Truckers Report Jobs

Find Trucking Jobs

Company Driver Company Driver Dry Van Dry Van Flatbed Flatbed Refrigerated Refrigerated Specialized Specialized Owner Operator Owner Operator
More Trucking Job Searches ⌄ Fewer Trucking Job Searches
⌃

From ANOTHER WannaBe

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by bwwhitt, Mar 1, 2013.

Page 1 of 2
  1. Mar 1, 2013 #1
    bwwhitt

    bwwhitt Bobtail Member

    48
    13
    Mar 1, 2013
    Glendora, CA
    0
    Hey there fellow drivers,

    I live in Southern California and thankfully have the option of many different schools to choose from. After doing quite a bit of research I narrowed my choices of trucking schools down to three:

    1. Dootson School of Trucking ($48 got me 45 min. behind the wheel with an instructor in order to find out if I like it; instructor was great and gave me the confidence and desire to want to keep on going; absolutely NO B.S. from the school or instructor about the industry and how rookies are usually treated; post-educational job placement available; been around since 1951 and almost everyone I know keeps saying, "Hi, I'm Debbie Dootson").

    2. Roadmaster School of Trucking (mentioned on other trucking company websites as a school that they will give tuition reimbursement; pre-school job placement so my CDL would be nearly free, minus DMV and drug/alcohol/physical testing fees; financial aid available).

    3. TGA Truck Driving (seen on only a handful of trucking company websites; pre-school job placement so my CDL would be nearly free, minus DMV and drug/alcohol/physical testing fees; financial aid available).

    Here is my dilemma: I would like to go with a private trucking school as the idea of being committed to a company kind of concerns me (being "at their mercy" if you will) and would allow me to find a job, hopefully, suited to what would be most convenient(something I'm very familiar with unfortunately). However I do understand that taking the pre-employment commitment does mean long term work, certain paid training, possible financial help in eventually becoming my own owner-operator, and eventually getting a better position/job that would keep me closer to home. Any help/suggestions/advice regarding both self-paid training versus company sponsored training is greatly appreciated, along with advice on which companies to look into. I have a very strong feeling that trucking is what I should have been doing since day one but words of wisdom from others should be able to help me figure out if this is just a short-term fantasy or a long-term reality.
     
    bwwhitt, Mar 1, 2013
    bwwhitt, Mar 1, 2013
    #1
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. Mar 1, 2013 #2
    Diesel Dave

    Diesel Dave Last Few of the OUTLAWS

    8,538
    23,629
    Jan 20, 2010
    Hesperia, Ca.
    0
    Seems like you have your mind made up. That is good. I would never do a pre employment commitment for starters. Living is So. Cal., there are many opportunites here. I was very fortunate that I had a veteran neighbor that taught me. I WISH that ALL schools only use veteran drivers for teachers. Anyways......I cant tell you about financial and that other stuff.
     
    Diesel Dave, Mar 1, 2013
    Diesel Dave, Mar 1, 2013
    #2
  4. Mar 1, 2013 #3
    critters

    critters <b>Late For Dinner</b>

    1,444
    2,440
    Jul 16, 2011
    traverse city,MI
    0
    sounds like you've done you're homework,I think #1 sounds Good. Good Luck
     
    critters, Mar 1, 2013
    critters, Mar 1, 2013
    #3
  5. Mar 2, 2013 #4
    MMM DRIVER

    MMM DRIVER Light Load Member

    60
    19
    Jul 5, 2012
    0
    The difference I found was that the company program I went with (CRST - absolutely horrible experience -- run for your life) had no interest or stake in my success. I was merely a number (make that a $ sign). Each week another large group arrived. Out of those, a fair number would be sent home "because their skills were not strong enough." I was one. I prepaid tuition so I wasn't under contract and only lost half of my money (for ultimately less than 2 hours behind the wheel). For the others sent home, they still owed the company $3-4k. You get it or you don't ... CRST still gets their money. Shameful. Maybe other companies are not such a racket. Don't know.

