School advice????

What's the difference in being a slave to a company or a bank? One difference is the company isn't going to charge you interest. Company will be a lot cheaper too. Oh yeah, one more thing, you are guaranteed a job as long as you pass the test.

 

My advice is to go with a private school and pick your company. All the big companies will give you a pre-hire. Put them in a folder then start looking for smaller companies (400-500 trucks) that take student drivers. These companies still have a high enough turnover rate to merit a student training program. There are a couple of bigger companies I looked into including Roehl and Schneider. Roehl will give you a pre-hire not sure about Schneider. I decided before I got out of school to go with a smaller flatbed company. Just remember that it might take a little longer to get your application approved and an orientation date set. If you need a immediate hire then you are forced to go with the larger companies. If that is the case then going to one of their schools may be more feasible fir you.

 

I dont know anout your area but out west I went to western pacific truck school of oregon. Maybe give them a call and see if they know anyone out in your area.

 

I don't have any specific advice, but I can offer this.

- It seems your first step is to find a school that fits your needs. Community Colleges offer good training at a decent price
- Once you pick your school, contact trucking companies to see if they will hire a graduate from that school. Often, the school will have a list of companies they work with, so that will help

Anyway, this is my plan when the time comes

 

A little more advice. Check to see what kind of state / federal programs are out there to assist you in paying for school. Georgia has a Hope Grant that pays for technical schools and the WIA program that pays for some or all of other types of education. You state may have the WIA program and may have other types of programs.
Community / technical schools that offer CDL courses require more time to complete than the private schools. Unless who you go to work for a company that recognizes the community college program you will still have to spend the same amount of time in their training program.
From reading post here it appears that the schools offered by the companies require some type of indentured slave commitment. (Spend six months or get billed for the school.)
Going to a private school opens up a lot more opportunities for a new driver. Just understand that most of the private schools only teach you enough to pass the CDL test. We spent less than 6 hours total driving combinations in our school out of a three and half week course.