About To Embark On A New Career
Topic 46 | Page 1
Welcome to the site! Lots of information here that you can really use. Sign up for the High Road CDL program here to make your life at school sooo much easier. While your confidence may have been tarnished, being a perfectionist has its good points in trucking. Course, you have to be super flexible, too, since there are so many variables you have no control over. Relax, stay positive and learn for others and your own mistakes and you will be fine.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
I am going to give this at least 2 years from the time I start driving on my own to make my decision on whether to continue. From reading about other experiences, that should be sufficient time to make an informed decision.
That is an excellent plan. I always tell people to give it a year minimum. Even that is plenty of time to know if trucking is where you want to be or not.
I worry about failure because I'm a perfectionist at heart. Plus, the recent struggles to find full-time work have chipped away at my confidence a bit. I am also worried a little about the DOT Physical. I'm overweight, 6'0" 220, and would hate to get all the way out to Indiana to be turned away needing to get an apnea study done. My BMI is less than 35, but I have a large neck (18 - 18.5). In the end, there is no use stressing about things over which I cannot control.
Being a perfectionist is great as long as you can keep your confidence up and not waste energy stressing over tiny details that don't matter. There's a fine line between trying to be the best you can be versus falling apart every time something doesn't go perfectly. So just remain confident and have some tolerance and patience with yourself. You'll struggle at times like everyone does and you'll definitely make your share of rookie mistakes. Try to improve every day, but remain confident and optimistic. You'll do awesome.
I don't know what their policies are on sleep apnea to tell ya the truth. They should have minimum guidelines to give you so you know ahead of time whether or not they'll require the test.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Sleep Apnea:
A physical disorder in which you have pauses in your breathing, or take shallow breaths, during sleep. These pauses can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. Normal breathing will usually resume, sometimes with a loud choking sound or snort.
In obstructive sleep apnea, your airways become blocked or collapse during sleep, causing the pauses and shallow breathing.
It is a chronic condition that will require ongoing management. It affects about 18 million people in the U.S.
BMI:
Body mass index (BMI)
BMI is a formula that uses weight and height to estimate body fat. For most people, BMI provides a reasonable estimate of body fat. The BMI's biggest weakness is that it doesn't consider individual factors such as bone or muscle mass. BMI may:
- Underestimate body fat for older adults or other people with low muscle mass
- Overestimate body fat for people who are very muscular and physically fit
It's quite common, especially for men, to fall into the "overweight" category if you happen to be stronger than average. If you're pretty strong but in good shape then pay no attention.
I don't know what their policies are on sleep apnea to tell ya the truth. They should have minimum guidelines to give you so you know ahead of time whether or not they'll require the test.
Currently there are companies that pay for the driver to be tested for sleep apnea and also pay for the equipment if necessary. Now if you leave you got to return the equipment or pay for it. There's not a height and weight rule so to speak but you know when your weight has reached the limit. They have been trying to make such a rule but it is just a let's do it but we just take our sweet time (you know how the government go). Don't worry about your weight, I was 220 and 5'10 when I first started 3 years ago. As long as you do not have a insulin dependent diabetes (has to be pill or diet controlled) you'll be fine. High blood pressure? No problem you can still pass the physical (1 year medical card most of the time) but it has to be treated with a DOT approved medication. It all might sound overwhelming and scary but the physical is the easiest thing of all.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Sleep Apnea:
A physical disorder in which you have pauses in your breathing, or take shallow breaths, during sleep. These pauses can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. Normal breathing will usually resume, sometimes with a loud choking sound or snort.
In obstructive sleep apnea, your airways become blocked or collapse during sleep, causing the pauses and shallow breathing.
It is a chronic condition that will require ongoing management. It affects about 18 million people in the U.S.
Just a quick update, I passed the physical and permit tests with no problems. Just got the permit today. Finish classroom this week with logging and mapping. Starting pre trip Saturday. Very exited. Only have my phone here with me, but keeping notes for a more detailed write up when i get to a computer.
I passed the physical and permit tests with no problems. Just got the permit today.
Way to go! The first two in several hoops to jump through. One day at a time that is what I keep telling myself. There has been discouraging days and great days. One of my instructors told me, "you can beat this" or "it will beat you" - my choice. Philip, because your at this site I know you'll beat this and one day in the future you'll be out on you're own.
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Just this afternoon I got my slot confirmed for CDL school starting Monday. I'll be going to C1 Trucking School in Fort Wayne, IN through Driver Solutions. Technically, they're still waiting for 1 employer to verify, but the agent with Driver Solutions fully confirmed the slot anyway. After school, I'll be driving for USA Truck.
A little about me. I come from the IT field, where I've spent the vast majority of my short 12 year adult working career. I've done support to project management to development and love information technology itself; I just have grown to hate the field, if that makes any sense. In May of 2012, I lost my job and have struggled to find full-time work since. I considered numerous options in several different industries and ultimately decided on trucking.
I am going to give this at least 2 years from the time I start driving on my own to make my decision on whether to continue. From reading about other experiences, that should be sufficient time to make an informed decision. As an outsider, I have two things that I think will help to some small degree: I love to be alone and I enjoy driving on long trips. To me, flying is great when you're on a time crunch, but I'd much rather drive to get where I'm going, even if it's 1800 miles away.
Right now, I'm both excited and anxious. I worry about failure because I'm a perfectionist at heart. Plus, the recent struggles to find full-time work have chipped away at my confidence a bit. I am also worried a little about the DOT Physical. I'm overweight, 6'0" 220, and would hate to get all the way out to Indiana to be turned away needing to get an apnea study done. My BMI is less than 35, but I have a large neck (18 - 18.5). In the end, there is no use stressing about things over which I cannot control.
I plan to keep the community posted as best I can during the process and I'm sure I'll ask some bonehead questions along the way. This site has been the best resource I have encountered, by far. Without it, I'm not sure I'd be so eager to make the jump.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
BMI:
Body mass index (BMI)
BMI is a formula that uses weight and height to estimate body fat. For most people, BMI provides a reasonable estimate of body fat. The BMI's biggest weakness is that it doesn't consider individual factors such as bone or muscle mass. BMI may:
It's quite common, especially for men, to fall into the "overweight" category if you happen to be stronger than average. If you're pretty strong but in good shape then pay no attention.