Do you have any major health concerns or are you missing some fingers or toes? Getting a medical waiver for some health issues is possible but not for everything. You want to think about this first so if you know you have major issues then you may want to learn more about the DOT requirements before spending money on training.
If the DOT exam should not be an issue the next step is learning about the different methods of becoming a truck driver. Do you want to attend a 3 week truck driver training program or a longer one. There are pros and cons to each, so understand what you will be getting yourself into.
During your truck driver training you should get some behind the wheel time. A better school may give you more time whereas a lesser school may not. After you have completed the school training portion you will likely work for a trucking company who assigns an experienced driver to work with you for awhile.
Learning a good base of driving skills is important to get at the truck driving school you attend. You do not want to solely rely on getting that type of training from a trucking company so make sure you check out the schools of interest to see how much time they will give you driving.
Getting a lot of real world practice driving, doing vehicle inspections, hook and trailer drops, etc is important. The books help, but getting your hands dirty learning the needed skills is important.
If the instructors at a school never worked very long for a real trucking company you may want to watch out. There is only so much you can learn from books and some of the most important skills will come from experienced trainers.
Finding a school where safety is considered very important is key. You want to learn good driving habits and safety to be a professional truck driver.
I was 21 years old and working at a warehouse outside of Atlanta, GA. I'm originally from Buffalo, NY where I now reside 14 years later. But when we were 19, a couple of buddies of mine and I jumped in an old van and drove from Buffalo, NY to Atlanta, GA on a wing and a prayer. We were all about the adventure. Actually, I was all about the adventure and LOVED dragging others into my adventures with me so off we went!
After a couple of really fun years my one buddy and I found ourselves working for $5.50 an hour in a warehouse. We worked a ton of hours and enjoyed it. The people we worked with were great and we partied a lot! We damn sure weren't getting rich, but we were getting by.
One day we got to work and saw a large six wheel rental truck sitting in the parking lot. I asked the boss what was up. He said we had some pallets we had to run into downtown Atlanta (about 10 or 15 miles maybe) and pick up some others and bring em back.
Well, I had never even seen the inside of one of those trucks, let alone drive one. I knew they were automatics and figured I could drive it easy enough. I eagerly volunteered for the task. My boss asked with a skeptical look, "have you ever driven a truck like that before?" and like any responsible adult looking for an opportunity to try something new I lied my brains out!!!!! I said' "Oh yeah! My aunt moved twice and my grandma moved once and all three times we needed a truck that size and I drove it." He continued with that skeptical look and said he'd talk to the other boss and let me know.
Well, I bugged him repeatedly for the next hour or two and to my absolute delight they said I could do it! I was freakin! This was gonna be a blast! At least I had hoped so. Hell, I had never done it before but what the hell... it'll be fun I'm sure! So we loaded up the truck and off I went.
It handled like a big pickup truck. Nothing to it. So I cruised down into the city, found my destination, and made the delivery. Well, before they could reload me it was their lunchtime. So I wandered the city for about 45 minutes, came back, they reloaded me, and off I went back to the warehouse.
By the time I got back there it was almost time to go home for the day. I laughed about it and told my buddy, "Wow, I really got away with one. I didn't even have to do any work today. All I had to do was drive!", and IMMEDIATELY the light turned on in my head. What about becoming a truck driver????
I had no experience with it and knew nothing about it. I also didn't know any truck drivers so I went home that day and called the only trucking company I knew the name of off the top of my head. I asked, "how much do you make your first year as a truck driver?", and they said about $35,000. THIRTY FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS! MY GOD I'D BE RICH AND WOULDN'T HAVE TO WORK! (I was young and getting by on about one third of that at the time remember... those were good times.
In fact we were so happy when we were told we'd be making $5.50 an hour that we did a ridiculous dance the moment the boss left.... a dance that came to be know from then on as the 550 dance!).
So I immediately called a private truck driving school and made an appointment. My ma said she would pay for the schooling for me (I gave her a combination of a good sales pitch and guilt) and within a month I was in school... the start of my odyssey.
Now why did I pick a private trucking school? Well, that was kinda lucky really. There are private schools and then there are trucking companies that have their own schools. I didn't even know that there WERE trucking companies that had their own schools!
Both John Williams & Brett Aquila are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
John Williams has sinced written about articles on various topics from Mortgage, Payday Loans and Business Loans. If you are considering a be sure to find out about different. John Williams's top article generates over 90500 views. to your Favourites.
Brett Aquila has sinced written about articles on various topics from Truck Driver, Trucks and CDL. Brett R. Aquila is a 15-year veteran of America's highways, logging over 1.5 million safe miles. He is trying to help Newbie truck drivers to be successful in their trade, through a dose of reality. Please visit. Brett Aquila's top article generates over 2900 views. to your Favourites.