I want to be an OTR driver and unsure which path to take. I am trying to determine if I should go with company training or private. I got all the info from SNI and all sounds good but the cost, 5000.00 loan plus 18% interest plus pay back for 30 months. If I do go company training any suggestions as to who to consider and who to stay away from. Also has anyone heard of R E West out of middle TN. I seen that they train new drivers but I can't seem to get any info on them. Thanks alot and hope to see you down the road some where.
I need professional advice
Discussion in 'Trucking Jobs' started by bigorangefan9999, May 27, 2007.
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as far as company sponsored training goes check out USA Truck they will train you and you are paid off after only 1 year. out of pocket you only end up paying 495 bucks,i have been happy with them so far (only been out solo for 4 weeks)
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Go private if you can and if AT ALL possible. It's practically a lock cinch guarantee that the price of a private outfit will be miniscule by comparison, and you won't owe anyone anything.
I did, and I only paid about $900 after all was said and done. -
I also vote for a Vo-Tech school. Hopefully one can be found in your area.
I am going the Vo tech route and am currently waiting to see if I am apporved for student aid.
Good luck! -
You should get training at a community college. It'll take longer, but you'll be better off in the long run. 5K is way too much to pay for a simple CDL. I know that's true, as I made that mistake once. Every day of the world I want that money back that I dropped at the driving school, not to mention the opportunity cost (the money I missed out on because I was at the school and not working) or the simple costs of living away from home for a month.
Today, given I know all about the trucking industry, I'd make sure my training would be free or cost at MOST 800 bucks. There's no way I would pay even a dime more than that for training. If I had to pay more, I'd learn how to drive a dozer. I know there is a school in Las Vegas that will train you to drive a big D-9. I'd definitely do this today before going the trucking route anyway. Yeah, I'd get a grant and go learn to drive a dozer instead of getting a CDL. -
Unfortunately, since the classes are fulltime (7 a.m.-3 p.m.) and the college is 100 miles east of where I live, I'll have to quit my job and add roughly $3,000 loss of income for those two months.
That's still cheaper than the local CDL mill who charges $6k for three weeks of school (they'll knock off $1k if you pay cash - what does that tell you?!). -
I graduated from a 5-week program I had to pay 5K for, and then I went to work at Swift. In my first week, I ran into guys there who had paid only 5 HUNDRED for training, and they could drive as well as I could. Their programs were shorter, too, meaning their opportunity cost was lower, as they spent more time working before going to training. I was out of work for at least 7 weeks doing the training thing, as after I graduated it took about two weeks for me to get going on a training truck at Swift. My true opportunity cost was more like 7 weeks x 700/week or nearly the cost of the training itself. Yeah, I spent more than 10K on a CDL and was standing exactly where those 500-dollar guys were standing when we went on our training trucks. I had a CDL. They had a CDL. I could drive well. They could drive well. I had a job at Swift. They had a job at Swift. The only thing different was my wallet was a LOT lighter than it should have been.
Look around out there. Cheap schools can be found. Also, see what kind of government aid you can get to help you pay for the training. Don't go spending big money out of your own pocket to learn how to drive a #### truck. Check with your state labor board and welfare office. I sure wish today that in 1995 I would have done that. I could have saved a big wad, a wad I wish I had back in my pocket in 2007. Preferably with interest.
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