Do companies reimburse you for paying for CDL school if you paid with a check?

Thank you all very much for the information and advice, it has all been very helpful! I will definitely look into Watkins and Shepherd, it sounds like a good starter company. How often are they hiring, if any of you know?

@NewbiusErectus- It is nice to hear from someone who went to Great Lakes, I think that is where I will go, even though it is pretty expensive I would rather pay the extra money and know I am getting a good sound education rather than take my chances of getting in trouble on the road because my skills are lacking due to inadequate training. Do you by any chance know if Great Lakes will lower the cost of tuition if you pay it all up front with cash/check? I have heard of some schools doing this. How much did it cost you and what program did you take? If you don't mind me asking. Also, when did you graduate from there, and how is their equipment and training facility? It sounds like you enjoyed your time there. If you had another chance to do it over would you go to Great Lakes or go somewhere else less expensive? Please, any more information on this topic would be greatly appreciated! Thank you al who have already replied too!

 

Yes well I think I will end up going to Great Lakes TDS. They have two programs that I am interested in. The first one is a total of 200 hours and costs about $6000. This program offers 84 hours on the driving range and 40 hours driving on the road; the remainder of time is spent in the classroom, 76 hours. The other program I am looking into is a total of 300 hours, with 124 classroom hours, 128 hours on the driving range, and 48 hours driving on the road. This is the program i think I will take because it gives me much more time behind the wheel, which is what I want/need. This program is a little more costly, coming in at around $7500, but it seems like a good deal because I get a lot of driving time. If this is what I need to do to be confident and learn the right way, so be it. The student to vehicle ratio is 2:1 on the driving range, and 4:1 on the road. The student to instructor ratio on the yard is 10:1 and on the road it is 4:1. So it is very individualized training which is great. The only thing is that I need to be 21 years old to be accepted into the school, so I need to wait a few years, but I am willing to do what I need to do. Right now I am working in a warehouse loading/unloading trucks and working on the production team. I would like to find a job working in a trucking terminal doing this but most of the time it is all part-time and I need a full-time position. Oh well, I guess I gotta do what I can right now and hope everything works out in the long run. I can't wait to be 21 and be able to get my CDL and get the ball rolling for my career! Also, I just want to say thanks to everyone who has given advice to me thus far! It is really helpful this site is great! Any more info would really be appreciated. Thanks again!

 

Thanks for the advice Newbius. I plan on being able to pay for the schooling up front, as in write a check for it. I'm not sure yet though I might take out a loan to help build my credit up because I don't have any at the moment, so I will have to think about that. But overall it sounds like you had a good experience there and I want the same. I will look into TDDS but I think I will end up going to Great Lakes.. And I hope I will have good instructors like you did, I'm sure I will. I will look into the local LTL companies, but from what I've heard all of their work is part-time, and I need a full time job. Also another question about Great Lakes.. how was their job placement? Like did it make it much easier for you to find employment or does it even matter? Thanks a lot man I appreciate it

 

Yes those are my exact thoughts too muffinman. I would rather pay extra and know that I get top of the line training and be comfortable and confident that I can handle whatever a company throws at me rather than save a few thousand bucks and get a ####tty education where I could end up getting in trouble and end up losing chances at making this a career. If I gotta pay a couple G's more for quality training, so be it. I am absolutely fine with it because I plan on making this line of work a career for the rest of my life and I want to start off on the right foot. Thanks for your advice man!