. She told me she thought is was a great idea. That was all the encouragement I needed. If one person was for it, then I figured others would be too. Besides, why was I so worried about what others thought. I spoke to my husband about what I was considering and he said, "REALLY?" I told him it would be the fastest way for us to get out of debt. He told me to go for it.
I began investigating the trucking industry via the internet. There is a lot of information on the internet about truck driving. The first thing was to find a school. I began searching the web for schools nearby. I was considering a school called Drivers Solutions. It is a what the trucking industry calls a CDL mill. A student is in class for about 16 days and then goes to a company, gets assigned a trainer, and procedes to learn how to drive. The student gets the basics about driving a truck in the school and takes a driving test to get their CDL license. But, they really learn from the trainer. I called a community college down in Louisianna to ask about their program and mentioned Driver Solutions. He was a really great guy. He told me his school was not a good choice because they did not have a place for me to live while attending that school. But, he said that Driver Solutions was not a good idea, either. He said it was not enough time to learn how to drive a truck. So, I continued my research.
I found a website that rates the different schools. One system, called Sage Truck Driving Schools uses community colleges throughout the country. One school I became interested in was Isothermal Community College in Spindale, NC. It is a 5 week course and the student gets one on one instruction while in the truck. It is the student and the teacher in the truck. No one else. That sounded pretty good to me. The only problem was it was kind of expensive to attend, $3400.00 for tuition, and then I would have to get a CDL permit from North Carolina. I began researching schools in Tennessee and found Tennessee Technology Center of Nashville. They have a 7 week course and the cost is considerably less. It is a PTDI certified course, which is good. There are quite a few trucking companies who will not hire a driver if they don't go to a PTDI certified course. So, it was a toss up between the North Carolina school and TTC Nashville. I emailed both schools and both sounded very good. Now I started reading truck driving forums and many of the posts about the schools recommended not going to a school that was terribly expensive. The schools are there to help us get our CDL license. The companies then do the real training. After a lot of thought I decided to go to the Nashville school. I could get a Tennessee CDL permit and would not have to convert it when I graduated from school. I contacted the school to find out what I needed to do to get enrolled and the process began.
On the day after Christmas of 2007 I went to the DMV and picked up a CDL manual and proceeded to study. A friend of mine, who drives a truck, told me where I could get my DOT physical and I made an appointment to get that. Tennessee requires a person to get a DOT physical before allowing that person to take the CDL written exams. On the day I took my physcial I also got a copy of my motor vehicle record. A week later I went to DMV and took my CDL written exam. It includes general knowlegdge, air brakes, and combination vehicle. I decided not to get a hazardous materials endorsement or doubles/triples endorsements. I am not really interested in hauling hazardous materials or more than one trailer. Maybe later I will change my mind. Those two endorsement gives a person more choices on who they drive for. Well, I passed my written exams and got my CDL permit.
I wanted to know how to get to the school, so decided to drive down to Nashville to enroll in school. By the end of January 2008 I was enrolled in school to get my truck driving license.
I have used the internet a lot to research the companies I could be employed with. There are only so many companies who will hire school graduates. So, I needed to whittle down those companies and try to choose the ones I would most like to work for. There is a website called thetruckersreport.com. It is a truck driver forum and experienced drivers answer all kinds of questions that new drivers and prospective drivers need to know. There is a gob of information about all the different companies. Another forum I have spent a lot of time reading is CFIdrivers.com. CFI is a company I am really interested in driving for. I have read very little negative about this company. And the people on this forum are very positive. I believe a person has to have a real positive attitude to get into this industry. It certainly is not for everyone. The Truckers Report is also very helpful and I have spent more time reading that forum than any of the others. Two other forums are ClassAdrivers.com and Layover.com. Very good forums. ClassAdrivers.com has a lot of information about the companies and what states these companies hire from. They also have a rating system that drivers put as to how good or bad a company is. All of these forums have been a wonderful help as I have gone through this process and if you are considering becoming a truck driver I encourage you to visit all of these.
The companies I am looking at applying to for a job are Conway/CFI, Trans Am, Transport Americal, KLLM, Roehl and Schneider. I am 54 years old and Schneider likes hiring people who are members of AARP.
Anyway, this is the process I have gone through to get to this point in my truck driving career.
Back in October 2007, I was in Oregon spending time with my parents. I was sitting in the living room watching TV and all of a sudden I felt a tremendous urge to get out of debt. I believe in God and I believe He was telling me it was time to get out of debt. I have always been tight with money, and have wanted to get out of debt for a long time. However, I had never done anything about it. Suddenly I feel a real push to do it. So, I say, "OK, God."
Now the problem was how was I going to do this. I was thinking it would be good to try to work from home. So I began researching doing medical transcription. The problem with that is it takes about 2 years of school to get into this field. The message I am getting from God is to get out of debt now. Medical transcription was not fast enough.
