Do I need school?

Yes, it is the KLLM school. They don't tell you that you have an option to drive for FFE (sister company), but you do.

 

If you have any questions, I am willing to answer them if I can. If not, I will ask & get you an answer.

 

Well, here's the deal, as far as I can tell. You CAN do it that way, but a school at a company is just a better deal. You have some credibility, the company wants you to succeed, and you may even be able to "work off" your schooling debt. Today, everything has to be documented, and big names have the biggest clout. Rental trucks aren't cheap, and I think you'd miss a big part of learning from a professional outfit. Good luck.

 

This is how I went about it.

Had a local company that I wanted to drive for that could hire me with no experience if I got my cdl through the school. They provided me with an intent to hire letter and I took that to my local unemployment office. A few questions later and I had a start date for school. Since my schooling was paid for through the state I didn't have to sign a contract to stay at the company for any amount of time.

That said school isn't the be all end all for getting a license. You'll learn more in your first year on the road than you'd ever learn in any school. You'll also never know everything so don't be afraid to ask when you don't know something.

 

Swift will be better than KLLM by far.

 

If he chooses Swift, he should go with Swift Refrigerated, since he lives in Florida.

 

I studied...took my written....rented a truck for $175.00 (1994 price...may be more now?) and was done and on the road the next day.

 

Well I know folks have done it both ways... However, in this day in age credibility is more of a factor than in the past.

If you go to a school of some sort you gain SOME credibility... If you go through a company school and then drive for that company for at least 1 year you gain MORE credibility, if you have ZERO issues (don't hit anything, no wrecks or tickets, no bad inspections, and few or no missed appointments) during that year you gain EVEN MORE credibility.

For those who get thier CDL somehow other than school credibility can be more OR less of an issue dependant on many things...

A farm kid that grew up driving trucks on the farm, and can BOTH prove he already has the skills AND find a company (usually a smaller company) that will accept his farm experience... Well credibility for him is probably not going to be much of an issue, some might say "credibility is in his nature."

The guy that has never even been in a truck, who then gets his CDL without schooling will probably have a much harder time proving credibility. And therefore, will probably have to start out at the very bottom of the bottom. That means driving a garbage truck, or a dump truck for a small construction company, or a bottom feeder OTR company.

But these are just a couple possible scenarios... There are always exceptions to the normal way of things. Just my 2 cents.

 

I’d go with a state vo tech or community college if they are available in Florida .

then you’re not chained to a company for a year.

and you will gain some good experience .
My nephew went to the community college course in Georgia for $1,600 and it’s a 13 week course ,
First two weeks are classroom and rules and regulations , then two weeks backing trailers , followed by two weeks shifting gears , and the rest is driving.

You will have plenty of job offers before the class is over .
When the recruiter does his big speech, just quietly ask them what their turnover rate is, watch them squirm and wait for the answer, then ask them why they think it’s so high, and what the company is actively doing to lower the turnover rate.

some smart companies actually have a driver meet the recruiter at the class, with his truck, so the class can talk to the driver and get real answers, not the BS answers from the recruiter.


The instructors in my nephews class were almost all retired drivers, several from UPS.
My nephew got a job offer from a heavy haul company, and is now a driver and trainer with the heavy haul company.