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IITR
Jun 25, 2004 1:41:53 GMT -5
Post by newsyddog on Jun 25, 2004 1:41:53 GMT -5
Does anyone have any information or experience with IITR? I am considering enrolling at their Clackamas, Oregon school.
Jobs in the field I have been in (mechanical design/drafting) for the last 30 years are virtually nonexistent around here. The company I was working for relocated to Alabama and left me to ponder my future. Driving trucks has always appealed to me, but I want to pick a school with a good reputation in the industry. IITR is ten minutes from home, but I certainly don't want that to be the deciding factor.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
I don't have much opportunity to get on the Internet, so if anyone replies to this message it may be a day or two before I am able to respond.
Thanks again!
Dave
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IITR
Jun 25, 2004 21:52:43 GMT -5
Post by Fozzy on Jun 25, 2004 21:52:43 GMT -5
Hi Dave,
I post this so much that I may start using it as part of my signature ;D!!
Research the company's you want to drive for FIRST! Use what they say as a guide in what they expect of you and what the minimums are for being hired. Find and apply for as many companies as you can and get pre-hired by some. This will allow you to be a bit more relaxed while training because you found your job(s) first. If I could spread this word to all "truckers-to-be" before they even TALKED to a trucking school, I WOULD!
I've not been to the parent site for this discussion baord but I'm sure that they have a standard internet application that they send out to about 20 or 30 trucking companies. I did this once a few years ago and they are still pestering me with offers!
Anyway, This application can be filled out regardless of whether or not you have a CDL. There are usually a place that asks "Do you need training" and if that box is checked, the training companies will see this and they will not even blink.
Looking and pre-hiring for companies means that you get the background and job history garbage out of the way and then when you complete the training school, you simply get the usually FREE transportation to the companies orientation and your off and running! Not too much chance of your newly acquired skills deteriorating while waiting to hear back from companies AFTER you complete school.
Best of Luck, Fozzy
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IITR
Jun 26, 2004 20:09:08 GMT -5
Post by banjoguy1 on Jun 26, 2004 20:09:08 GMT -5
Dave,
I'm going to IITR right now during the weekend class program. I was in the same sort of situation as you when I made the choice to go to IITR. By trade I'm a computer tech with my Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer cert and 6 years of experience in the IT industry. Yes, the pay WAS good but the market has become very over-saturated and companies are getting cheaper. I've lost 2 jobs to cheap labor in India and the other 4 to Chapter 11. All this and I'm only 25 years old!!! I decided that at my age I need to be planning my future, not playing catch-up all the time, and like you truck driving has always been in the back of my mind.
I did a ton of research on schools and companies that train you for "free" and found that IITR is the best choice. For one, IITR is the only accredited truck school in all of Oregon. With some small mom and pop schools you dont know what you're getting or they are just CDL mills. You'll get more than just your CDL from IITR. They have their own grading system that's seperate from the DMV which includes their own tests and homework. You'll get tons of experience of driving and yard work. They have a cool shifting simulator that they named "Shifty". Their price is pretty standard, around $4000 plus DMV costs. I paid for the school myself with their student loan program. Oh yeah, almost forgot, the coolest part is their lifetime job placement program. As long as you're driving and needing work, they will find it for you. I'm not even half way through class and they are already getting me set up with several different companies.
I haven't been to the other campuses but the Clackamas one is pretty sweet. They got two new Freightliners and one new Kenworth. There are like 6 other older yard trucks for practicing backing.
So yeah, sorry for the novel. I'm just a really big fan of this school. The staff are really awesome too, especially my trainer Bob.
So yeah, go to IITR. I graduate Aug 14th on the weekend class. The week day classes go faster, so if you enroll soon we might graduate around the same time. :-) Just last weekend my class got to watch one of the day classes do their drive test with the DMV. Seems pretty scary. That pre-trip inspection is what kills you. Forget one thing and you'll hang yourself. AHHHHHHH. Good luck! Oh yeah, if you enroll mention my name to Dave, the admissions counsoler.
Peace Sean Kelly Beaverton, OR
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cleem
New Member
Posts: 4
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IITR
Jun 29, 2004 3:13:10 GMT -5
Post by cleem on Jun 29, 2004 3:13:10 GMT -5
Wow! I just happened upon this website and noticed this thread. I am in the EXACT same situation you're in. I recently relocated to Oregon after serving my term in the Army and am looking at schools in the local area. I narrowed it down to 2 driving schools. IITR and Western Pacific. I liked IITR because of lifetime job assistance, but I don't think they are PTDI certified like Western Pacific. However, Western Pacific isn't accredited by an education agency like IITR, so it's a real pickle. Both offer the exact same behind the wheel time, student to instructor ratios, etc.
