Experiences, Experiences...

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I am going to All-State Career school in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania.

It's important to note that, if you're in PA and plan on getting your CDL , that PA's permit criteria has CHANGED as of December 21st, 2015. When I got mine a couple of weeks ago, I was grandfathered into the old system which rendered my permit valid for ONE year after the issue date and I don't think I would have had to retake any portion of the test, just any that I may have failed. Now, the permits are valid for 6 months and you have to retake all portions of the test, not just the ones you failed. I'm still getting all the details. I will post as I learn them.

As for training: I am actually surprised at the progress I, and my other classmates, have made in such a short time. I am in the PREP class, which is 30 days, (172 hours). We received a week and a half of class time going over: PA's CDL manual (General knowledge, Air Brakes and Combination), the SMITH system, Hours of service, Defensive driving overview, trailer awareness, etc. The rest of the course will be outside learning: Shifting, straight-line backing, offset backing, parallel parking and 90 degree alley dock. We will be tested on the road and skills, after which we will receive our Licenses.

If you intend on going to All-state, you will be required to go to every recruiter presentation (I got a hat from MCT!), but this is a good thing, I think. Make sure you have your questions ready and don't be afraid to ask them questions, even if you think it may be dumb. Someone else may have the same questions.

As for me, our first day in the trucks was on Friday. I did pretty good considering I'd never driven one before..learning how to turn and back with the trailer, I think, will be my biggest challenge but it's only day one so, we'll see.

The companies I have my eyes on are: MCT (Comcar), Steven's and Roehl. All 3 of them seem to be on board with my current life goals and have no problem with the idea of me just staying out as long as I want/need as long as I take my resets when I'm supposed to. They also don't seem to care WHERE I take my reset, which is nice considering I could be x-amount of miles away from Pittsburgh. Me not needing/wanting home time seems to have made me somewhat of a golden child..for the moment. I'll be making my decision this week as for which carrier I'll end up with. On that note, I could always use ideas, but whatever happens, I hope to be in training, hopefully, the second week of January.

:)