My Story At Careers World Wide

I just finished my first week at CCW and I want to share my story on here as it progresses. A little about me, I'm 27 years old and just finished an 8 year hitch with the Army as a medic. after a lot of back and forth my wife and I agreed on trucking as a career. we also have 2 boys so the need for a good job soon was imperative. I was originally looking at USTDS in southern Colorado (I was stationed at Fort Carson, CO) but was swayed by Mr. Tweedy (CWWs owner) at a seminar for his school and Stevens Transport. His no-bull straight forward description of trucking and the training wpoke volumes to me about him and his school. After weeks of phone call check-ins and coordinating my GI bill, I finally arrived at the school. The student housing is nice. It is a bunkhouse, literally a house with many bunk beds. the cleanliness is controlled by the residents, I'm fortunate to be with a good group of guys and we keep the house neat.

sunday was check-in and DOT physical day. CWW provided us a van to get to the doc's office who was ready and expecting us. that day we lost a couple people to "family emergencies." Monday we were given CDL permit study guides with practice tests to be familiar with how the test is administered. many people have issues with test-taking and the instructors we available, receptive and informative to students concerns and questions. at the end of class Monday and Tuesday, which both consisted of test-study and paperwork we were given a speech from Charlie which he began with, "Lets see who still wants to be a truck driver when I'm done talking." I had heard portions of this before at the seminar so I was excited. He went over the obstacles new and seasoned truckers face, the realities of the income, dangers of recruiters, etc. it was eye-opening, we lost another student that night. Wednesday we started in the yard learning pre-inspection, the instructors taught us a very thorough systematic process that helps me remember all the steps.

Thursday was permit test day. we were given a van to use and left before dawn to be first in the door to get our tests done. myself and one other student passed the first time. others had to go back in line to test again, CO DMV allows 2 tests per day. that done we returned to the schoolhouse then to the yard where we began straight lane backing. Friday most my fellow students had to go to the DMV again so the happy few of us had ALOT of extra drive time in the straight lanes. our backing instructor was incredible, he was patient and very easy to understand and follow. when we got the hang of it, he mostly just watched but was there to help when we needed it. Saturday was logbook class in the morning, then more backing in the afternoon. the morning class was really informative on logbooking and maximizing time.

that brings us to sunday. which is a day off.

key lessons learned. Keenesburg is expensive. the e-mail they send you saying no walmarts, is not wrong. the nearest one is almost a half hour away in brighton and there is a safeway in both brighton and hudson. I've been fortunate that my in-laws live in a nearby town. if youre able, having a personal vehicle is a blessing. there is Wi-Fi in the housing although its sketchy at best. Sprint is pretty much the only network that works well in the town, anything else and you're roaming.

so far I've enjoyed my experience and look forward to future weeks of school. my plan at the moment is become a company driver with stevens transport for at least two years then either go into a regional/local route company or alliance to become owner/operator. for now I'm focused on training and excited for the future.

feel free to hit me with questions or comments about anything I haven't covered. i'll try and update daily but like I said the Wi-Fi is sketchy.

I realized I left out something essential....prior to attending the school I studied the state CDL handbook and found it dry and difficult to retain. I turned to the CDL training materials here on trucking truth and gained a great leg up on what I needed to know for the permit test. the practice tests on here are great and extremely informative. thank you trucking truth.

Week 2 has begun. In the morning we learned offsetting, challenging enough without being frustrating, after lunch we started on the shifting track aka actually driving the rigs. Sue was a great instructor, I was shifting almost perfectly smooth by the time we returned to the yard.

That's pretty much it for today.

Looking forward to tomorrow

Week 2 has begun. In the morning we learned offsetting, challenging enough without being frustrating, after lunch we started on the shifting track aka actually driving the rigs. Sue was a great instructor, I was shifting almost perfectly smooth by the time we returned to the yard.

That's pretty much it for today.

Looking forward to tomorrow

Thanks for the insight. I'll be there in 3 weeks. I'm so pumped

Thanks for the insight. I'll be there in 3 weeks. I'm so pumped

No worries. Major advice I can give is pack warm. I've lived in colorado for about 6 years and you'll be here in time for some of the coldest time of the year. However it's my opinion that winters the best time to learn to drive. Keep studying, it really pays off!!

Thanks for the insight. I'll be there in 3 weeks. I'm so pumped

No worries. Major advice I can give is pack warm. I've lived in colorado for about 6 years and you'll be here in time for some of the coldest time of the year. However it's my opinion that winters the best time to learn to drive. Keep studying, it really pays off!!

Having lived in Fla the past 20 years the cold is something I'm not looking forward to. More than half my duffel is filled with stuff like coveralls, thermal underwear, and sweatshirts.

Another day in the bag. More offsetting today in the morning, really getting it down now. After lunch, INTERSTATE DRIVING!!! We focused on off/on ramps. Drove with Sue again, great instructor and really insightful. Happy holidays everyone, we have tomorrow off so I'll check in again on Friday!