Truck driving as a career offers a lot to those that like variety. You can drive the same stretch of road every day for years, yet it’s not the same. There are different weather conditions and, of course, your fellow road users are different every day. You have the idiots that want to take a truck on by overtaking when there’s no room, and you have the reverse, those that are terrified by big rigs. They suddenly slow down when they see one in their rear vision mirror and drive with so much caution they almost create accidents.

Learning to be a truck driver is not that difficult. Learning to put up with other drivers takes a life time. In fact, as a driver, I don’t think you ever get used to the way others drive. Being on the road, you see them all – the crazy, the drunks, the teens partying while driving and nervous nannies.

If you’re interested in a career as a commercial truck driver, it is as easy as ABC:

A – ask us at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools about our truck driving training programs. We have over 25 years experience training people to drive trucks. We can advise you where your nearest training school is and when the next courses start.

B – Begin your training. Start your training with ATS and we will provide you with all the on and off road skills required to achieve your commercial truck driving license.

C – Complete the testing for a commercial drivers license (CDL) and you’re ready to hit the road as a professional truck driver.

With a professional training organization like ATS behind you, you will receive all the support necessary to obtain your CDL and then to locate suitable employment. Remember – all it starts with is ‘A’ – ask us about our truck driver training programs. It’s the first step to a successful truck driving career.

There is one thing you can almost guarantee around the nation – there is a truck delivering its load somewhere. If there is a truck then there is also a driver and the only only way to get into the driver’s seat is by obtaining a commercial drivers license. No license – no work – it is as simple as that.

Our nation relies on the transportation of goods and much of that is done using trucks. There are the huge interstate truck trailer combos plying the highways right down to the small trucks making home deliveries around town. Almost all of them require a driver with a commercial drivers license. The easiest way to obtain a commercial drivers license is by undertaking a truck driver training course through a reputable truck driver training school.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools has been around for a quarter of a century. We started by training people to become truck drivers and we are now one of the most reputable truck driver training schools in the nation. We don’t just teach people how to drive a truck. We teach people the skills required to gain their commercial drivers license. That license is then your license to gaining sustainable employment.

Truck drivers are always in demand. Even during the recession, people still required goods and those goods had to be delivered to the stores somehow. Truck driving is not only a job that is always in demand, it is the kind of job that pays reasonably well and has a high job satisfaction level.

Does a truck driving career interest you at all? Local truck drivers have the best of all worlds. They get to spend their days driving around their area making deliveries and pick ups where necessary. At the same time, they are home for dinner each night – there is no overnight driving involved. Better yet, local truck drivers are well paid for their efforts – in this case, it’s three strikes and you’re in.

Did I say three strikes? There is more. Training to become a truck driver can be completed in just three weeks. When we say training, we are talking about comprehensive training that will have you ready to pass the commercial drivers license written test as well as the practical component. Our training focuses on the knowledge and skills required to be a good driver – anyone can drive in a straight line, but can you reverse a tractor-trailer? You will be able to once you have completed your training.

That is one skill that is obviously necessary. There are many others. Driving in traffic can be difficult given the unpredictability of other drivers. Being able to drive safely is an important consideration. Do you know how far a truck will go when full brakes are applied at 50 mph? You need to. Am I scaring you? I hope not. Once you complete a truck driver training program at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools you will have all these skills.

As the oldest and most successful heavy equipment school in the country, we know exactly what skills are required to succeed in the work place. We know what employers want and we know what the licensing authorities want. We deliver to those requirements so you can start delivering to their requirements.

With over 45 years experience in truck driver training, we have built a large database of employers ready to hire our graduates. Complete your training and pass your commercial drivers license test and one of those employers could be your first boss. What are you waiting for? You could be driving a truck in just over three weeks.

Now here is an unusual vehicle and an unusual truck driving job – operating a vacuum truck. As the name suggests, it is a truck that has a vacuum attachment and just like your home vacuum, it is designed to clean up dirt. Instead of vacuuming carpet, the vacuum truck cleans up after an excavator has been hard at work – you could say it was an excavator’s best friend.

Excavators are good at what they do – excavate. There are a lot of different devices that can be attached to excavators, unfortunately some of them make life a little harder. There are specialized drill attachments. These are great for drilling holes but leave behind all the drill castings from the hole. Rather than change back to a bucket to remove these castings, a vacuum truck works with the excavator sucking up the dirt as it is removed from the drill hole.

Of course, excavators themselves can only do so much. Their buckets can dig trenches and remove a high percentage of the dirt, however, the remnants often need removing by hand, or by vacuuming. Imagine removing sand from a child’s sand pit using a bucket and spade. Eventually you will be left with small amounts – too small for the bucket and spade to be effective. You could use something smaller, like a teaspoon to get at that last little bit – or a vacuum cleaner to do the job quickly – the same is true in construction.

Are there special skills require to operate a vacuum truck – not really, just a commercial drivers license. It’s an unusual job but one that does what would normally take several men many hours to do using hand tools. If you’re ever at an excavation site – keep your eyes open to see if they are using a vacuum cleaner on wheels – the vacuum truck, an excavator’s best friend.

Gaining a commercial drivers license (CDL) means more than just a piece of paper. It also involves more than just having a job. That CDL is a license to freedom, a license to explore, see new places and meet new people.

Being qualified to drive trucks can lead to interesting jobs driving trucks and trailers thousands of mile every week. You could have a run that takes you from home through to Mexico (or Canada), or from one coast to another. There is a lot of freight that arrives on the west coast that needs shipping to the east coast. Some businesses rely on rail – others rely on trucks. I am sure you have seen them on the highways – I am also sure you have probably asked yourself – where have they come from and/or where are they going?

Truck driving is more than a skill. In a tradition that probably goes back to the stagecoach days, drivers meet at certain places along the route. You know they say you can tell a good roadhouse by the number of trucks parked outside. Inside, there is real camaraderie amongst the drivers.

A commercial drivers license is not that difficult to obtain. Good quality truck driver training from a highly reputable training provider is the first step. Having belief and working hard during that training is also important. Finding employment to put your new found skills to work is the final step – we can even help in that area too.

Undertaking training and gaining a commercial drivers license doesn’t always have to lead to employment. There are thousands of individuals who have their CDL yet they rarely actually drive a truck. You may wonder why then they go to the bother of getting that license.

There are thousands of jobs around where a commercial drivers license is not a requirement, but it can be a ‘handy to have’ skill. Consider the type of work involved in a warehouse. Your day-to-day task would involve moving stock around, loading and unloading trucks, and keeping records of all the stock movements. If there is an urgent call for some stock, or a driver has called in sick, then the person with the truck license may well be the one called upon to fill in.

Heavy equipment operators can also find themselves in a similar situation. Their machine is required at a particular site, but there is no truck driver available to transport it. If you have your commercial drivers license then you are in a position to transport your own machine.

As I mentioned, there are thousands of jobs ranging from the farm to the docks and everywhere in between. If apply for a vacancy in a position where trucking could be useful, and you have your commercial drivers license, you may find that your application is considered more favorably than some else’s who doesn’t have that license.

If you are looking to expand your skills or to make yourself more employable, consider adding the commercial drivers license to your list of qualifications. It may just give you the edge over others applying for the same position. Commercial drivers license training doesn’t have to be undertaken because you want a career as a trick driver. People do the training often just to increase their skills base and to open up their employment options.