Career change

Whether you attend a company sponsored CDL training program or a CDL school, you are liable to get little or no pay. The common way to get a CDL right now is to go to a CDL school. A lot of carriers will pay for all or a portion of the CDL School once you sign on with them. Each carrier has a stipulation on what they require for your tuition to be reimbursed.

If you are a vet with VA benefits, the VA will pay for the CDL school if you have bennies left. Otherwise, you will need to pay cash, finance it, or find a carrier that still trains you. There used to be several, but not so much any more. Try Star Transportation (in TN not IL) as well. Not sure of their program, but I know they have something going on.

 

I would suggest searching the plethora of existing threads examining & dissecting this very topic, ad nauseam.

 

You might also look up Chinatown, he seems to be a good one to get you started in the right direction. Seems he has a lot of sources.

 

Ain't THAT the truth!

 

I am also making a career change. I decided to pay for school myself which is $4000.00. But the nice thing is a lot of companies offer tuition reimbursement. I did it this way so i am not obligated to work for lower wages for a company who put me through school. Good luck to you. Ohh, research the threads on this site. There is a lot of good info here.

 

this man speaks the truth

 

Yea id say China can put him on the road he needs to be on.

 

I don't think California has community college CDL schools. If you can afford a private CDL school that's 160 hrs. or longer, that's the best way. You can pick and choose among dozens of companies then.

Swift does have an excellent school.

Southern Refrigerated Transport also has a good school that's 4 weeks plus they provide free hotel room and 3 meals a day during classroom training. Probably get more miles with them since they run mostly coast-to-coast. If you prove to be an excellent student, my understanding is you can graduate early and hit the road with a trainer.

Can't knock Prime Inc. either. In my opinion their training period is too long, but that's my opinion. I don't care for being stuck in a truck with another person. If that's not an issue with you, then it's a good option.