College CDL course

Community college CDL schools overall have an excellent reputation. You don't need a course longer than 160 hrs. though, but if the course is longer then go for it anyway, but at least 160 hrs. minimum. While there, get all the endorsements, TWIC, passport if you want the good paying tanker jobs. Texas is great tanker country and many hire new CDL graduates.

Here's some good tanker companies in Texas that hire new CDL graduates:
Check the wabsites.

SVTN
Trimac
Schneider Bulk
CTL Transportation
Superior Carriers

 

Good plan but make sure the college u want to attend offer cdl training during the summer . some community college rather waittill the fall of the yr or next spring semester to start it up again.

How RU paying for this??? Check out what Texas has for grants for trucking !!! . good luck ..

 

Before you waste your GI Bill on a CDL, look into carriers that will do your training for free in return for 1 year of driving for them. Save your GI Bill for a real education, and a 4-year degree.

 

Not true what you've heard about community colleges truck driving courses ... they are far and away superior to those run of the mill truck driving schools that just spit drivers out by the hundreds. If you go to a community college that is state supported on their cdl program your costs will be greatly reduced. I went to one about 30 years ago and the costs for a 12 week course was $78.00 plus a few dollars for books etc. Because the school I went to was totally state supported and a not for profit entity ... there was no incentive on their part to generate graduates who were not competent to drive a truck and their jobs were not dependent on cash inflow from new trainees. They totally acted as though they didn't care wether you graduated or not ... however they were never disrespectful or haughty to the students, they were always helpful, answered any questions and were extremely knowledgeable on all aspects of trucking. They were not there to hold your hand ... in fact everytime you did something that was basically wrong ( like grabbing hold of a steering wheel to pull yourself into the cab ) you would be issued a demerit point and once you had exceeded the maximum allowable you were sent home. It may seem a little hard ... but it was fair ... and when you graduated from that school you were able to drive a truck or you would have been sent home long before graduation. When I graduated I was given a letter from the school and simply took it to the DMV and was issued a Class A license ( they didn't have CDLs back then ) and then I went to a company the school had set me up with and drove a few years with them OTR and then went local hauling gas and never looked back. IMO community colleges are the ONLY way to go in obtaining a CDL. Beats the heck out of going to a school and then not being able to pass a road test for a prospective employer.

 

We're talking about a vet's GI Bill educational benefits. That's something that can be used to obtain a degree in engineering, law, business. Using it to learn to drive a truck is a total waste.

 

Lot of guys out there and here on this site with 4 year degrees...some even with graduate degrees. Don't discount trucking as a choice. In todays world lots of college graduates are finding out the degree they worked to get for 4 years is not very marketable. If the OP decides to further his education with a cc CDL course ...his choice. Some of us did very , very well for ourselves in trucking.

 

Well you're talking to one. BSEE, MSEE. And I do quite well in trucking... a nice change of pace after life in the cubes. However, what about 10 years down the line? Taking something like the GI Bill education benefit and using it to learn to drive a truck is just a plain waste of something that you earned with your blood. A 4-year degree not being marketable? Might want to talk to your doctor about that the next time you pay him a million bucks to cure a hangnail. A 4-year degree in art history with a major emphasis on underwater basket weaving? Not so much.

Oh yeah, I'm a Vietnam era vet too...

 

You might want to talk to your doctor about how long it took him to become one. Lol, I can promise you it was no where near just a 4 year degree.