    I then did a program at a community college and it was the complete opposite. As long as a student really made an effort and showed up, they did everything they could to teach you to drive. Furthermore, they worked with me re: money.

    Good luck.

    (Ex-Pasadena kid in Florida now)
     
    MMM DRIVER, Mar 2, 2013
    MMM DRIVER, Mar 2, 2013
    #4
  7. Mar 2, 2013 #5
    Chinatown

    Chinatown Road Train Member

    73,359
    164,940
    Aug 28, 2011
    Henderson, NV & Orient
    0
    Navajo has a terminal in Chino. If that company interests you, ask them which school they recognize. Western Express has a terminal in Fontana and hires new CDL graduates.
     
    Chinatown, Mar 2, 2013
    Chinatown, Mar 2, 2013
    #5
  8. Mar 2, 2013 #6
    Tonythetruckerdude

    Tonythetruckerdude Crusty Deer Slayer

    2,905
    47,744
    Dec 8, 2012
    hunting...../ retired
    0
    There should be several community colleges in the southern California area that offer CDL training. This would be the best option , in my opinion. You will get more one on one training , most offer some sort of financial help services, and more than likely they will have a job placement program too. Do some research on those schools within a decent driving distance from your locale and you'll save money there too by commuting to and from. Good Luck.
     
    Tonythetruckerdude, Mar 2, 2013
    Tonythetruckerdude, Mar 2, 2013
    #6
  9. Mar 2, 2013 #7
    bwwhitt

    bwwhitt Bobtail Member

    48
    13
    Mar 1, 2013
    Glendora, CA
    0
    I guess I keep missing someting or maybe I'm using the wrong search terms; if anyone could please point me in the direction of a community college that offers CDL training I'll be in it quicker than a New York minute.
    On a small side bar/note: I have been studying my brains out on my off time, working through almost every General Knowledge, Doubles/Triples, HazMat, and Tanker study guide I can find. Hopefully that will make whatever school I go through (community college, self-paid, or company sponsored) that much easier. Is trucking really just as much common sense versus skills as the tests seem to make it out to be?
     
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2013
    bwwhitt, Mar 2, 2013
    bwwhitt, Mar 2, 2013
    #7
  10. Mar 2, 2013 #8
    Brandt

    Brandt Road Train Member

    4,428
    5,968
    Sep 17, 2012
    0
    People are forgetting one BIG point. In most cases just having a CDL is not enough to get a job. Because the test dose not tell you how to make a right or left turn in city traffic or how to drive in the snow. So most companies will not hire a new driver without experience
     
    Brandt, Mar 2, 2013
    Brandt, Mar 2, 2013
    #8
  11. Mar 2, 2013 #9
    Ubu

    Ubu Road Train Member

    1,252
    1,178
    Aug 25, 2012
    Rumored to be somewhere
    0
    Ubu, Mar 2, 2013
    Ubu, Mar 2, 2013
    #9
  12. Mar 2, 2013 #10
    runawayload

    runawayload Light Load Member

    289
    83
    Sep 5, 2012
    0
    I live in So Cal as well, just down the 57 from you. First thing I did was decided on which companies I would like to work for and then asked them which schools in the area they hired from. I then went to the school with a "Intent to Hire" letter to show them the company I talked to was interested in me. I chose to go with California Career School out of Anaheim californiacareerschool.edu. I then went to the local WIA office to see if I qualified for any sort of funding. Turns out I did so now my school is all paid for. It took about 5 weeks to go through the process.

    I did things backwards by going to the trucking company first. I wanted to be 100% sure the company I wanted to work for would accept the certificate of that school.

    Good luck. If you want to chat more about it let me know.
     
    runawayload, Mar 2, 2013
    runawayload, Mar 2, 2013
    #10
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

    • Page 1 of 2