When I got back to Tennessee I started thinking about truck driving. I had thought about being a truck driver in the past, but was kind of embarrassed to actually do it. I figured everyone would think I was nuts. I have a family and if I became a truck driver I would not be home with them very much. The thing about being a truck driver was the school was short and I could start making money pretty quickly. Going to work for Walmart just wasn't going to take care of the problem. With the cost of fuel I would never get out of debt. All the money I would make there would go to pay for gas. The closest Walmart to us is about 30 miles away.
Well, I decided to ask a friend what she thought about my becoming a truck driver. She told me she thought is was a great idea. That was all the encouragement I needed. If one person was for it, then I figured others would be too. Besides, why was I so worried about what others thought. I spoke to my husband about what I was considering and he said, "REALLY?" I told him it would be the fastest way for us to get out of debt. He told me to go for it.
I began investigating the trucking industry via the internet. There is a lot of information on the internet about truck driving. The first thing was to find a school. I began searching the web for schools nearby. I was considering a school called Drivers Solutions. It is a what the trucking industry calls a CDL mill. A student is in class for about 16 days and then goes to a company, gets assigned a trainer, and procedes to learn how to drive. The student gets the basics about driving a truck in the school and takes a driving test to get their CDL license. But, they really learn from the trainer. I called a community college down in Louisianna to ask about their program and mentioned Driver Solutions. He was a really great guy. He told me his school was not a good choice because they did not have a place for me to live while attending that school. But, he said that Driver Solutions was not a good idea, either. He said it was not enough time to learn how to drive a truck. So, I continued my research.
I found a website that rates the different schools. One system, called Sage Truck Driving Schools uses community colleges throughout the country. One school I became interested in was Isothermal Community College in Spindale, NC. It is a 5 week course and the student gets one on one instruction while in the truck. It is the student and the teacher in the truck. No one else. That sounded pretty good to me. The only problem was it was kind of expensive to attend, $3400.00 for tuition, and then I would have to get a CDL permit from North Carolina. I began researching schools in Tennessee and found Tennessee Technology Center of Nashville. They have a 7 week course and the cost is considerably less. It is a PTDI certified course, which is good. There are quite a few trucking companies who will not hire a driver if they don't go to a PTDI certified course. So, it was a toss up between the North Carolina school and TTC Nashville. I emailed both schools and both sounded very good. Now I started reading truck driving forums and many of the posts about the schools recommended not going to a school that was terribly expensive. The schools are there to help us get our CDL license. The companies then do the real training. After a lot of thought I decided to go to the Nashville school. I could get a Tennessee CDL permit and would not have to convert it when I graduated from school. I contacted the school to find out what I needed to do to get enrolled and the process began.
On the day after Christmas of 2007 I went to the DMV and picked up a CDL manual and proceeded to study. A friend of mine, who drives a truck, told me where I could get my DOT physical and I made an appointment to get that. Tennessee requires a person to get a DOT physical before allowing that person to take the CDL written exams. On the day I took my physcial I also got a copy of my motor vehicle record. A week later I went to DMV and took my CDL written exam. It includes general knowlegdge, air brakes, and combination vehicle. I decided not to get a hazardous materials endorsement or doubles/triples endorsements. I am not really interested in hauling hazardous materials or more than one trailer. Maybe later I will change my mind. Those two endorsement gives a person more choices on who they drive for. Well, I passed my written exams and got my CDL permit.
I wanted to know how to get to the school, so decided to drive down to Nashville to enroll in school. By the end of January 2008 I was enrolled in school to get my truck driving license.
I have used the internet a lot to research the companies I could be employed with. There are only so many companies who will hire school graduates. So, I needed to whittle down those companies and try to choose the ones I would most like to work for. There is a website called thetruckersreport.com. It is a truck driver forum and experienced drivers answer all kinds of questions that new drivers and prospective drivers need to know. There is a gob of information about all the different companies. Another forum I have spent a lot of time reading is CFIdrivers.com. CFI is a company I am really interested in driving for. I have read very little negative about this company. And the people on this forum are very positive. I believe a person has to have a real positive attitude to get into this industry. It certainly is not for everyone. The Truckers Report is also very helpful and I have spent more time reading that forum than any of the others. Two other forums are ClassAdrivers.com and Layover.com. Very good forums. ClassAdrivers.com has a lot of information about the companies and what states these companies hire from. They also have a rating system that drivers put as to how good or bad a company is. All of these forums have been a wonderful help as I have gone through this process and if you are considering becoming a truck driver I encourage you to visit all of these.
The companies I am looking at applying to for a job are Conway/CFI, Trans Am, Transport Americal, KLLM, Roehl and Schneider. I am 54 years old and Schneider likes hiring people who are members of AARP.
Anyway, this is the process I have gone through to get to this point in my truck driving career.
# posted by Jill @ 1:30 PM 
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