I *think*, still waiting to hear for sure, that I will get a grant to attend driving school. So I decided to check out what schools are eligible in my area even though I already knew about one. Small classes, newer equipment to learn on, instructors have YEARS otr, etc etc etc. Thing is it's kinda pricey, but on the other hand in they have exactly 1 complaint against them in 15 years in business. So far so good, right...............

Found out while researching options that there is another driving school closer to me that is held at a Community College. I can't find anything out about the instructor(s), equipment or class size. The only thing I know for sure about this school is that is considerably cheaper then the private school.

So my question to you that are actually doing this, which option gives the better chance to be hired by a decent company? I know that the private school is known by several national, regional and local companies as THE place to hire new drivers and they offer lifetime job placement once you finish. The CC, maybe they do, maybe they don't. So thoughts, comments, suggestions etc?

If you can't get information on the school - even regarding the number of instructors, I'd not spend my money there.

I prefer dedicated schools. You can get information from them!

That being said. I don't buy into the "10 weeks is better than 4 weeks" B.S.. In a dedicated school, you are in school 8 hours a day (or so), not 2 or 4.

It's EVERY day,too, not just T/W/T/.

In your case, the independent school has a reputation. That counts for a lot.

If you can, ensure that you are the only student in the cab when it's time for driving. "Observation" time does not (or should not) count toward 'driving time" in school. This is just not something you can learn by observing.

I'm not sure age of the equipment is necessarily an important issue. The school I attended had some.. um... older tractors for use on the backing range. They used rented trucks for road work, though. I like it, because you don't get used to working new equipment. Out in the real world, you may end up driving a 20 year old tractor.. learning in one is a help.

Hrm...let's look at it this way. If you are aiming to work for a national (or at least regional) company, which school do you think they''d prefer? If you are heading for local, it probably doesn't matter.

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Keep the big doors at the back!

I'm sorry but I disagree with Lurchgs. For one I don't think you'll find any company running 20 year old equipment. Could you imagine the miles on a tractor that's been out there for 20 years. It's more like 5 years or less and then they buy a new one. If you're going to pay for a school out of your pocket sure you want the best but I think it only matters for the companies that go through drivers like someone would change soxs. Most all of the schools have one objective and that's to get their students a CDL. They teach the very basics anywhere and the real training starts when you get hired by a company.

I'm opposed to let a recruiter find me a job. I think it's lasy on the new driver just to sit back and let someone else meet their quota. I've heard alot of people say that the community colleges are the way to go. Simply because you have no ties to any company when you come out. There are just too many horror stories out there that talk about going to a pre-paid school and then the company treats them like trash. They do because they can.

Now if you do decide to go to a commercial school you'll sure want to find ones that's accredited just for the reason that you'll receive better training. But as far as being one up on the hiring process, you're only talking about the companies that are not worth working for in my opinion. If a company needs a driver then I'm sure they're not going to even look at what school you went to.

We had to hire drivers with experience but we had their record of schooling on their app and we didn't give it a second look. I believe that it's up to you to find the best company that fits your needs and you wont do that by just using the computer. Some of these bigger companies have a huge turnover rate and there's a reason for that. Why not start with a company that will want to keep you after they train you?

GH - sorry - that was a bit of hyperbole. The oldest truck on the backing range was a '97. And some of the companies I've talked to DO run 10-20 year old gear. But it's all local - they get their stuff from the OTR companies.

This is hearsay. Some companies purport to not hire out of school - but they WILL hire (occasionally) from schools with certain accreditations - say, PTDI.

All in all, I think the accredited independent school is still a better choice.

Oh - and yes, your company hired experienced drivers. I'd suggest that by the time a driver has a year or two under his belt, his school is pretty much completely immaterial. The school of choice only matters for the first job or two.

IMHO, of course. Speaking as a currently unemployed newbie.

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Keep the big doors at the back!

i went to a community college for my classes. i was very pleased with it. i had to go to the school before i started to see how things went, but im glad i did. they are a very respected trucking school around here, great instructors the helped us relax while we were learning.

i would check it out, even if you have to to the school to do your research. it could be worth it.

Newdriver

A community college works on behalf of the taxpayers in their district to provide adequate training. Thats the reason why tuition is so much lower at the community college. The states department of education oversees them.

I actually went to a private(for profit) school on a government grant. The school was so bad I dropped out. Supposedly this was a 3 week program. Not one person in my class graduated before 5 weeks. There were 2 trucks and 40 students. The only things these private schools care about is starting a new class every week and lining their pockets with government greenback. I had a choice of going to one of the best community college programs in the nation at Crowder College in Missouri but being away from home for 4 weeks or Going to a for profit private school within 15 minutes from my house. Unfortunately, I made the wrong decision. I complained to my states education department about the program but they said they couldnt do anything about it.

Do a search for either a PTDI school or a school that belongs to the Publicly funded truck driving schools. You'll be sorry if u dont!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am looking at a career change. Have been driving a Taxi for five years, so I know driving for long hours in all conditions. I am looking at going to TCC in Portsmouth, VA and doing my training there (tuition $1357.50 in-state). It seems that I would do better to get my training and my CDL first (they offer 4 weeks M-F, 8 hours per day classroom, then 4 weeks M-F, 8 hours per day road training). That would, I think, give me more opportunities and more choices for employment. I was originally thinking of going with wither Swift or Schneider, but being blindly tied to one company for a year or two is pretty scary.

Thought that I would add my 2 cents to the mix. Private schools and community college programs each could be good or bad depending on how they handle their programs and train their students. You just never know until you really check everything out. Before I would attend a school, I would go visit them, talk to the instructors, check out their equipment, and see what all their courses entails.

Its a good idea to know the amount of experience driving big rigs that the instructors have. However, the more years of driving doesn't necessarily mean that he or she can train you better than an instructor with fewer years of driving experience. Its all relative to the type of training that you will receive.

Most trucking schools are probably more concerned with you getting your CDL license period. When I was in my private school for trucking, everyone got their license because we were driving an automatic transmission tractor for our drivers test for our licenses. We were trained in trucks with different speed transmissions. Most of the guys in my class never made it into trucking because they had problems with shifting the gears. Very seldom would anyone get to come back for more training because the school would comment to them that they should know what they are doing because they have a CDL now.

Also, I wouldn't be too concerned about which schools are going to place you for a job or which trucking companies hire out of schools. IF you can drive a truck well enough, have a good driving record, and can pass a hiring company's driving test, you can get hired by a lot of trucking companies for your first job. Check them out yourself just like you did with the truck driving schools.

Your success in schooling and your driving career depends on YOU. Its the efforts that you put into it that makes all the difference in the World as to how things will work out for you. Also, training by trucking companies where you are sent to their schools before you are hired might not be a bad way to go either. Some people have success and others have failed. You might get kicked out of one of their schools but you might do great if you attend other programs, also.

There's probably few if any truck driving schools that will prepare you for all things that happen when you are out on the road. Experience is the best teacher but always keep your mind open to suggestions for improvement.