Where are you looking for trucking school advice? I certainly hope you’re not looking at the first trucking school you see and trying to enroll on the spot. The trucking industry is a complex thing, and entering into a career in trucking is something that you need to pursue with care.
And it all starts with trucking school. There are any number of options out there. The primary goal in trucking school is to prepare you for the CDL exam, which of course, is the main talisman for the truck driver. But there is much more to it than that.
Many schools will merely “teach the test,” doing their best to help push you through to a passing score on the CDL exam and calling that qualified to get into trucking. Of course that’s only the bare minimum. There is much more to becoming a truck driver than being able to drive a truck (though, to be sure, that IS important too).
When you choose a trucking school, you are making a commitment to your future. With that said, you want to find a school that will do more than the minimum, and provide you with a comprehensive educational experience. And in the trucking industry, you would be surprised at how simple that can be. If everyone is teaching the CDL exam, then you have that part of trucking school covered no matter where you go. With that in mind, look for the “more than the minimum” part of trucking training. Something as simple as having instructors with experience in the trucking industry can make a huge difference in your education.
Much of career success, whether it’s in trucking or any other industry, is the ability to anticipate the challenges of the job, and rolling with them. Adapting to unexpected developments is a huge skill to possess in any career, and in many situations it’s not that difficult to help ready up and coming employees on the need for this skill: simply have instructors with experience to relate stories, to help prepare them for on-the-spot developments like that, and to help them not panic when something new and unexpected comes up during their trucking career.
This is the hallmark of a good career college. Designed to prepare you for life in trucking, a good trucking school should, like any career college worth its salt, offer just a little more than a standard “training” experience: it should offer a true career education, with sage old instructors relating sometimes funny, sometimes touching, sometimes strictly informative stories of their career. These trucking stories come along the way while conveying training for the CDL license, so you aren’t losing out on the training opportunities you need for the more technical parts of the job. But simply by having a story or two to relate (and being properly prompted to share those stories), a trucking school can make a big difference in the lives and careers of its students.
There are many important factors for trucking schools: how long they’ve been around and whether they are accredited, just to name two. But don’t overlook the importance of finding a solid trucking school with instructors who have real, tangible years of experience in the trucking industry.
And as a trucking student, keep in mind it’s up to you to find the trucking school experience you need. You are entering the trucking industry, and you need to take the initiative to research your trucking schools, find the one that offers the best chance for success as you begin your trucking career. Make sure you consider all things when you make that selection, and keep in mind that the trucking career you are building is your own. No one else has any more stake in your career than you, so treat the selection of your trucking school with care. If you make the wrong decision, your trucking career, and no one else’s is harmed by it. Alternatively, if you choose a terrific trucking school, your career will gain all the benefit.
And most of all, when you start trucking school, never forget that your attitude and work ethic are the two most important parts of your trucking school experience.