Trucking

Career changes and job advances happen to everyone, no matter what industry you are in. Trucking is no different. Maybe the trucking industry is calling you back home. Even if you've been out of the trucking business for a while, we can help restart your career with a CDL Refresher Course. ACI can update your skills and make sure you are confident enough to get back behind the wheel.  Check out the reasons you should enroll in a CDL Refresher Course.

Tailored to You

Our CDL Refresher Course can be tailored to fit your individual needs. We understand that everyone may have different skill levels and therefore needs a specific course structure. Our refresher course is 3-weeks long and is behind-the-wheel-only. It is designed for students who already hold a California or Nevada CDL permit but have little to no experience behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle.

Short Time Commitment

We know that you have already been through extensive training when you first obtained your CDL. Here at ACI, the purpose of our CDL Refresher Course is to help update your knowledge and experience behind the wheel. That is why our course will be a maximum of 3 weeks to get you back on the road.

Location Options

The ACI CDL Refresher Course is available at all five of our locations: Visalia, Fresno, Merced, Bakersfield, and Las Vegas campuses. Therefore, you can find an option that works best for you and your schedule.

Feel Confident

All of our CDL refresher course is designed to help students feel prepared to take the behind-the-wheel CDL exam. There is no shame in asking for a little bit of help. ACI is here to fit your needs and help you fulfill or get back to your career goals. Contact us today to get back behind the wheel in a short amount of time.

It's back to school time for families across the country and it can be back to school for you too! There is no better time to hit the books again. While your kids are trying to move on to the next grade level, you will be moving on to your next career!  At Advanced Career Institute (ACI), you can take the first step to a new career in trucking or welding. Still not sure? Check out our list of great reasons to start your training today!

• Short Training Time - At ACI, our goal is to get you trained and out in the workforce in a time frame that gets you earning the money you deserve quickly. If you go back to school with ACI, you'll be off to the workforce in 4 weeks for trucking and 38 weeks for welding.
• Job Placement- Going back to school can be scary because of the uncertainty of career placement once you graduate. However, ACI takes care of this worry for you! ACI offers job placement assistance that includes helping your job search, practice for interviews, and spruce up your resume.
• Jobs In Demand - Currently, the trucking industry is one of the most in-demand career paths on the market today. This means jobs are just around the corner for you once your training is complete. Additionally, as a new school year starts, opportunities for school bus drivers will also emerge.
• Tuition Assitance Available - If you go back to school with ACI, you have the possibility to be eligible for financial aid assistance. This assistance can help pay for your training and possibly take away the stress of tuition for you and your family.
• Inspire Your Children- Children look up to and admire their parents. If they see mom and dad are working hard in school, it can encourage your children to do their best in school too!  This can turn into wonderful bonding time.

Back to school season is here! Enroll in a trucking or welding course and start on a path to a rewarding career. Giving yourself a great career can help to provide for your family so that they can succeed too. Contact us today to learn how to get started!

The Department of Transportation (DOT) passed new Hours of Service (HOS) regulations that affect most big rig drivers on US roads. The goal of the rules is to make roadways safer by having better-rested truck drivers. As a truck driver, new or experienced, it is extremely important to understand how these regulations could affect your work schedule. It doesn't matter if you're OTR, short distance or interstate, all Class A drivers need to follow these new HOS rules!

HOS Rules Breakdown

• Your day of driving begins after 10 hours off.
• You can drive 11 hours, then you must take a 10-hour break.
• During your first 8 hours of work, you must take a 30-minute rest break.
• Drivers must reset: they must spend 34 hours or more not driving, either after driving 60 hours in a 7 day week or 70 hours in an 8 day week.

A Day with the new Schedule

• 4:00 am, arrive to work, check your load, do your safety walk and drive.
• 11:50 am, you've been driving for almost 8 hours. Take a 30-minute break.
• 12:20 pm, you're back on the road for 3 more hours after a safety walk.
• 3:20 pm, you've reached your 11-hour limit. You now need to take your 11-hour break. Sleep, eat, explore the city you are in, as long as you are not driving.
• 1:20 am, you have your beauty sleep! Do your safety walk and get back on the road! You've got 8 hours until your 30-minute break.

New electronic log devices (ELDs) are helpful to keep an eye on your 11-hour shift. They also reduce the ability to cheat on a logbook or do any other "creative recordkeeping". Again, the whole purpose of both the new HOS rules and the ELD rules is to ensure that truckers are well rested when they're on the road.

Are you an Exception?

As of August 2019, only livestock haulers and insect haulers are exempt from the HOS rules. Livestock needs to rest and drink, so a livestock hauler may need to go 12 or more hours straight to get to their destination, rather than leaving live animals on a trailer for 10 extra hours at a standstill. **Note that on of August 14, 2019 FMCSA has released some proposed changes to the new HOS rules, but they have not been implemented yet.** At Advanced Career Institute, we focus on training qualified CDL drivers who are employable and safe. Truck drivers are in high demand and these HOS rules are just becoming a part of the job! Contact us if you think the life of a trucker is for you!

