Bad CDL school experience
Posted by s3rentiy@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 11 comments
I went to this joke of a CDL school in San Jose. All the staff are extremely unhelpful and they won’t help me complete my CDL they just keep arguing with me and have a bad attitude on a power trip. I told them I need it done by the end of the month and they just won’t schedule me for the drives I need or the DMV appointment. It’s honestly really discouraging because I was looking forward to being a CDL driver but if the actual job is anything like this CDL school then idk this is ridiculous and so unprofessional. Am I gonna have to kiss my bosses ass and keep my head down also like in these bullshit schools? Is it different when ur out and actually working? Because omg. I got so pissed at the school because they kept pushing me around idk what to do now. I don’t know if I should go back and finish it or report them and bring them to small claims and find a different career. Is this normal for these bullshit CDL schools? What is wrong these people is this like industry norm because it’s f-ing weird.
Cranjesmcbasketball1@reddit
I had a decent experience, it was super tough but they prepared me well and made sure I was ready when it came time for the DMV test. It was refreshing to see students who didn't take it seriously get sent back to the classroom numerous times.
Mysterious-Return-64@reddit
If a argument has any place in a training lecture, or in a pre- trip example. That's a no-go school as any professional will abide strictly by the Vehical Code book you should be reading that book everyday and familiarize your self with The rules and regulations rather than arguing with an "I know all the Ansers power tripping instructors.
s3rentiy@reddit (OP)
They won’t schedule my DMV appointment they keep pushing it back everyday they’re on a power trip! I’m trying to get it done!
Cranjesmcbasketball1@reddit
Did you memorize the pre-trip and air brake test portion of the written and pass all the yard and road tests with your school? If you don't then its a waste of time to schedule with DMV because you will fail. I just did mine 1.5 years ago and yes it was hard but it prepped me very well for the DMV test. A ton of students didn't make it to the test as they didn't take it seriously.
TypicalOcelot7933@reddit
If this doesn't work out have you thought about going to a Mega for your cdl?
Rough-Method8876@reddit
It takes practice OP. But it also sounds like you are a little rushed and to be honest, that just doesn’t work in our industry. You can’t show up to a receiver and expect anything but a 15 hour wait if that’s what the norm is at that particular receiver. Now, I’m only able to speculate as I don’t know you personally and only have read this one post…but have patience. Nothing ever moves fast enough in this industry. Have faith in the process. (Even if the CDL school process IS bullshirt).
Puzzled-Flan-7674@reddit
Me2; Dave's truck driving school. then changed his company name to ( 1 on 1 truck driving academy) ripped me off for 5,500.00 and didn't even get my class A. In West Sacramento ca
NotSid@reddit
I finished my CDL classes last month at the local community college and it was without a doubt the stupidest experience of my life. When I signed up the teacher told us “We will teach you how to drive automatics, manuals, hazmat, and then we will test you right here to save you a trip to the dmv because I’m certified with the state.”
The teacher gets fired the third day. The new teacher says “I’m not gonna be like the old teacher. I’m going to actually teach the class” then gives us the textbook, tells someone to read, and fucks off to his office. Students read aloud either p a i f u l l y s l o w or LOUDANDFAST no in between.
We finally get to the field, and we’re told only some can learn manual cause there are too many students. So the students who already knew how to drive There are two more instructors now to help us pre-trip, and they all have different ways of pre-tripping. Then we start backing, which was fine but the teacher was never on the field. Then some of the students started threatening each other cause they were getting made fun of for their backing. The students start threatening the instructors cause the instructors told the to do something different!
We get to the road tests, and I had instructors talk to me about abrahamic religions, freemasonry, and why hitler was a good leader while driving straight on the highway. Then the hazmat day came, and the teacher gave us the book and left. Came back gave us a test and 1 person passed it (spoiler: it wasn’t me).
Since the original teacher got fired, we had to go to the dmv for our final exam. The teacher gave us appointments, and then had to change those dates three times cause of “mistakes by the state”. This also screwed with how we learned our 90degree backing, cause we were taught landmarks to line up with outside the truck. Those landmarks didn’t exist at the dmv. Ended up failing my 90 and have to go back next week (a month after my first test). I was told I could come back and practice all I wanted for my retest. Then when I showed up they said practice is for current students only. If I pass, I’ll be able to drive automatics, no manual, no hazmat.
The tl;dr is: CDL school was a fucking mess and nothing I was told would happen actually happened.
tinysavage@reddit
You have to read the book and they have the schedule for you to drive. I did it 28 years ago with only 1 year of regular car driving experience. What help do you need? More practice? Those schools don't have the time for all the drivers to practice.
Check with the state of California to make sure the school is legit though. A lot of schools are getting shut down around the country. But reporting them for not giving you extra hours isn't going to work.
The way the entire system is set up is to weed out poor truck drivers. The school doesn't have to give you more help than the other drivers. They are a filter to keep the public safe. If you can't do it on the same parameters as the rest of the other students, you aren't going to be a safe driver. Then you will have to pay for extra time to keep going to the school. .
I did a trick to help train my brain to back up . I sat on a bicycle and the way you turn a bicycle backing up is the same way to turn the handle bara. My teacher told everyone to watch me because I was so good. That's all I got for you. Good luck
ZealousidealAngle151@reddit
I got lucky and tried out a place in Santa Maria, CA and the instructor was a total bro. Always smiling and joking around, exchanging life stories. Sometimes it was so slow that I had the whole day just me and him, while some schools have like 15 students in one day and don’t get enough practice time. Some of our students were really bad and would end up halfway in intersections (very dangerous) and he wouldn’t trip. He had over 20 years experience and it was crazy how he could notice all the subtleties in my driving even when it looked like he was not paying attention. I really enjoyed going to that school, and always allowed to get extra time to practice. Later on I saw that this school had TONS of 5 star positive reviews and I’m so happy to have my CDL A with all endorsements (except passenger) now. I get complimented on my CDL license all the time like I have some special status or some shit lol.
Redsoxdragon@reddit
You gotta understand. As shitty and pessimistic as this sounds, They aren't there to teach you how to drive. Cdl school isn't like high school, it's a conveyor belt to get your cdl and dump you as fast as possible to bring the next batch of students in.
Don't take it personally and let it discourage you, but that's how the industry is. Just remind yourself what you're there for. You don't want to flip burgers. Take in what you can, and get as many practice reps and move on.