Let me know what you decide. You can email me too, it's great to know there's people in my shoes from the same area I'm from. Good luck to you.
Chris Myron
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IITR
Jun 29, 2004 15:26:10 GMT -5
Post by newsyddog on Jun 29, 2004 15:26:10 GMT -5
Thank you all for your responses. I sincerely appreciate you taking time to share your perspectives about IITR and trucking schools in general.
I have pretty much decided to enroll at IITR in the weekday class which begins August 16. I would do it sooner, but my daughter is getting married in a few weeks and I don't need the distraction of that while I'm trying to learn a new occupation.
My plan, at least for the near future, is to drive locally. Long haul is attractive, but several factors will prevent me from pursuing that for a while.
Thank you, Fozzy, for the advice to check out the requirements that the trucking companies have regarding schools. I will still do that, but as I have come to find out over the last several days, IITR graduates are highly sought after by local trucking companies. And I will look for the application you mentioned. I know your advice is sound because I have read many of your posts and you are always very level-headed.
Sean: Clackamas is where I will be taking my training, too. It looks as though our paths may not quite cross at school, but I appreciate a current student filling me in on the school. As I talked with Amanda in admissions the other day, I got the feeling that the staff at IITR is fully committed to helping each of their students succeed.
Chris: I am glad you saw this thread. Maybe we will end up attending class together. As it was explained to me, receiving accreditation is much more difficult than being certified by PTDI. I'm not stating that as fact, as I don't know enough about either one, but it seems that going to a school whose standards are required to be higher because of the standards of the organization which certifies them, might be a better choice. Anyway, that is how I look at it.
Thanks again to you all.
Dave
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IITR
Jun 30, 2004 21:16:15 GMT -5
Post by banjoguy1 on Jun 30, 2004 21:16:15 GMT -5
Dave,
That's awesome!!! It's too bad I won't get to see you at school (at least I hope not. If we do meet it's cause I didn't pass).
Our class just recently met with Amanda since she is in charge of job placement. She's been busy helping us build resumes and sending out applications to companies we are interested in.
This weekend we are off since it's the 4th of July. But next weekend we actually get to go out on the road!!! I'm kinda nervous.
One of the things I forgot to mention earlier was the trucks at IITR. They are AWESOME! I checked out a couple school's rigs and some of them are pretty nasty. IITR's road trucks are all brand new as are the trailers. Plus they have a bunch of different kinds of trucks and trailers so you get quite a variety. I'm really freaked out about pulling the doubles. But it will become natural over time and practice. :-)
Well it's good to hear you're gunna go! Good luck to ya!
Sean
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IITR
Aug 17, 2004 22:19:35 GMT -5
Post by banjoguy1 on Aug 17, 2004 22:19:35 GMT -5
I just graduated IITR on Sunday and they told us we get $100 for every student we send to them. So when you fill out the application, that section that says "Friend refered you to us," please fill in Sean Kelly. Thank you! I'm serious by the way. lol. Heck, I'll split the $100 with you! Sean
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IITR
Aug 21, 2004 8:08:35 GMT -5
Post by truckertom on Aug 21, 2004 8:08:35 GMT -5
I have found that you I.T. make some pretty good truckers! But I have to admit, it is strange as an instructor to be training well educated folks to drive a truck.
You might call the companies and see how many of a schools graduates have made it through the companies training and earned the upgrade. If the company that hires a schools students would take as many as the school will send them, that is a good sign.
We have Central, Covenant, SRT, ect. ect. competing for ours....Werner just hands out rulers telling the students that if thy go to work there they won't need a log book ruler.
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IITR
Aug 24, 2004 15:15:29 GMT -5
Post by banjoguy1 on Aug 24, 2004 15:15:29 GMT -5
We have Central, Covenant, SRT, ect. ect. competing for ours....Werner just hands out rulers telling the students that if thy go to work there they won't need a log book ruler. Central and Werner came to our school too. Unfortunately I was in the weekend class and most recruiters like to have their weekends off. I have one of those cheesy rulers too that says, "We dont use rulers." Cracked me up! I should also mention that IITR's job placement is really great! Two days after graduation they had a job interview already set up for me with FedEx, which I attended the following day and got hired! Talk about fast!!! Sean
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IITR
Aug 25, 2004 19:31:25 GMT -5
Post by truckertom on Aug 25, 2004 19:31:25 GMT -5
"I have one of those cheesy rulers too that says, "We dont use rulers." Cracked me up!"
We had one student asking some pretty pointed questions of the Weiner Recruiter....he had him stuttering once.
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