I just turned 57. I'm in pretty good health. No Drugs, good driving record, No family to speak of.
I'm considering going to a school. I'll be in the Jacksonville area of Florida.

What should I expect to pay for training?
Recommendations for the school?
Recommendations for a company to drive for?

I'd be available for Over the Road work.

Will I have any success if I apply at my age?

Thanks,
WannabeMaybe

3500-4500$. Unless a local community cllege offers training; then it'll be hundreds. But it'll take 8 weeks or so. I recommend the community college route if you have time, etc....Do not go to a company school that requires you to work off your tuition...

Do not work for a freight company who advertises and has recruiters. Try to find a manufacturer. You may not be able to find one, and if so just do what you have to do to get your one years experience so that you can get a decent job.

Chances for success are about 100%. Everyone succeeds who really wants to and can pass the physical.

What is so bad about company schools that require you work off your tuition? It sounds like a good way to not have to pay taxes on some income to me.

they hold you as a basic "slave" for whatever lenght of time the contract is. if you were to leave before the end of your contract, they can and will make you pay it all in full, and they can mess with your credit score/background.

wanna chance it now..........???

You know that's really up to you....................right?!


Good Luck.

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I've ran into plenty of truckers over 57. As for schools, Vo Tech or I know here in Minnesota we have some smaller ones that only cost $100s and they'll get you trained in weeks.
Best of luck

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Be safe and God Speed,
Reverend Matthew "The Dragon" Koscielski
!!!Proud to be a gear grinder!!!

Faith, Hope, Love. The Greatest is Love 1 Corinthians 13:13

Can anyone tell me what the middle peddle in my truck does, cause i never use it.

roehl transport has their own school in Marshfield Wi, the tuition plus the housing was $2850, well worth it, you are surrounded by professionals who help you achieve your goal 'success' and I am happy I went with them, also you are not tied down to them, if you work for them after 10,000 miles you start getting your $2500 reimbursed ($350 is for housing for the 3 week course) or if you find something better you can leave but won't get reimbursed their website is roehl.net good luck to ya.

Okay lets think about this,
There is good and bad on both sides of getting training at a school or A company school.
You mentioned the negative about company schools

Lets look at a negative going community college route
Training, do they prepare you? are you getting the best training? many off these schools are known to push people right along and not really attempting to train them like they really could. They only teach you enough to get a CDL

Company training on the other hand usually goes the extra step in teaching. At least that was my experience and was my choice for choosing a company training.

How do I know this? well when I called to get financial help the lady was very honest with me and told me what schools where good and what ones where bad. She had nothing to do with the companies and really could care less what school I spent my loan money on. She lay ed the facts down with the schools records and their history. this would include the number of failures on the CDL test and retakes (and more history of the companies) Something to think about.

If it was me I would suggest trying out Schneider National, they have an excellent training program, as always It up to YOU to take advantage of what they offer. If you find yourself needed information or help in an area the instructors will go way out of their way to help you get what you need. But again its up to you to ask.

The pay is average for a new driver, they have a great dispatch that makes things easy for new drivers, they run legal, they have good equipment and you will learn the right way (again its up to you to get the most out of training)


You will have to sign a year contact with them but really you should stay with a company for a year just to get to know the roads and trucking all together.

why would you want to lock yourself into something you might not even be able to stand. i know people who went over the road for like two weeks and then dove out head first into something local. because they didn't have any strings attached, they were able to do so without someone hounding them. As far as tech school training- by the end of school, i could downshift and alley doc with the best of 'em. Good Luck

WM - You may try speaking with your local employment office about WIA (Workforce In Action) funding. In GA it pays all costs of driving school & would probably be the same in FL. The only catch is that you have to stay in the same industry (driving, in this case) for one year, but the good part is that you are not financially bound to stay with any particular company.