Why you should NOT attend company CDL training.

What school did you go to?

 

I also hope this does not get docked. I don't find any of it to be accurate. The cheapest school in my area was $7500 and that was a 3 month course. I went with a training company. Less than $4000 and it included lodging. No payroll deductions at all for school. 1 year commitment.

I have been treated well, my miles are always good. I have never felt they "own" me. That is a ridiculous statement. If you don't like the company quit! You will still pay less than you would have at a private school and you will at least have some experience. Set up a payment plan if you can't pay it out in 1 lump sum.

The choice for me was easy. I could have paid for either school out of pocket. I went the free route and invested my money instead. If I pay them $4000 for less than a years work that's fine with me.

This argument should NOT be about private versus company training. It should be about the training companies. They are not all created equally. Do your due diligence. Find a company that works for you and makes sense.

 

Excellent points. Thanks for your input. I'm from NH and I can't get a tanker endorsement unless I am actually taking the test in a tanker, but the school I am looking at, and getting more and more serious about attending, will help with everything else. It's one of the most expensive though. $6040 to be exact, and they don't have lodging on campus, BUT they did indicate pitching a tent in the parking lot could be acceptable.

For those interested it's Northeast Technical Institute in Maine. The admissions woman I spoke with, in person, was definitely not a sales woman, she knew what they offered and she stood behind it. The ball is in my court. Several of the major carriers including schnieder recruit from them, and they assign two people to help you, one to help you navigate through the school process (keeping you on track for getting your CDL) and the other who is dedicated to finding you a job by the time you graduate. I don't mean to sound like i'm 'selling' the school to you, but based on what i have been reading and the info I have received from you all so far in the last few days, I am very convinced this program is worth its salt, despite its cost.

 

You know it seems no one understands that every different situaiotn has a different solution, and while those who think company training is the worst, I think it has a purpose.

The real problem is when things go bad or the person just can't drive, there are issues that the person seems to blame the company for right away, like they are getting screwed. This isn't a profession when it easy as some claim it is to get a license and drive and really shouldn't be because there are already enough bad drivers out there in 4 wheelers so we don't need them in trucks too.

The person also doesn't think when they sign on to get training, they end up complaining about doing a year or even 6 months in the truck and making money to pay off their debt, a debt no one made them take on I must add but they complain instead of just doing the time and getting it out of the way. A company doesn't own anyone, there are rules they have to live by and so does the driver who completed their training, which is part of the debt.

SO I recommend thinking about this profession carefully, not jumping into it because it is no cure for a lack of a job or a lack of a career. Too many times you will be in a hurry to get something done but you need to understand what you are getting into and then fulfil your commitment.

Where can you get a four year degree for 10k in this country?

I would love to know. My schooling costs were a lot more than 10k a year, let alone for the entire degree.

The only reason there are worthless degrees is the people pick the wrong ones in the first place and they could use the degree to get themselves into the door of a good job but don't know how to leverage that degree into that opportunity.

Where did you hear that? NH is a written test, not a road test - they conform to the FMCSA requirements for testing.

 

seeing that he lives in NC as I do we both had the same program just in different places. NC community college system has an outstanding 8 week, 380hr. program that is standardized at the community colleges across the state. living where he does it was probably johnston, county. I went to Davidson county. the programs are both the same however, $854 all inclusive except the physical which is out of pocket. total cost around $950 including the physical.

I was way better prepared for my road test/orientation than the other students in my group. they all failed. they could hardly drive forward, much less backward lol......the extra seat time and class time at 8 weeks over the 3 week wonders from the cdl mills showed. I was the only one that made it past the first day.

The programs at the CC system in NC is the way to go if you live here. Good company contacts as well, in addition to the usual suspects, they also are in with a bunch of smaller, better than average companies that like to hire their graduates.

 

Well did you get a degree in ancient architecture or in linguistics specializing in dead languages?

There are a lot of different useless degrees out there that are liberal arts based but I can't see anyone in a technical type of degree having a hard time finding a job unless they live here in Michigan.

My point is that even though you may be one of the people who faced the problems with your education, others haven't and many that I know never decided to take advantage of their degree, like EE or ME degrees where there are jobs.

ALSO you got to wonder how this is an example of the real problem with businesses, I heard several times that carriers get subsidies for hiring foreign workers or for training people and dumping them but I think that is BS because no one has come up with proof. On the other hand you provided the proof that when there is an emerging market, keep government out of it or it may just go away.

 

I found something that said Swift was $3900 taken out of your pay at a rate of $150/month for 13 months. If you quit before that time, you owe a prorated amount of $300/month for the remainder of the 13 months. So, if you quit after 7 months, 13-7 = 6, 6*300 = $2400 owed to the company. If you make it to the 13 month mark, you're free and clear.
Also, according to what I've read, Swift will pay you an additional $150/month for your second 13 months until you've been totally reimbursed for what you paid into it. Sounds like an alright deal if you can get decent miles.
But, like I said, it's something I've read on a site that I can't personally confirm, and I don't know any Swift drivers, so it is what it is.