I want to start driving a truck as a career.

If you go the company route you are going to be there a month full time. You will probably live in one of their dorm rooms or a motel and you won't really be able to work during that time. So also have some cash in hand to keep yourself above water.

My company gave me a dorm room and provided me 3 meals a day while I was there. But everything else I wanted or needed, I had to pay.

Once I got out of the driving academy, I went on the road for 6 weeks and was paid 500.00 a week.

Once I finished that training and upgraded, my pay went up from that 3x.

So depending on your finances you need to know it will be some time before you get good money. I ended up selling some stocks and used that. After I finished I was able to buy back and also a lot more. So it's a good ROI if you do a bit of research and land somewhere decent.

Not every company is the same as the one I went to, they all have their own deals. So make sure you understand them and make sure you have to finance yourself while you are learning.

 

I'm currently attending an 8 week PTDI-certified truck driving school at a local community college. It's a 320 hour course. No one in my class will be job hunting long. There are at least 10 regional companies with 2 hours.

 

For company sponsored training, they have their own deals. My company didn't take anything out of my check. They just wanted me to drive for them for 1 year and my debt would be forgiven. That was forgiven 1 year ago, been there 2 years now.

Make sure you know before signing the terms of your agreement. In my case, every week I drove for them, reduced my school balance. So if I owed 4,000 for their school, and only drove for them for 6 months, then left, I would have had to pay the company 2,000. Not the full 4,000.

 

Thats $192 an hour. There is NOTHING that anyone can teach a noob about trucking in an hour that is worth that kind of money.

And 12 hours.. Thats one real life shift, a short one actually. Even jumping in for OJT on a real day at work with a trainer, you wont learn all you need to know in one day. Im not saying $2300 is too much, im saying 12hrs is too little. Youll know about as much as if someone else took your test for you.

That means day one at work for real, all on your own.. Youll have way more issues for lack of seat time. Issues cut careers short.

 

Long Island area cdl schools are all very short from what I can find researching.

 

$500.00 for Millis Transfer:
CDL-A School | Millis Transfer
https://www.millistransfer.com/cdl-a-school

 

But not 12 hours.

 

Trucking company schools are ok, depending on where you live. If the are no 160 hr. school on, or near, Long Island so you can commute each day, then consider trucking company schools that have meals and lodging provided. They also will bus you to the school to check in and get started.