Community college or cdl school

The instructors at a college are employees that have extensive background checks and experience. Their curriculum is thoroughly planned and have the finances to provide the best equipment and training aids. Plus you have many more gov't backed financing options.

Many of these CDL schools are drivers with alot less experience that pop up for shear profit as quick as possible. You never know if your instructor is someone with 5 years experience that hated driving and started a school. You might drive an outdated truck that is a piece of junk equivalent to a $500 car. What they know is what you learn.

A schools purpose is to get you to pass your CDL test. But it is also the foundation of your career. There is alot of rules and regulations and a bunch of other stuff that is good to know before you start driving. After all it is your career and future. You can look on this forum and there is alot of experienced drivers that don't know all of the regulations. You get that training in a good classroom.

These companies that train their own prey on student drivers to boost their profits with low cost labor.

Community college training didn't exist when I started. But if it did, I would of went that route.

 

community college without a doubt.....

I did over a year of extensive research into all the options before I decided on the community college program I went to and the advantadge are many and the disadvantages are few to none.

lower cost
better training
more seat time
more backing time
better job prospects
better instructors
generally local and you don't sleep in a hotel every night

and you can have more than a few employers who come to the school giving you more options......as well as being able to take that training into the open market and do your own jobs search as well if you desire, as opposed to being a 'company sponsored and subzidized slave' for a year.

community college if you can get it. every time.

 

I am into my 3rd day at Crowder college. I have no regrets the training is top notch

 

I went to a private school, and they simply taught me to pass the test. Thank goodness I had already driven a "kiddie cart" for a few yrs and am used to larger CDL vehicles. If I had to do it again, I would have gone to a community college or tech school. The private school (CDI) just seemed to want that money and nothing more. They handed me a good load of BS to get me to sign their papers, and I was taught the basic minimum and treated like a child by director. I got my HazMat on my own. They didn't even do that much.

 

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

 

i am going for a 15 week course starting in march of 2012 rats missed out on the nasty winter weather that never showed up and it dont look to good for next month

going to iowa central community college in fort dodge iowa

 

I am in Georgia and am considering one of the technical schools, hopefully with a Hope Grant...which makes the cost for CDL in the low hundreds. Even without a Hope Grant the likes of Chatahoochee Tech "only" charge around $1700 for their complete CDL program. The downside as you mention is that it takes 3 times as long to finish as most any other.

I don't know, I think a community college and/or state technical school comes across as a little more serious than Joes Trucking School. It definitely seems you get more training in George technical schools.

 

you could always come to iowa and come to school with me

 

Who published this guide anyway ?PTDI promoting their schools ? The guide isn't available at any bookstores . O.K. found it . Truckschoolusa . A webpage sponsored by CDL mills . How impressive . They even sell "secrets" on how to pass a CDL exam . I really love those internet secrets .

 

I'd say get a two year degree from a community college, transfer to a college or university and get a bachelors. Skip the CDL altogether.