Hey guys, Im 24 years old, son and grandson of a trucker, and decided to follow in my ol mans footsteps. I just dont know where to start. I know i can go to a cdl school or find a company that will train me, so im just looking for some input on either good schools around me, or companys that are the closest or run a lot of loads through michigan. I live in grand rapids on the west side of the state. any help you guys give is greatly appreciated

Investigate West Michigan C.D.L., Inc. in Grandville. Also check Lansing Community College truck driver training which is based in Augusta near Battle Creek.

Aron, I'm from Grand Rapids also, and hope I can help you out with this. Since you are starting new, chances are likely you won't find a job running through Michigan all the time. You'll probably have to do a year of OTR before you can find something getting you home more often. Local companies hiring new drivers though, you could check out Gainey Transport, they have their own school they hire their students from. Also, the big companies like PAM, USA Truck, US Express, will send you to school, and pay your tuition after you have worked there for a year. I did that with USA Truck, went to C1 School in Fort Wayne, IN. Then I had to give USA a year of driving, and they took care of my tuition. You are only responsible for $1000 of it, but they deduct it out of your checks at $45/week. Did my year, then got a job at Equity Transport over on Fruit Ridge, start there tomorrow, seems like a good company so far though, but we'll see. But yes, your best bet is to look in the Sunday job section of the Press, most of the big companies advertise in there, and most of them will pay truck driving school tuition. Hope this helps ya.

Try Trainco Truck Driving school they have two schools in Michigan and one in Ohio

I went to ABC Training & Testing out of Jackson. Good school with great instructors.

I'm interviewing to become an instructor for ITS out of Holt, Kalamazoo, Monroe, Oakland and Canton. Heard good and bad about them but if I get hired in I'm going to try and turn their program around.

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2007 Kenworth T600 - 475 C15, 10 sp. (Company Truck )
2004 Chevy Cavalier - 2.2 5 sp. (My 4 wheeler )
1993 Chevy Suburban - 5.7 Auto (G/F 4 wheeler )

"Anyone who would trade a little liberty for a little order will lose both and deserve neither!" - Thomas Jefferson

Oh and BTW, it'll be hard to find a local run job but you can do it. I hired in with a local company fresh out of school but I had a friend in the company who put in a good word. Best bet is to do 2 years OTR and then look for something local. Most say a year but most of the job postings I see ask for 18 to 24 months experience.

__________________
2007 Kenworth T600 - 475 C15, 10 sp. (Company Truck )
2004 Chevy Cavalier - 2.2 5 sp. (My 4 wheeler )
1993 Chevy Suburban - 5.7 Auto (G/F 4 wheeler )

"Anyone who would trade a little liberty for a little order will lose both and deserve neither!" - Thomas Jefferson

I figured i would have to do the 2 year OTR before anything would come up. I checked in to west michigan cdl, it seems like a nice place but the 4500 bucks is a little steep. Has anyone ever delt with P.A.M transport out of kalamazoo?

Dont know how far you want to travel to school, but I went to Professional Drivers Institute in New Buffalo, MI. Very southwestern tip of the state. Do a Search they had a website with info. They have lifetime job placement.

hr career development in jackson mi they are ptdi certified