Going to a school vrs learning privately?

Hoping someone will answer this. Is it inappropriate to try to find someone to teach me verses going to a school? I imagine there are liability issues? As the wife mentioned we'd like to avoid being in debt to begin with to get started.

 

The insurance carriers mandate so many hours w/ a driving school, not an owner op. If you want to get hired by the big companies, You either pay for your own school or sign a contract with a carrier who will train you. School paid for by you is the better choice because it's cheaper & you can drive w/ whoever you pick. Hope this helps.

 

My oldest daughter's boyfriend was going to go to driving school to get his class1. It was going to cost something like $6000. I called an acquaintance of mine that does DOT road tests locally and asked if the courses were necessary. He said that the reason that people take the schooling is that most companies won't hire drivers with less than 3 years experience but if they they have taken the 6 or 8 week course, some will accept this as 3 years equivalency. If he's correct, then if you have an employer lined up that is fine with hireing a newbie that didn't learn from a driving school, then there would be no reason to spend the $.

 

Not all schools cost that much. Maybe private schools, yes. But Colleges are 10 folds cheaper if your a resident and they offer the programs. National Training Inc in Green Cove, FL costs $6k + 18% interest (financial aid cost). FSCJ (FCCJ) costs $2.3k out of pocket with no financial aid other then VA or scholarship. However, as some one mentioned before, paying for your own schooling is the best route because if you find out a few months down the road this industry isn't for you, then quitting and not owing would be a option. However, quitting on a company who paid for your training before the 1yr (or contract) mark then you will owe a hefty amount.

It is all up to what you feel is the best option. Yes college will be abit longer (usually 7-8 weeks) while private are usually 4-5 weeks. But is the cost really worth it?

 

We do our very best to keep all our commitments and would if a company trains me.
If I found out it wasn't for me I'd suck it up and complete my year. Heck if I can do
20 yrs in the Navy what is one year on the road. We as a family just prefer not going into debt more if we can avoid it. But it looks like I'll go the route of going to a company school and be thankful and appreciative they're willing to do it.

 

Well would you rather be $6000 in debt to Swift or CR england at 18% interest or pay 2-3 thousand for a class A from a community college,that you may be able to defer paying till you have $ coming in from your new driving job? To me it's a no brainer.No disrespect meant to you grandpa,We just hear the same ? over and over again and wonder if anybody knows how to use the search function for threads on the topics before they post.

 

Hey man more power to ya. I'm not trying to scare you away from runnin with company training, just providin some information on the stuff you might have to deal with later on down the road if problems arise.

Thank you for the years in the service.

Edit: Also VA does have a program that pays for education. And the community college is apart of education.. Just a FYI. Do not know a 100% information on it, but I've read where a few people have done it that way.

 

Plus many states have funding through the dislocated workers program (or whatever your state equivalent)that will pay the entire cost of a community college driving school. This is what I am doing and they are even reimbursing me for mileage and child care.