SCHOOL, Pay on your own or let a company pay for it?

I had my schooling paid for by a company when I first started. All I had to do was work for 'em for a year, then I was free from all obligations. The way I see it, it's better to earn money than spend it.

 

Pay for it. You'll be better off in the long run. Companies feel they own you for the duration of the contract. And they WILL come after you if you quit and fail to pay the entire amount back.

 

I feel it is better to pay for your own like others have said that way you are not indebted to any one and can come and go as you please. The thing to look for is a school that is reasonable and will give you good training. My son is in school right now starting his second week of a 4 week school that is one of the best in the nation that i know of. It is a vo tech school in Oklahoma my wife went there and it was a real good school then and has gotten better. Its like $1800 for instate tuition and it is used by a few company's as there school as well. So its your choice but i would look around and see what is oou there before i made a decision.

 

Here's my point: Everyone talks about how being "tied down" to a company is such a bad thing. It certainly would be if you didn't do your research and ended up with a shady company. But if you did your research, and find out that the company that will best suit you will also pay for your schooling, then go for it. As a new driver, you shouldn't be switching companies for at least a year anyway. It won't be the death of your career if you do, but it will certainly help you show other future employers of your dependability. Now, this is something that doesn't matter as much to the large carriers out there, but the smaller, better to work for carriers will look at this with great enthusiasm. What's a year with a mediocre large company when compared to 20+ with a fantastic company (be them small or large). I did almost two years with PAM (not the best company, but I wasn't unhappy with them) because they paid for my schooling. I was free to leave after one year, but didn't see any reason to go anywhere at that time. Now I'm with a small local company that treats me great, pays well, and has room for advancement beyond driving.

 

So what company do you recommend? Schneider, Swift, PAM.......

Thanks for your input

Ron

 

heres the deal... its Tuition Reimbursement! if school is 6 grand, how are you paying that back to them? weekly, monthly, and how much?? if you have the $ to pay up front, thats more to put in ur 401k when u finish training

 

I guess I dont know how truck companies pay for their own schooling. The way I figure, you arent getting anything back because they paid for it themselves and locked you into a year long contract.

Id say see if you can get some sort of government assistance where you dont even have to pay them back...job training $$. Thats what Im looking into out here. That way, you can get training at an accredited school (ie Sage), and you wont be locked into a company. Sure...a year doesnt sound so bad...but crimeny...since Ive been on here...there isnt any company that really stands out. Seems to be many naysayers out there for practically everyone.

 

Ziggy just look harder there are plenty of good companies. Just don't put much stock in those stories where the guy sat for a week, then his truck blew up and he was anally probed by aliens and it was all the companies fault. Some of these stories are hilarious and lies.

 

Pay for it yourself. You don't want to be an indentured servant working for slave labor.

Scarecrow, you are right that it shouldn't matter because you should stay at your first job anyway for at least a year. But things happen. Heaven forbid he gets into an accident or some other kind of trouble and is terminated. Then he would have a huge tuition bill on top of losing his job. Or there is some kind of personal crisis that pops up in his life. You can't plan for illness, death, birth, or any other number of things that could cause him to have to leave his job before his servitude is up.

Pay for it yourself. You never want to be in a position where someone else owns you.