Company Sponsored Training or Independent Schools?

It's not arrogance at all.

My point there is that it's a bit frustrating when you come here and ask for advice and then seem to want to argue with those taking their time to try to give you information. That's the height of arrogance in my opinion. But I'm not going to get into "name calling".

It just seems as though you don't appreciate the advice when you argue it. Also, just FYI, when you do that, you cause some who may have useful information for you to just not post because they get the impression that they would be wasting their time because you're just going to argue with them anyway.

Yeah, information received at a truck stop is SO RELIABLE!!

I personally don't hang out at truck stops and don't plan to when I start driving for someone.

Not the most positive environment in my opinion. But that's just me.

You're missing the point! The point I was making applies to all company schools. Just because you haven't heard of it happening at Prime doesn't mean it hasn't/can't or won't.

Tell you what, just eliminate the word "Prime" from the conversation and instead substitute "company school" or "training company".

That way the emotional attachment to Prime (whether you realize you have it or not, it's comes through in your posts) is eliminated.

So, remove "Prime" from the conversation and see if that changes your perspective.
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You're welcome.

I would recommend that you build a list of companies that you feel you might want to drive for and talk with their recruiters about from which driving schools they accept drivers.

I think that you'll find that most accept community college graduates and/or many other schools so long as the course provides a minimum of 160 hrs of training.

Keep in mind that if you go the community college route, you may find that you have to pay little, if anything out of pocket to attend. There are workforce grants and other programs to help you with the costs of attending.

Of course there is with CDL mills too, but they don't have access to all of the funding sources that community colleges do.

BTW, just to be clear, I'm not saying that Prime is bad and you shouldn't work for them. My concern for you is that you're thinking of attending a "company school", ANY "company school"!!

 

You're right, I do tend to generalize when it comes to company training. That's because I did so much research before I decided where to go to driving school. And you know what? The common theme running through, most if not all, company schools was that there were far more negatives than positives.

And the irrefutable FACT with attending a company school is that you have EXACTLY ONE PLACE to work when you get out - ONE! The company that runs the company school, PERIOD. That's it!

I just like to have OPTIONS, and I was trying to encourage you to go somewhere that will give you OPTIONS.

Let me make this very simple:

Company School = ONE potential employer
Independent School = DOZENS of potential employers

It's just that simple. If options are not important to you, then by all means go to a company school. If you do, I sincerely hope that company does hire you and keeps you around long enough for you to have paid back the cost of your tuition.

You're right. But just FYI most of the guys "who's been in the trucking industry for 20+ years" know VERY LITTLE, IF ANYTHING, about today's driving school options. Many of them never even went to a driving school because the insurance companies didn't require it back then.

I live in an area where you can't throw a rock or swing a stick and not hit a truck driver. Many with decades of experience. And guess what? The ONLY ONES that I talked with who had more than 10 years experience who had a clue about driving schools were current TRAINERS. And the ONLY reason that they had a clue was because they had to train the guys coming out of driving schools.

You're right, I am a student. And NEVER in ANY of my posts have I claimed to have "any experience in this industry at all", on the contrary, I've repeatedly stated that I didn't on multiple threads.

HOWEVER, I do have some experience to share when it comes to picking a driving school as I have VERY RECENTLY gone through the EXACT SAME decision making process that you are faced with now.

And I was headed in EXACTLY the same direction as you, to a company school. UNTIL I educated myself on the various driving school choices.

So, who knows more about a topic: One who has just gone through the exact same decision making process on that topic, or someone who either has NEVER had to make such a decision or who had to make one 10 years ago?

Bottom line, if you don't want to give my advice any credence, then don't.

I was late for class the other morning because I wanted to post something here for you in order to try and keep you from making a terrible mistake. I don't know you from Adam and it makes NO DIFFERENCE AT ALL TO MY LIFE if you wind up stuck at a company school or go to an independent one that provides you with more choices. No difference in my life at all.

So, if you don't want to take my advice, don't.

But just maybe someone else is faced with the same decision and they are reading these these posts and will find them valuable and appreciate them and it will keep them from making a terrible mistake.

