Just passed the driving test for Schneider National

Although this week has been difficult, being away from my family and all, as of Thursday evening I have passed the driving portion of the qualification tests with Schneider National.  I still need to pass the backing and written test in order to be hired, but I don't think this will be a problem.  Once hired, I will be going out with my Training Engineer (TE) for a week for more detailed instructions and training.  This will prepare me for my hard skills testing when I return to the Schneider Training Academy. I will also be learning about the new MPC200 unit (e.g. sort of a mini-computer) in our cabs, as well as map reading, trip planning and the like. Then I will take the final soft skills test and once passed, I will return home to get my own truck and then I will be out on the road driving and delivering cargo.

It will be different, but I am glad that I have the ability to call home every night. I will need to switch my Cricket cell phone to Sprint so that I will be able to video conference with my family. Also, Cricket coverage is very poor in the areas that I will be driving. I lost signal once I hit Saint George, Utah and didn't get the signal back until I reached Claremont, California.  Unfortunately, the signal here is very poor and I keep dropping calls, so I have been using my Skype to call home with.  From my discussion with other drivers, Sprint works best for truckers as their coverage is the best for the routes that trucks drive on.