General advice for new students (this is how it works)

Having read a bunch of newbie posts I have noticed some common misconceptions. I'll try to nail a few here and maybe some others might chime in...

Here's the process:
(prerequisits: basically clean driving record and a decent employment record. No felonies, DUIs, drug arrests etc. There are a few exceptions to this but it will be an uphill battle. They WILL check. You WILL be drug tested)

1) Get your CDL student permit. This is all on you and you have to do this before you go to school. Go to your local DMV and ask. They will explain it to you.
You will need to pass several tests. Some sort of general knowledge test, air brakes, endorsements like hazmat, tankers, doubles and triples...
You need to do this shortly before going to school. Some companies might not hire you if the tests are way old. Check with companies you might want to drive for and find out what endorsements they require. You can get the endorsements later but it's a hassle.

2) Go to school. There are all sorts of options. Company schools, private schools, 3, 4, 5, 12 week schools. Expensive schools and cheap schools. Search this site for reviews. Choose carefully. There are some really crappy schools out there.
You could, of course just go take the DMV test for your CDL, BUT unless you have experience driving a truck you will have no hope of passing. Even if you do pass, most companies will either tell you to go to school anyway or put you in a 'boot camp'. In short it's very unlikely you can pass on your own and get a decent job without going to school.

3) Find a job. Either before you start school or during. If you wait more than a month or so after school is over, companies might not hire you. It looks bad to them. But it's easy to find jobs. Any decent school will have recruiters and job announcements hanging around. Many companies will offer to hire you on the condition you finish school. Typically, they want you to go to specific schools, so check. Some will pay your way in all or part. There are a handful of big companies that hire new grads. Do your homework. Call the companies and ask. Never be afraid to call companies or schools. They generally love talking to newbies.

4) School is important. Soak up everything you can about life as a trucker. Understand that you will be tested by a DMV for your CDL. So learn that stuff carefully. Even after that, new employers will also test you. Then you will most likely drive with a finisher for a month or more. This is training/testing too. If the finisher thinks your an idiot/dangerous then you could be out even after completing all of the above.

5) At every step, be humble and ask questions. Schools, trainers, companies see tons of newbies that act like the worlds greatest trucker. They roll their eyes and put your paperwork on the bottom of the pile. Truckers need to be calm and even tempered. If you are excitable then do your best to turn it off. At every step you are always being assessed on safety. If you show any tendency to road rage or panic you will likely be tossed out at the first sign. Think about it: if you owned a $150k truck and trailer with a valuable cargo, who would you feel comfortable turning loose with it?

6) Long term: Some things you need to get used too right away: Chances are that carrying a gun is cause for immediate termination. Getting a CDL entails losing some civil rights. For example, police can search your truck without cause. The feds will track your safety record. On tough bone is that 'fault' is not a big factor in accidents etc. It goes on your record. What they are looking for is patterns of unsafe behavior. In other words, you can be terminated for events that were 'not your fault'. You are expected to avoid accidents regardless of 'fault'.

7) A lot has changed in the industry in recent years. Stay up to date. Most big companies are far far safer these days than they used to be. You will likely have an electronic log. Your truck might well have cameras installed. You will need to stay clean and understand that you are a representative of your company. The bad old days of fudging paper logs and driving zillions of miles are just about gone.

8 ) Drive for a year without changing companies. Take your time and the future will be better. Fantasizing about owning your own truck? You can do it but you can also lose everything. So don't rush it until you have a solid handle on how to make it work. Remember: if it's to good to be true, it likely is. This is not an industry that has 'easy money' available. No matter what route you take you will have to work hard at it.

 

At Con-way:
If you go to one of their recommended schools they will pay 50% of costs (transportation, food, lodging, tuition). If you do not graduate or make it to Con-way then you owe the money back to Con-way. Assuming you hire on and complete 7,500 +/- miles with a trainer, then after you haul one load the debt is forgiven. That's something like 5 weeks after you graduate.

Obviously, every company is different. Some have no in house training or tuition assistance. Some might reimburse you for some or all of your training. Some will expect you to work for up to a year or risk paying it back. Paying it out of pocket does give you more flexibility.

Moral of the story is to do your homework before you jump in.

Other options: Military GI bill will pay for some or all of the schooling. If you are on unemployment, some states will pay some or all of the costs. There are also private student loans. I heard, but have not verified that government student loans (Pell grants etc) generally are not applicable to these programs.

If you identify a few schools they can give you advice on funding options including which companies are known to help students.