You see what you don't know is that I have immediate family members who manage/work-in a truck stop and have for quite some time. So, you see, I'm much more familiar with them than you think I am.

I'm well aware of the "quality of the information" and the atmosphere of truck stops.

And I know that I'll have to use them professionally in my job, but that doesn't mean that I have to hang out in them. I'll do my business with them and move on.

And I don't necessary dislike truck stops, I'm just familiar with them and would not use them as a reliable source of information or inspiration. And they're not a place that I would choose to spend any of my off-duty time unless absolutely necessary.

But that's just my opinion. And you know the old saying about opinions.

You see, I don't have "a problem". I've already done my research and made my school choice. So, I don't have a problem when it comes to picking a school.

That problem has already been "stated", "hypothesis formulated", "information gathered", "hypothesis tested", "data from hypothesis testing gathered", "data evaluated" and a "conclusion drawn".

And I actually can put "every company school in the same boat" in one area and that is that they train drivers to work for THEIR OWN COMPANY!

Thus EVERY company school limits your options to where you can work upon graduation to EXACTLY ONE!

Do you think that if I went to Company A's driving school and then didn't go to work there that Company B would want to hire me? Probably not.

Company B would be wondering why I didn't go to work for the company whose school I attended.

Or if I did work for Company A for a very short time, probably not long enough to have paid back my tuition, do you think that Company B would still want to hire me? They certainly wouldn't want to cut a check to a potential competitor's driving school to provide "tuition reimbursement" like they might with an independent school.

Perfectly logical.

Now on the flip side - if I go to an independent school, I can go to work at any company I want who will hire students from that school. That's why it's important to talk with the companIES that you want to drive for to see if they accept students from the independent schools you are considering.

BTW, just to be clear, I have NEVER in this thread posted ANYTHING ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE TRAINING AT COMPANY SCHOOLS - NEVER!

My concern about them is that you have EXACTLY ONE PLACE TO WORK AFTER YOU GRADUATE with a company school and DOZENS with an independent school (provided they're a respected school).

Let's put it this way.

What would one do IF they attend a company school and then for whatever reason it doesn't work out with that company after school?

Chances are, they'd have to start all over and attend another school, huh?

But this time, they'd not only be paying to attend another school, but they'd also probably have a bill to pay at their old company school.

For me personally, the company that I thought I wanted to work for, won't hire me because they have a policy against someone having a long recent period of unemployment. So, it didn't work out with my first choice. And it might not work out with your first choice either, for many possible reasons.

But because, I'm going to an independent school, I have "hiring approvals" from 5 other great companies. So, I have OPTIONS that one doesn't have when they attend a company school.

And that's my only desire for you in posting all this and arguing with you over all of this. It's to talk you into making sure that you give yourself some OPTIONS. Because things don't always work out as we plan them to. I'm living proof of that.

I have no other agenda other than to try to keep you from making the VERY SAME MISTAKE THAT I ALMOST MADE!

Don't become an "indentured servant". Go to a school on your own (there are many funding sources available, especially if you have been out of work for any length of time) and give yourself OPTIONS.

You're welcome.

 

Sorry, I thought this thread was about company sponsored verses Independent schools, so that's why in interpreted your information gathering at truck stops to be related to TRAINING, since this is the topic of this thread.

You're right, talking with truckers is a good way to get input on who you might want to work for after you're trained, etc.

You're welcome. And don't worry about being the cause for me being late, you're not. I chose to take the time to post here, you didn't force me, or even cause me to do so. I did it on my own for the reasons stated earlier.

As I stated above, I thought you were talking about truck drivers with lots of experience advising you on SCHOOLS, not where you might want to end up working.

When it comes to the industry, they're obviously the best source of information.

It's about flexibility and having OPTIONS. When you go to a company school you're putting all your eggs in one basket. That's not the case with an independent school.

That's right, there's no guarantees that I'll like where I go, regardless of where I went to school. And there's no guarantee that you will like the company whose school you attended either.

