to get my cdl
any suggestions
i live in ft wayne i am alittle nervious but i really have no clue where to even start here any and all suggestions greatful plmk

If you are currently unemployed check out your local unemployment office, some offer assistance (some even pay all if you commit to a company for a year) my neighbor was laid off in the winter and he applied for assitance to get his CDL and they gave him assitance with no strings attached, so check that out and search for grants and such, were you military? that could also open some doors

Peterbilt 79

check your local community college. look in the newspaper in the classified section for trucking schools. look on the internet. also check into trucking companies that train and hire. schneider, central, swift, covenant, jb hunt

no military have checked the internet i have emailed a few with no response with help
will check out rest tomorrow

Well I guess.............

Here are the main options..........

1. Go to a college.tech school program..........
pro: Not a personal loan able to get grants to pay able to defer under student loan programs
con: School for long time generally 12-15 weeks depending on school


2. go to truck driving school
pro: get your CDL 3 weeks maybe more depends on you.
You do not have to sign a contract wih a company to work to pay school back
con: no guarantee of job
have to pay up front/loan which is a personal loan with interest rates based on credit

3. commit to a training company to have them train you
pro: They flip bill for CDL training closer to having a job
con: Sign a work contract to work for a period of time anywhere from 8 months to 2 years I think is the going rate now.

4. study get your CDL on yoour own
Pro: You pay for it.......you can study pass the written on your own and I am sure their is someone that can rent you a truck for the road test somewhere.
You owe no one and you have your CDL
con: No guarantee of job
Alot of companies are requiring schooling from accredited schools even for new drivers.

I am sure I probably missed something, but other eyes will fill in the holes.

Good luck...................J...........

[LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link. Here's a community college in Indiana. Otherwise Google Indiana community colleges truck driver training or something similar. There are many private and public courses in Indiana and Ohio.

well, my suggstion would be to make sure that this something that you REALLY wanna do..
i say that cause you have a 99% chance of becoming an OTR( over the rd ) driver before you can do local, or reginol. if your marred, have kids, or other plans, its something you really wanna think about. youll be away from home for long time.
i have this feeling your not sure about getting your cdl. im not sure why, and i could be wrong.
read all there is to read on this site. youll find just answers to just about everything here, and if you cant, simply post any question.
google truck driving school in your area.
someone somewhere is going to get you your cdl, weather you pay outa pocket or you lock into a company for a year or 2.
there are plenty of companies that will train you, and you pay nothing, the only thing you pay is working there for however long they say you have to work there to cover the cost of training.
best of luck to you, i hope all works out. and be sure to keep all of here updated as to how your making out.

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my dream of becoming an o/o and making something of myself is starting to become nothing more then a fairytale

thanks ken worth i emailed for info you are right, i am very nervious about changing careers. i have tried to change serveral times before but i am very hard to teach. i tried college and failed.
i do want to change and i do not want to be on the road for two yrs and hubby doesnt want that either.
however there are so many more benafits to having my cdl right now, that it would help our lives so much even i just drive a dump truck!!!! i wouldnt even mine driving a 24 ft truck or van right now. but i have to do something retail is slowly killing us, hours change every week health insurance is being cut from our pitty paychecks even if we make the hours or not. its always hard to change your career i know. but i want a better life then i have now. there are more jobs offerings for people who have cdl then in retail or merchandising. so i am willing to take the chance. how do they say it how do i know what i am good at unless i take this chance. i mean i drive all over the place now as it is for merchanidising, stocking and build stupid tv stands. why just get paid for the driving part?
i thank you for all the help and suggestions. i have appiled for a few programs and working on few more. so if anybody has more plmk. i repped the ones above thanks so much for your guidence. i hope that i can actually get my cdl.

I know what you are feeling right now. I have been working call centers for past 15 years and I want a change. I have always wanted to be a truck driver so it might be an easier change for me, but it is still hard to leave something you know... The best advise is read this site and search for answers to questions you want. This is one of the best sites for answers to questions everyone has had at one time or another. Everyone here seems to kind and willing to help. Best of luck to you.

i had a dream when i was a kid to drive a truck. its kinda werid never knew what i wanted to be when i grew up and every boss one or another asks the hardest question know to man how on earth do answer that question when the world changes everyday. and most of the time not to fit most peoples needs. i didnt even start driving till i was 21 yrs old. i was scared to death cuz my father was in very bad accident. and my uncle would freak out if i told i wanted to drive a truck lol. cuz i was so scared to even start driving. now i am the one who does the errands, the doctors appointments, shopping, merchandising from city to city, etc.
so i guess thats why i want to change that and the fact that retail sucks anymore! no hours, to much time in between paychecks, crapy benafits, crapy pay, and they want me to drive every where with out mileage reimburstment or gas help. like gas for a 6 cyc. is ez to come by! lol