CDL WITHOUT Truck Driver School - Can I Get Hired?

Someone else posted recently they didn't go to CDL school, just got a CDL and was hired off the street for OTR. I dug back through his previous posts and discovered he stretched the truth just a tad in order to call others stupid for getting formal training. Discovered he signed on with some company I never heard of for reduced wages in return for 16 weeks of OJT with a trainer.

 

dlowery you correct in your assessment of the state of driver school training. The fundamental goal of the school is to get you to pass the CDL test. The real training is on the job with whoever hires you. Observing students taking the skills test at my local DMV was an eye opener. With your background I'd save the $4000 and instead get paid to relearn with a company. As others have noted, there ARE companies that will hire you. In my case the insurance company required another driver in the truck with two years experience.

 

Obviously, there's precedent that it's possible to get a job without training, but it's going to depend on your connections, location and maybe a little luck. 4K isn't that big a deal, especially considering tuition reimbursement. The guys talking about working a few months with an O/O or some crap company then switching to Swift..? How little money are you making that you switch to Swift?!? CDL school could very possibly directly increase your possible income in your first year of driving. You can go with a small outfit or crap mega carrier and make 30K, or go to a decent CDL school and making closer to 50. It's an investment, and not all CDL schools are terrible, there's just a lot of bad ones.

Honestly, if you're this worried about the cost of CDL school, the money you'll make from a decent first year company compared to your current income is going to make the initial investment a wash, assuming you're reasonably intelligent and can run. If you really refuse to pay for CDL school, look into Prime. I've actually been hearing more good things about them lately, and they made some random list I saw a while ago that said they treat their drivers well (hard proof there, I know). They do free CDL school for a year of work I'm assuming. Definitely need to look into that program on your own tho, I know nothing about it.

 

Hey sherlock510, boy, ain't that the truth. When I got my chauffeurs license in the late 70's, the examiner at the DMV asked me if I had a road test OF ANY KIND, in the last 2 years. I said, well, I took my motorcycle test last year. He said, good enough, and I've been grandfathered ever since.(except for endorsements)

 

There's this thing called prerequisite knowledge... that's why calculus is not among kindergarten curriculum.