Newbs do alot of homework.

true, a lot of companies will want a certificate from a school for new drivers, a cdl alone wont get you very far.

anyway great post. i worry a lot about the future with the laziness of my generation. you gotta get out there and make things happen, no ones going to do it for you.

 

It's actually the insurance companies that require the school hours. They also require a certain amount of hours riding with a trainer.

 

To the original post, it doesn't matter which route you go to get your cdl. They're all driver mills, that's the business their in. Whether it be community college's, company's whatever, that's what they do, train drivers. You may get a little more personable attention at times, but you will definitely lack in getting exposure to the real daily life of being a truck driver. With a company you're going to be on the road sooner with a trainer.

You're still going to be just another driver "noob" if you get on with a company of any decent size. That's the nature of the beast starting out. And once you get hired on by a company, you're still going to go through their training program to some extent.

As for me, wia monies have not been approved for the upcoming year. When would they be approved, maybe in the next couple of months. Pell Grant, not eligible because I have a degree. Schools around here I priced at about $3k and up, including the community college's if you were paying out of your pocket.

As for homework, that's why I chose the company I'm going with. It won't be perfect by any means, but after a lot of researching it is a company I feel I can surely hang with for a couple of years. Thus the so called contract is a trivial point for me. I plan on being there for quite a while.

I will have income coming in sooner than had I went to a school. Not much of one starting out, but more than what I have now.

Whether a person get's their training through a school or a company IS totally situational. Whatever best fits the individual's situation is the right way to go for them, you or me.

Just my .02 opinion.

 

I have been doing a lot of research on cdl schools/mills and community colleges and they both seem to be the same or close to the same amount of money. I've been reading people say the community colleges are anywhere from $700-$1000 but I can't seem to find them. I'm in central florida and the only school I found is the Indian River Community College and they have the sage truck driving course and that course is $4800. Roadmaster and TDI are I'm assuming cdl mills and they are both between $5700-$6000. Where are these $700 colleges?