Is a school absolutely necessary?

Good job you can count. So whats better pay a few hundred extra bucks and getting a job or having a useless license?

 

How is it a useless license? I will compare mine to anyone's. It says Class A-valid for any vehicle or combination thereof.

Their may be some exceptions in certain states but you do not have to go to a school or start out with a training company to get an excellent job driving truck.

 

Maybe you dont but i did. In my experience i did. Seeing how you got your license 4-6 years ago my opinion is far more relevant than yours. Im not saying op cant get a job but it will be a smoother process going to school and it isnt much more expensive to even be noteworthy so he might as well.

 

What's truck driving school? Must be a mn thing. driving school for 900$! must be a hilbilly thing.

 

The place I rented my truck from is still I'm business. I just saw some of their trucks near the testing facility last week. They would not be in business if everyone to come out of there ended up with a useless cdl. I can speak from experience that does not happen.

As far as now vs me getting my license in 2010. The same attitude that you have to go to school and start with a starter company existed then. Have a little ambition and a desire to not want to be some companies whipping boy and you can succeed at starting out near the top.

If someone wants to go to weeks of school and go to some starter company for peanuts more power to them. I think the smarter decision is to go to a company that pays fair wages without the your new we can pay and treat you poorly mentality.

 

I just finished my first year with Swift and never went to school. First time I got my CDL was '77, then let it lapse after getting into another career track. Regained my CDL early last year by practicing on a permit with my brother and then drove 3 months with him, he was an O/O leased on with a company out of CA running loads into the Midwest and East coast.

After three months I hired on with Swift. They took 3 months recent OTR experience in lieu of school, but required I take the full 240 hour behind the wheel training before allowing me to go solo.

 

You are boring me. Those services are for those with family, or otherwise ties to the industry. They are for folks who want to take a chance and work for an OO or some small random company. Because the op asked this question i doubt he has any connections. If i were in his shoes i would go to school. If you were a good, decent human being you would recommend a person such as the OP goes to school as well.

 

I had no ties, i was the first in my family to drive for a living. They all say i dont know how you did it, or can do it with all the idiots out there. Aside from my brother who i taught to drive truck and he runs O/O local now. I started in underclass trucks and worked my way up so my exsperiance is not the norm aparently. Its real simple either your a truck driver or your a wheel holder waiting to have a accedent. So yeah he probably "should" go to school, but its not required. Look around this site for a min and you will see dozens of people who were clasicly trained and do or have problems that those of us who didnt go to school dont have. Its not becuse im a "super trucker" i am not. Im just a truck driver. Definatly not a decent human being.

 

Your location definitely has a bearing on school or no school.

 

Delete plz