Best company-sponsored CDL

Believe me when I say "Pay Your Own Way" ... even if it's a CDL mill you attend ... I was so happy I took this route ... yes you will have to start out with Werner, USA, Swift or one of the other many crappy mega "Starter Companies" however when you pay your own way you can leave whenever you want to without having to "Pay Back" the company for your training if you want to leave before your contractual commitment to your carrier is meet. That "Pay Back" is always just another profit center for the company that paid for your training and will cost you more in the end than if you paid for your own training in the first place.

As for the training wage ... after on the road expenses you will be luckly if you have $50 to $100 a week to send back home ... sorry but it's the way things are done in this industry .... be prepared and hang tough till you get out on your own ... even then the first year or two are really though to get through financially ...

Just my 2 cents, hope this helps you ... good luck!

 

Central Refrigerated pushes that lease program which I would stay away from,if they don't required it like CRE,then Central Refrigerated would be ok in my book.

 

So if the company sponsored program costs 3700 and you would have to pay it back and the CDL school costs 3700 and you paid it up front what exactly is the difference?

I would encourage anybody who is making a decision about CDL schooling or becoming a trucker to do a pros/cons list and an opportunity/cost analysis based on your own situation and decide from there. The perception on this board mostly seems to be that you are always better off paying out of your own pocket if you can. That is not always the case.

 

I am not saying all however many companies spell out a higher "Pay Back" in the employment agreement if you leave early versus what you will actually pay for your own training ... read things carefully, it is a contract between you and the company ... I myself would not enter into the endentured servitued that company paid CDL training becomes for a driver. Again just my 2 cents.

 

I think all of the companies mentioned are a good choice.....each have advantages.....here is another option if you live near Detroit? This company is highly regarded and they are a top notch company......I know 5 drivers personally, that have been with them 3 plus years and love the company:

http://www.ccjdigital.com/con-way-truckload-partners-with-detroit-driver-training-school/

 

The risk is the same with all of them . There are too many potential causes for you to fail to complete your contract and be billed for the schooling

 

If you don't complete your contract the company school is useless . They won't give you certification another carrier will accept .

 

Untrue.....risk is much greater with the carrier that looks at the training process as another revenue source vs providing them with a quality driver to haul their frieght. Too many training companies have made this a way to cover their bottom line, with cheap temp drivers and government training grant money.......if the company truely wants to make you a quality driver and long term employee the risk is much less. There will always be the person not cut out for this industry, but if you have a driver needing more training time to be sucessful, the better company will provide this extra help, thus reducing the risk taken by the student.

 

The risk I was talking about was unforeseeable incidents like accidents , health problems , multiple tickets , etc. that would cause failure to complete a contract .