Let The Schooling Begin

So I'd chosen my school, ma paid for it, and I showed up for the first day. Welcome. Smiling faces, hand shakes, and piles and piles of paperwork on each desk. No party hats (they really should have party hats) but, oh well, what do they know?

The schooling began with nothing but classroom study for the first week or two. If you decide to attend school at a trucking company....let the propaganda begin! They won't waste any chance at promoting themselves, believe me. They will also make you feel like it is your privilege to be working for them. Get used to that. Now here's your first piece of raw truth about the industry... companies are completely and totally desperate for drivers. I mean DESPERATE!

Were you ever offered a $2000 bonus just to come work for a company? Did you ever have a company offer to pay for all of your schooling if you will come work for them when you graduate? Why would someone offer such an insane amount of money just for you to come work there? They don't even know you! They have no idea what you're capable of! You don't even have any experience! They don't really care.

These bonuses are common at the larger companies. Sure, they HOPE you're gonna be an awesome driver, but more than anything they just desperately need your butt in one of their trucks. Period.

Well, turnover is a huge problem in the trucking industry. A driver with a clean record, even a driver straight out of school, can land literally hundreds or even thousands of jobs at any time and everybody knows that, drivers and companies alike. So in order to put themselves in a position of authority, which is a falsity, they may try to keep you on pins and needles by implying that your job is always on the line. One false move and you could be fired.

This is one of the HUGE mistakes that companies make.... its simply not true.

All that they really accomplish by trying to scare you is filling you with a lack of trust and loyalty towards them. Most large companies are full of drivers that have hit bridges, rolled trucks, been late for deliveries, and on and on. Does this mean you won't ever get fired? Certainly not. I've been fired a few times by idiots I've never met on some committee making decisions based on little or no real facts or understanding about me or my situation. But getting another job, as long as you've never had a DUI or killed somebody, is really easy...so don't let them snow you into thinking your career is always on the line... it's a bluff. Lose your job and you can have ten new ones tomorrow. Simple as that. Ok now back to the classroom.

Now if you've chosen a private school, which is the road I chose, you won't have nearly the bologna to deal with. The schools are independent of all trucking companies and they've already gotten your money so there's no reason to push any sort of self serving agenda. They have no reason to BS you.

What they DO need to do is give you the very best experience they can while you attend their school and give you the best chance they can give you at being successful once you've graduated. Their entire future is based upon their reputation. Word of mouth from former students and recommendations from the trucking companies they send students to are the key to their future survival.