Turned down - Is this a common problem for 'newbies'?

I personally would go out to the MVA or whatever they call it in your state and get the book...study study read it cover to cover and get your permit on your own it will be easier to get into many of these doors if you take the initiative on your own first.

The thing with alot of these companies now is they have so many 480 hour schools out there churning out students (like myself) they don't have to look at so many people to be "students" the school i attended was in Baltimore MD it ran about 9,000 but I got grants for 4 and loans for 5. only out of pocket was 600.00 over 6 months there's tons accredited schools around. If you have the time I would strongly recommend a 480 hour school over any of them they are the toughest but that is exactly what many companies are looking for today. I sent out 13 apps after i "graduated" and got 11 prehires with one no from werner lol. Take some time look around and dont jump into a school or a job.

Good Luck with it all

 

With so many out of work, trucking companies can afford to be picky - it's an employers market right now. So you're going to have to be persistant if you want a job in this industry. I went to SAGE school in Denver, and I thought it was good training myself - there is a limit to what any school can provide based on economics, but I wasn't the odd-man out in a multi-trainee setting in the truck - their instruction is one-on-one. Heck I got prehires from TransAm, US Express and Arrow - thank whatever may be that I didn't go that way, LOL! Got sent home from orientation at May because of an old ticket they didn't like (knew about it from my MVR,) and got hired at Prime. Keep at it if you want a job.

And maybe that treatment you got at Stevens is an example of how they would treat you as a driver...

 

I applied at many companies and was rejected by some but accepted by some. I ended up at Maverick. You just have to keep trying and do not let yourself get discouraged.
Now when I see the trucks of the companies that flat out rejected me, I just chuckle, because I know I am making more now than what they are paying....so I ended up better!

 

If you get rejected half way through school, there is a reason. Not everyone can do this job. When I went through CDL training a dozen years ago at a local community college, there were a few of the students that fell into that category. The instructor actually did the right thing by those people, pulled them aside, told them how it was, and gave them a partial refund on their tuition.

I was under the impression you got rejected by Stevens over the phone. Well, don't take it personal. They only have so many instructors, so many trucks to train with, and they are probably being swamped with applicants. This recession has hit primarily males working in the construction and manufacturing sectors the hardest, and those are the ones most likely to see trucking as the answer to all their problems.

if you really want in, then you have to set yourself apart from this crowd. I advise you to go and get your CDL on your own. It's going to cost you money. But if you put your application in at Stevens, Swift, or one of the other training companies with CDL in hand, you're a lot better off.

I went to a community college and got my CDL. It cost me a $1700 back in 1997. I'm not sure what they charge now. I saved up my money from driving taxi-cabs and paid cash for it. I don't advise taking out a student loan at one of the CDL mills. They are for the most part a rip off.

I started at Stevens as well. Let me explain how it works. Truck driving school, even at Stevens, does NOT teach you how to drive a truck. They teach you how to pass the CDL test. That's it. You learn how to make it go and some basic maneuvers. Once you have the CDL, then you get hired on. You are still considered a "student" even though you have a CDL. And there are only about a half a dozen companies out there that will hire "students." Stevens is one of them. After you are "hired," you are paired up with a trainer who not only trains you, but evaluates if you have what it takes to apply these basic maneuvers to real world situations. If you don't, you get a Greyhound ticket home. My orientation class at Stevens in early 1998 had close to 60 people in it. Out of that less than twenty of us were given keys to our own solo trucks 4 months later. All the rest were given bus tickets home. Out of that 60, there were maybe two of us, myself and another guy, who didn't go to Stevens' CDL school. The bottom line is even if you get accepted into Stevens' school, it is by no means guaranteed that you actually get the job. I'm sure those people that Stevens trained then sent home got a nice student loan bill to pay off after their ordeal.

It was a boot camp-like experience back then, and the economy was roaring along quite nicely at the time. I can't imagine what it would be like today.

My advice, if you want in, is to look into your local community colleges. There's one in every county. If your county's community college doesn't have cdl training, try the next one over. Get a CDL, then put your application in.

The job market out there is pretty fierce. I have a dozen years of experience under my belt, but because I'm overweight and have high blood pressure, a condition the job contributed to, I wouldn't want to be unemployed and out in the job market right now. The trucking companies can be as picky as they want to be.

 

Liability! The companies won't state a reason to avoid the liability of it. If they state one they have to be able to prove it and defend it in court. If no reason, then you have to discover the reason, prove it is the right reason and then prove it was wrong, illegal, and harmful to you. That is a very tough row to hoe!! So they are just covering their behinds.

 

good luck man if u want go for it it will be hard especially in this market but do what u gotta do its companies that are out there that will take u just keep looking

 

Just go to the DMV and take the tests. I can't remember if they charge you the fee when you get the permit or if they wait until you pass the skills test and get the actual license...it may vary state to state.

Keep in mind, if you go to work for a company and they send you out of state to go to school, you'll have to take all of the written tests for whatever license you currently hold to change your license over to that other state. Then you'll have to pass whatever written tests are needed for the permits required by the school before you can drive their truck.

You need to be licensed in the state the school is located in, because they are most likely licensed by the state to administer the road test to you. For example, a school in Ohio cannot road test a driver licensed in Mississippi until the Mississippi driver surrenders his Mississippi DL for an Ohio DL and gets the Ohio permits. The state of Mississippi will not accept a certificate stating you passed the road test in Ohio...you have to have the Ohio CDL to surrender back to the state of Mississippi in order to have Mississippi wave the skills test. You STILL need to retake all of the written tests again to transfer your license back to your home state.

Now if you are going to school in your home state, then already having the permits in hand will save you a little potential trouble. When I went, there was a guy that took the test 9 times before he passed JUST TO TRANSFER HIS REGULAR DL!!! After the 3rd attempt at the CDL general knowledge test, they sent him home.