Accreditation and Certification: important?

I went through the same thing when I was picking my school. It was between a little CDL school that said 15 days or the much bigger better school. I went with the better school, mainly because the GI Bill would cover it but also because of the hours. The course I'm taking is 160 truck hours and I could pick and choose what endorsements I wanted. Does either school have different courses or just one set amount of hours for your CDL?

 

The school I'm thinking on going to, is about 4-6 weeks long. It may not be as long as a community college, but it still is decent in length. 160 truck hours is a crazy amount of time; good for you! I don't think any school affects what endorsements you get, so that doesn't matter. It's all in the state-issued CDL book.

Now to answer your question: the school I am looking at has one set course. Another school which mind you not is almost $10k, has a few different options, with I think double the hours. I hear it's a very good school, but $10k? Not for me, I don't care how good it is.

 

I still have a little over a month left in the service so 160 hours wasn't much of a problem. Plus I just wanted to feel a little more comfortable with the truck when I'm done. Ya 10k is a bit much, but 4-6 weeks isn't bad.

 

No, that is a great deal! you will spend more time in the truck, than I will at my school, combined! Ha ha. Thank you for your service, Nedrudt! I hope your transition from the service (whatever branch you may be in) into civilian life (or your case, trucking) goes very smoothly! I thought 10k was a bit steep, when I could probably get the same quality of training, for half the price. I have some money to spend on trucking, but most of that will be just to get a permit, the license, endorsements, HazMat, TWIC card, Passport, books (for school), whiz quiz, and any other additional fees and commodities that I need to get during the process. I am not complaining, just saying anyway.

Are there any specific companies that you're looking at? Got any schools in your sights?

 

Thank you
Im actually in school at HDS in tucson right now. After looking through the forum a lot at all the starter companies I'm pretty set on Roehl. They do flatbed which is what I really wanted to get into. 21 days of orientation and pretty new trucks. Other ones were crete and schneider. Crete hires new drivers if you go through one of their selected schools, if not through their school it's a case by case basis. Schneider was my third choice. They have a program I was looking at called the choice program. It's pretty much leasing a truck and getting your own choice of what freight you haul. I've read and talked to people about it, lots of good things said but all in all a lease is a lease. I'd rather be a company driver for a year, make sure I like what I'm doing then go o/o.
Oh forgot to say, I got hired on with roehl working west coast regional. Getting a prehire and job offer anywhere is pretty easy so don't sweat it. It's all just sending them the application online. They'll send you a email saying they got your app, then maybe a day or two later you should get your prehire email. Make sure you call your recruiter after you get the prehire email. Then you get the official job offer and they schedule your orientation date. Lots of people at my school have no idea where their gona work after they get their license and most have signed up with the first company they saw.
What companies are you looking at so far?

 

That is awesome! Yes, I plan on getting many pre-hire letters. I know that it is not set in stone, but knowing you qualify for different companies before you get out, or even start school is an awesome feeling! You're playing it right, my friend, which is why you'll land a gig right out of school, when others are still looking.

I'm looking into Superior Carriers (still waiting to hear back from them), Maverick, Prime, Schneider (SNI), Maines Paper and Food Service Inc, TMC, Melton Truck Lines, and Arnold Transport. I am just starting to contact companies.

 

Nedrudt, the only problem, really, is my location right now. There are not a whole lot of companies that I am in the hiring area of. There are few, but far between. That is my biggest obstacle.

 

I know schneider has quite a few terminals in the NY area and all over the east coast. That might be your best choice of them all. Not sure about any others, maybe crete. Those are the only ones I've seen all the terminals for. Also you might now be in their hiring area but if it's where a lot of their pickups/ drops you might be a exception.

 

Most of the companies that I listed off in my previous post to you do hire within my area, but I am not fully done with my research, quite yet. I still have companies and schools to call, and a lot more time to put in on the internet. I will check into Crete. Thanks for the advice and assistance!

 

Hey H.S. Excellent post, was gonna contribute but we have already talked, 10 GRAND, from everything i know that is LUDICROUS, an i"m not talking about the rapper. I don"t remember if it was you or someone else that i said go with your gut, if it don"t feel rite RUN, run fast. It"s to bad about the logistics for you or we could"a been classmates, did you look into the W.I.A., for funding?