But there's a BIG difference in the two scenarios.

If I go to a company that I don't like, I can leave that company without getting a bill for $5K for their training school. Also, while I'm at that company, I won't be having money deducted from my pay or working for a significantly lower mileage rate in order to pay the tuition for school.

Had I gone to a company school, I would be committed to them for a period of time, anywhere from 12-36 months, probably at a significantly lower mileage rate, to pay for the school, or I'd get a big bill when I left.

Once again, it's about flexibility!

You're right, it wouldn't look good on my resume if I left a company after only a few months. But at least there wouldn't be any question about my driving school.

Again, I haven't said anything about the quality of training in these exchanges. I've been focused on the number of options you have when you graduate.

I tell you what. Do this. Call a couple of reputable companies and tell them that you've completed another company's driving school, but then either wasn't hired by them, or left after only a few months and let them tell you how "valuable" that CDL and diploma is to them.

I'm pretty sure that you'll find that you're not "at the same page" at all as someone who attended an independent school.

COMPLETELY INACCURATE ASSUMPTION!! The cost of my community college school is WAY LESS than any of the company schools with whom I spoke. For that matter, it was also WAY LESS than any of the local 'CDL mills", like TDI, in my area.

I hope you wind up at an independent school. And I've been trying to tell you "something a company training will not offer" you and that is OPTIONS, the flexibility to choose among many companies, not just the one whose school you attended!

You're very welcome!

 

As soon as a real good company training program becomes available,

you'll hear about it.

Until then,

community colleges offer the most bang for your buck !!!!

 

Actually, you don't know how much or how little of my school I had to pay for out of my own pocket.

Let's put it this way, a community college has access to funding sources that company schools and even other independent schools don't have access to. Of course an independent school will be glad to get the grants that they can and then finance what you can't have covered with things like workforce training grants and the like.

In my case, the company training that I looked into was on par with the cost of tuition at TDI and a couple were a little more. But then, I wasn't looking at any BFIs. TDI was $5995.

With a workforce training grant of $1500, I was looking at having to finance that balance of $4500 which was way more than the total costs of my community college course. And with the additional grants and scholarships available to community college students, I'll walk out of school with a balance owed of exactly ZERO DOLLARS.

Dang man! Now, you're just looking for stuff to argue with me about!

I CLEARLY STATED in my post that had I attended a company school "I would be committed to them for a period of time, anywhere from 12-36 months, probably at a significantly lower mileage rate, to pay for the school, or I'd get a big bill when I left."

So, what's your argument with that statement other than just a desire to argue. I CLEARLY SAID "anywhere from 12-36 months". Geez!

Sounds like you're more interested in being right, than having a beneficial conversation.

It's not important whether YOU "see any differences there" or not. What does matter is whether the other companies would see a difference or not. And my money's on that they DEFINITELY WOULD.

But, don't take my word for it. As I said in my previous post,

"Do this. Call a couple of reputable companies and tell them that you've completed another company's driving school, but then either wasn't hired by them, or left after only a few months and let them tell you how "valuable" that CDL and diploma is to them."

Please, put the company school Kool-Aid down and step away from the the Kool-Aid!

I seriously doubt you're so naive as to actually believe what you just wrote there.

But if you are, then I encourage you to do what I said above and in my previous post:

Call a couple of reputable companies and tell them that you've completed another company's driving school and then left after only a few months and let them tell you how "valuable" that CDL and diploma from that other company's school is to them.

I think you'll be in for a rude awakening.

To me, the least important aspect of choosing a school was the costs to go there. I was most interested in the school's reputation, the quality of their instructors, equipment and training and most of all having the FLEXIBILITY to go wherever I want to any company would want to hire me after graduation.

Even the "local independent schools" have an agenda when it comes to placement assistance. They try to steer their graduates to the companies that provide them the highest kickbacks, uh, excuse me, I mean "referral fees". How do I know this, well, let's just say that I know some people who work for some of these "so-called" independent schools. They're only slightly more "independent" than a company school.

