company school or driving school?

I'm waiting for my seasonal layoff then going thru unemployment.I'd rather pay for it myslef and not owe anyone. If i had to go to a company school roehl or schneider would be my first calls.

 

Trucking School is much better, you are not binded by an contract and can leave whenever you want....I can refer you to a good Trucking School, the one I went to...Allwin Trucking School, Corona, CA. I was done with training in no time with very cheap hotel accomodation. Its a good school...call them for assistance.

 

Two questions -
- Reading the CDL training requirements, most seem to ask for a US birth certificate. Does that mean that a green card holder cannot apply?

- If I can apply, where is a good cheap training school near to Boise ID please?

Hubby is already OTR, but his company doesn't train, and they won't take anyone with under one year experience.
So I'll eventually be looking for a local job for one year as well, until I can go join him as a team.

Thanks!!

 

A green card shouldn't be an obstacle . Schneider recruits worldwide and brings in as many immigrants as current immigration laws allow . ATA members were very disappointed Bush was unable to push the Guest Worker plan through .

 

There is no right or wrong answer on whether to go to a company sponsored school, a private school, or a community college. It is an indivdual decision, and should be based on each person's situation. Consider this:

Private Schools: More Expensive, yes? But, if you are unemployed they can get you started and graduated very quickly... 3-5 weeks from application to graduation, and the good ones work very hard to get you employed or else they probably won't be paid back on their tuition loans.

Community Colleges: Less expensive initially but they typically run on semester schedules. They don't run in cycles like private schools. You may have to wait several weeks or months before you can get started.

Multiply every week you have to wait by what you expect to make every week as a truck driver, add in the actual cost of the tuition if any and you will get a real figure on the actual cost of training.

Many of the people that I have talked to that went to community colleges haven't been given any assistance with job placement(other than being given a few applications to fill out). In fact, many of the same people do not even meet the minimum criteria to get a decent job in the trucking industry because community colleges will train anybody that can get a grant of financial aid and pay for the school.

Company Sponsored: If you are flat broke, and have no other options whatsoever, you are almost forced into these programs. Some can get you started pretty quickly but many are overloading classes and start dates are getting further and further out. These companies do charge you for your training, and it isn't as cheap as you might think. The money is deducted from your check.

But, they put you to work once you're trained right? Wrong! If you are lucky you will get a job, if you are less than lucky you will get your class A license but no job(and little chance of getting a job because they don't give you a graduation certificate). If you are unlucky, you have wasted your time.... you go home with no license no job and you a bill for whatever training they provided you. At that point, you are back on here looking for a decent training school, starting from square one.

Let me tell you a story of a guy named Jimmy. Jimmy came to me for training but could barely afford the gas to get to my office. I directed him to the WIA who approved him and sent him to the Georgia Driving Academy who rejected him because he couldn't pee in the 1 hour time frame they gave him. Once he was rejected by GDA he came back to see me. The WIA would no longer assist him because he was rejected by a school. All other options being exhausted, he decided to go to CR England's school up in Indiana. He completed the 3 week training program but failed the driving portion of his skills test the first time... they sent him home. He called me when he got back and said that he was going to C1 out in Arkansas, and was happy. A week later he called back asking me to help him. USA truck had pulled his sponsorship because of the rejection from Georgia Driving Academy. I argued, fought and conjoled the WIA to assist him again, and they sent him to Katlaw in Georgia where he got finally got his license. He called me again, asking me for help finding a job, apparently Katlaw had very little assistance to offer him at that point.

In summary, I spent almost 3 months working with this guy. Never made a nickel for the work I did, but he is now happily employed with a decent trucking company. When he comes home for hometime, he pulls his truck in to thank me of all people.

The sad thing about this story is, that Jimmy is a very lucky guy. I know of many drivers that had to endure a whole lot worse then this.

 

I'm trying to get ahold of a Recruiter from Roehl
as this seems to be the "Best" trucking co. that
I keep hearing about ?? - -
I'm checking out SAGE School at Lake City Fl
community college - Is 200 miles from where I live in Central Florida - sooo I would then pay out $35 per day to stay in one of their dorms
for 3 - 4 weeks. - Cost comes out about the same as the near by Sanford TDI school

This is what I am talking about. There are so many variables that you have to consider when you are deciding what school to go to. At TDI in Sanford, you only pay $100 for lodging, that covers M-F for the entire 3 week training program.

 

- Reading the CDL training requirements, most seem to ask for a US birth certificate. Does that mean that a green card holder cannot apply?

You only need a green card to go to go to work as a truck driver. But, there may some requirement on the length of time you have been in the US and held a US State driver's license.

 

whats so hard about paid company t training

 

Try CWI in Nampa, I'm starting there in 4 weeks.

 

Hello WellGolf and Welcome to the Forum

If you would like start a thread so you can post your experiences in training for all of us to see.


Best of Luck to You and Your Success!!!