I m a newbe and have a few questions

As for companies to go with, almost all of the major companies that run training programs do it to fill the seats in their long haul, over the road trucks. They like to put drivers in there that will stay gone for 14-21 days at a time, then maybe get home for 2-3 days before they send them out again. There simply aren't many places these guys run that stay intra state, with good home time. Some of the companies (Hunt, Schneider, Werner, etc) do have local operations that stay pretty close to one area, doing hauling with day cabs areound major cities. But, most of those jobs aren't people out of their training systems either.

It's always been tough to get started in this business and get the home time that you want to have. In years past, before the insurance and regulatory people were so deeply involved, getting a commercial license was pretty easy, and it was enough to get you on with someone locally that ran trucks in the hometown area. Now, with the CDL, and the emphasis put on insurance and driver quals, it's really hard to get hired without having experience. And the big companies with in house schools know this and exploit it to keep their truck seats filled. They know most of their drivers won't stay with them long term, but they keep the seats filled at cheap wages, and they are one of the main reasons why the industry has 120% turnover rates.

My suggestion would be this. Try to find a good community college run CDL training program and go through it. They concentrate on teaching, have well qualified teachers, and run decent equipment to do the training on. And, once you are trained , they have good contacts with reputable companies and a decent job search/hiring program. If your financial state is such that you need assistance, they have professionals in finding funding to get you through the course, and their costs are reasonable since they operate under a charter to provide service to the community.

Second choice would be a commercial drivers school, but there's quite a gap between first and second. There are some good schools out there, but some are just quickie training mills trying to get you through quickly at higher than neded prices. And, many of them function as shills for trucking companies, so their job seeking programs are kind of suspect. But there are also a way to get a CDL.

Once you have a CDL, you chances of getting a job are somewhat better than not having one. It expands your search beyond the people with in house schools, and brings you up out of the starting slave wages that get paid to trainees. Look around at local jobs like construction, agricultural, and some areas that use trucks but don't do trucking as their proimary business. They are more likely to have openings and be able to put you on without the insurance hassles that truckin only firms do. Many large farms have full time drivers, but it covered under the farm insurance. You may have to drive a tractor planting a few months a year, but it's a place to be until you have experience built up that you can use to apply to a trucking company. The goal is to get 2 years worth of experience under your belt, and then you can apply to almost anyone in the industry. And farmers deliver their grain in the winter, so you can show all weather driving experience, which is a big factor that trucking companies want when they hire you.

Once you get the experience level covered, then you can look for companies that do short haul in your area. Central Transport is and example of someone that runs a lot in the eastern Mich area, doing a lot of hauling for the auto industry. There are a lot of short hauls from one factory to another, and with some experience you should be able to pick your job with various companies. Additionally, there are many companies that haul Less Than Truckload (LTL) freight, and their drivers are home pretty much daily. And there are refuse haulers that run that area and are home daily.

I wish there were more encouraging words I could give you about getting started, but this is a somwwhat miserable business to get started in, and pretty good once you get past that point. Hometime gets better if you look around and find the right job, and once you have the skills and the experience, you can pretty much write your own ticket, in an industry that has a shortage of drivers.

 

By the way, if you look through this board, you might find that I have given the "Farm Worker" advice in the past. I'm not a recruiter for the farming industry (if there is such a thing), but just a truckdriver. But realizing the problems of getting started in this business while trying to get the first two years in with some kind of a homelife, it's one of my recommendations. Since the major companies kind of keep the front door closed and the only way to get in is to have their password, I am a firm believer in going to the side door and seeing if I can slip in. By using a non traditional way of getting your experience, you bypass the training system setup by the trucking companies that prey on beginning drivers. And most farmers are overjoyed to have good compentent dependable help.

Another couple of advantages to the farming method is that you can go down to the DMV, take the written test and get an "F" endorsement on your license and driveon the farm and locallywith that. After you have some experience, you can upgrade to the CDL "A" by taking the road test. And if you are a good employee at the farm, you probably can borrow a suitable truck and trailer from your employer.

It's all about gettuing through the first two years, getting the experience, and not getting burned out by a company that abuses rookie drivers. That's what I am shooting for when I give advice. The goal isn't to get you behind a wheel today, but to make sure you are there to get behind the wheel in the future as well. My 02.

 

You'll find that even the starting wages in this part of transportation are compatable with what you are making now. Typically driving starts as low as 25-28k per year at the poorest paying outfits, and goes up. I did the same route I am talking about, but I got into it because I liked farming and was kind of at loose ends when I retired from the military in 97. I worked one year as a foreman for a company that ran about 6 trucks hauling liquid waste, and then went to work on a farm full time for the next 5 years. The owner decided to sell out the farm while the prices were good, and since I had been driving for 5 years hauling fulltime for our local Co-op, I had valid experience to use in finding a job. My first full time year with my current company, I made over 53k and averaged being home 2-3 nights a week, and ran one day every other weekend. This year, I just got the mid year paycheck, and hit 70 dollars under 30k for the first half, so the projected income is 60k, plus my military pension.

There is good money here and decent work schedules, but the really good outfits don't blitz the airwaves and magazines with ads. They just don't have to. The biggest thing I have ever seen from us is an ad in the paper, and it was 2 inches wide by 3 inches long. We run about 700 trucks, but would rather have a truck sit empty than find the wrong driver to put in the seat. Some companies will put anyone in a truck, and burn them out, some companies try to keep their drivers for the long haul. (pun intended!)

 

Visit the Professional Truck Driver Institute site and size them up. I am not sure if this is associated with another school in Michigan that operated under the same or similar name previously, but if it is, they have massive complaints against them, or did as of a couple of years ago. The school you named is not accredited from what I see.

http://www.ptdi.org/index.htm

List of schools with certified training programs:

http://www.ptdi.org/schools/index.htm

Pay particular attention to the checklist of items that determine a good course from a bad one.

 

There is a PTDI school down on the state line near New Buffalo Michigan. Don't knoiw if it's the one that has had problems before or not. I see the place quite a bit, always got the impression they are running on a tight budget. Equipment is primarily old road tractors, some from CRST, looks pretty well worn out. But, this is all eyeball commentary, so take it for what it is worth.

 

Here's another couple of possible side door entries into the industry. Try dockwork with an LTL (Less than truckload) company like Roadway, Estes, Yellow, Fedex, Abf, etc... Some of them have programs where you start their, learn the job, do some yardwork, and then can get a CDL Pay is in the 15-17 dollar range per hour on the dock, and since they are starting to advertise more for drivers, they are likely to put on someone that wants to learn to drive.

And if you can get your CDL, I have seen ads where ABF is bringing in people with a new CDL, and putting them through company training at their school in FT Smith Arkansas.

Almost all LTL work is daily work, usually in day cabs so there is almost no overnight stuff.

For many years, the major LTL companies have never advertised for drivers. But over the last few months, I have been surprised to see how many of them are starting to advertise for drivers in the freebie truckstop magazines. It indicates that the driver shortage is having an effect on them as well as the truckload carriers.

 

This could be an issue but since you have not had a seizure in 10 years and not taking meds the doctor may let it slide but you may need a statement from your doctor.

There are three items that would cause a failure on the physical right off, seizures, high blood pressure and diabetes that you need to take insulen with shots.