The community colleges can't accept such kickbacks, uh, I mean, "referral fees", so they don't have a vested interest in trying to steer their graduates to one company or another. They're more interested in helping students find the RIGHT company for them because my instructors and the program overall are judged by their funding sources on how many graduates get jobs upon graduation as well as how many are still employed after 1 year.

Prime allows pets? Really? In all their divisions? Most reefer companies won't allow pets, it's a sanitation issue related to the fact that they're hauling FOOD.

If I were you, I'd get clarification as to if they allow pets in all of their divisions or not. I don't see a problem in the flatbed or tanker division, but I'd be surprised, and actually a bit concerned, if they allow pets in their reefer division.

I don't think that Schneider allows pets at all. I seem to remember them citing insurance concerns with having a pet in their tractors.

Don't know, don't care about Werner, personally wouldn't be caught dead in one of their trucks. They seem to be about a half a notch above Swift, and I wouldn't want to drive for either of them.

BTW, Werner was on the first version of my list of where I might want to work. That was before I did much, if any, research on them. Once I did, they immediately came off my list. But that's just me. I'm sure lots of people love them.

 

This is a quote from "Consumer and Student Guide to CDL Training, Truck Driving Schools, and Trucking Jobs"


"There is only one organization that currently certifies truck driving courses: The Professional Truck Driver Institute (PTDI), located in Alexandria, Virginia. PTDI certification is voluntary. A school is not required to become certified. But a certified school is probably the best guarantee that a truck driving school maintains high truck driver training standards.
PTDI has developed three sets of strict standards that they apply to truck driving schools that want to be certified. PTDI will inspect the school and determine whether the standards are met. If they are met, the school's course is certified (schools are not certified) and the school can advertise that it teaches a course certified by PTDI. The three standards are for Skills, Knowledge and Curriculum. Skill standards are the basic skills an entry level driver should have (shifting, backing, vehicle inspection, etc.). As you might guess, knowledge standards describe the basic information a driver should know (how to plan a trip, licensing requirements, accident procedures and cargo documentation, for example). Finally, PTDI's curriculum standards identify the minimum course of instruction a truck driving school must present, including topics addressed and hours required for class, truck lab and driving. PTDI's standards for a school in this regard are very high. For example, PTDI requires that every student individually have at least 44 hours of driving instruction behind the wheel. That's a lot of driving time, and it cannot include any hours observing. (See Observation Time below).
There a number of advantages to PTDI certification. Students know that the training should be high quality, that they will receive a lot of driving experience and that the school has made the extra effort to demonstrate it is committed to the best training. Plus, the trucking industry has great respect for PTDI graduates because they know they are getting the best. They also know that their own company "finishing training" training costs will be lower because the student is well trained already. So, students that graduate from a top quality program benefit in the wallet as well because they require less training by the employer. Therefore they can drive solo sooner and earn more money faster. New drivers that attend short programs or get inadequate training can get stuck in the carrier's training program at a low weekly pay rate for a long time. We think PTDI sets a great standard that benefits everyone."


I hope this helps some. I plan on attending CDL College Truck Driving School in Aurora Colorado in the first quarter of 2012. It is PTDI Certified. I am sure there are other schools that are PTDI Certified also, but I live in Grand Junction Colorado and I plan on attending soon and applying to Stevens Transport for work.

There are many considerations and this is just one. I know of one school that is PTDI certified but after visiting their school, I wouldn't go there. They are much closer to me but the trucks they use are old and beat up. CDL College school trucks are much nicer and newer. I don't want to mention their name because you know the old saying "If you don't have anything nice to say ........................................."


gary

 

Seems to be a few Community colleges listed here:
http://www.jobsintrucks.com/Driver-Schools/California/

But even some of the college's look to be affiliated with private schools. --Not sure how much better or cheaper that would be, but worth a phone call to find out...

How would you feel about Coalinga Community College being your Alma mater ?

Unfortunately California really doesn't like truck drivers or the industry, and it shows in their educational offerings. If you wanted to be a social worker there isn't a community college in this State that couldn't set you right up!