A truck driver's job is to drive, right? Obviously, driving the truck is the biggest responsibility, but it is certainly not where the job ends. As a truck driver you need to take on several additional responsibilities in order to be successful. Here are five of the most important duties that a truck driver has on top of driving:

1. Know the rules:  As a truck driver you need to know and abide by the rules of being on the road. For example, your hours of service rules, traffic laws and how they may vary by state.
2. Know proper procedures: You need to know unloading and loading procedures, how much weight your rig can handle, etc. What are the procedures if you get involved in an accident? Take time to understand these before hopping on the road.
3. Know your equipment: You need to keep your equipment in good repair. While major repairs are handled by maintenance or a mechanic, truck drivers need to do basic, routine stuff like keeping the truck clean, inspection before and after any trip, checking your oil, etc. It's also your responsibility to note anything that needs to be repaired.
4. Become a planner: You need to be a good planner. Choosing the best route is up to you and can greatly impact your success as a truck driver. It helps to be familiar with GPS and other route planning technology. However, be careful to not become overly reliant on it. Even in this day and age map reading is a useful skill. You will need to plan alternative routes to get around traffic congestion, accidents, or weather-related problems in order to get your goods to the client on time.
5. Keep good records:  Although many modern trucks have black boxes that log certain things automatically, truck drivers need to be able to keep all of the required logs. You have to log break times, load and unload times, delivery instructions, etc. In many cases, it is the driver's responsibility to know what should be loaded onto the truck and make sure that the goods match what they are supposed to be.

Being a truck driver does involve long hours behind the wheel, but there are other skills you need to develop as well. Without these skills, you may not find the quick path to success that you were hoping. Take pride in being a truck driver and with that, take the time to perfect your skills. To find out more about getting the best training to prepare for this demanding job, contact Advanced Career Institute today.

Advanced Career Institute would like to congratulate Yurika Lambert on passing her DMV Exam with a perfect score! This is a huge accomplishment, and we could not be prouder. This is on the second occurrence that many ACI staff have ever seen. We sat down with Yurika to see how she liked her time training at Advanced Career Institute and what is next for her in the trucking industry.

JOINING THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY

Yurika Lambert comes from a trucking family. She grew up around trucks her whole life. Her father was a truck driver for 25-years before he passed, and her brother is currently a trucker as well. Yurika chose a different career to begin her life. She studied and became a Licensed Vocational Nurse. Although she found her career rewarding, she longed for the open road and independence of being a truck driver. Yurika came to Advanced Career Institute’s Fresno Campus with a goal in mind of becoming a truck driver and earning her Class A CDL! She most certainly obtained her goal!

TRAINING AT ACI

During her time at Advanced Career Institute, Yurika said she, “really liked being able to get things done and learning new things while still having fun. Both the instructors & other students were very helpful and friendly. The relationships that were built at ACI is what I miss the most.” Yurika was overjoyed when she had learned she got a perfect score at the DMV. She felt very blessed to have such a great support system. From both her family and the ACI staff and instructors, Yurika believes her success comes from them.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR YURIKA

What’s next for Yurika in the trucking industry? She is very excited to begin driving for TJT in Coalinga, where she resides. She looks forward to this new career path and all of the adventures she is about to embark upon. For her future, she is most excited about trying to start her own trucking company. This is something her father and she had discussed prior to his passing and would really like to do it in honor of him. We have all the belief in the world that Yurika will accomplish her goals and we are excited to see what’s in her future!

ADVANCED CAREER INSTITUTE

Again, we want to congratulate Yurika on her accomplishments. We love seeing our students are succeeding in their new career. Yurika earned her CDL by training at Advanced Career Institute. ACI provides both CDL training and Welding training throughout California’s Central Valley. If you’re interested in beginning a career as a professional truck driver, learn more about our CDL training programs.  

Every product you touch was made available to you thanks to a truck driver. If that seems like a bold statement, take a moment to look around you. Food, beverages, electronics, clothing, and furniture are all in full or in-part transported from somewhere else to be purchased or assembled by you or a service you use! If all the truck drivers suddenly stopped driving their trucks, not only would luxuries become unavailable, but necessities as well. Clothes and home goods wouldn't make it to our favorite department stores. Food would not be delivered to grocery stores or restaurants! Bottled water would run out quickly.

Life Without Truck Drivers

Consequences of a world without truck drivers extend beyond the products that are transported for us to buy directly. Restaurants wouldn't be able to remain open without supplies. The same applies to service providers ranging from salons to hospitals! Without truck drivers, medical supplies would never reach the people who desperately need them. It is not an overstatement to say that truck drivers are the heartbeat of the economy. In fact, it may be more accurate to compare them to the blood that flows through the country, bringing goods to the people who depend on them to survive.

Why the World Needs Truckers

The demand for truck drivers will only increase in the coming years. As every other market seems to change from year to year or even month to month, the only thing changing in the trucking industry is that more products need to be transported! Almost every other career, in a big or small way, relies on truck drivers. Become a part of the lifeblood of the economy. Check out Advanced Career Institute and get on the road to your truck driving career today.