Over analyzing my choices. Pay for CDL or indenture myself?

You will start out at higher cpm if you fund the school yourself. I'm at work at the moment or I'd go through and list some details. I'm in a similar position. I'll be most likely financing my own schooling so I can work where I want to with no obligation. No interest, no contract, higher pay, more negotiating power, and more opportunities. Lots of companies will train, but require you to have your cdl first

 

I did same thing, almost pulled the trigger and went to a company school, so glad I didn't. I too, couldn't stand the thoughts of being contracted to a company for any length of time to pay them back for school. Not with reading the horror stories of getting fired for next to nothing, and stuck with paying them back at a ridiculous interest rate.

 

Short answer is yes you will.....try going to a local CC near you , that way you'll not have anything but a gas bill to pay , other than the school of course, most of them have much better training too, lower student numbers ( class size) , and some even have a job placement service you'll be able to use at the completion of your training....Good luck.

 

Pay for your own schooling. Better instruction, more options, etc

 

I disagree. A carrier that trains rookies to drive for them has a vested interest in training them well and more thoroughly (even though ~half won't last 6 months on the road, and the other ~half will be gone in ~a year for what they perceive as greener pasture).

 

Nope. TTR is my psychological waste bin. All the day to day bs that comes along with this industry i vent about on here. I actually like this job though. You havent read all of my posts obviously because some of them say that going to trucking school was the best decision i ever made.

Good luck. This job isnt as easy as you imagine.

 

nope, i didn't regret it one bit. A year goes by fast. I stayed 2 years and then moved on. At the end of those first two years i had ten grand in the bank.

 

I paid for school myself as a matter of fact I just finished school back in November of 2014. This is my advice and what worked for me. Pay your own way most schools have banks that will loan you money if you can qualify with decent credit. As for work goes I got hired by food distributor right out of school and have made 1500 a week on avg thus far. People will say Bull crap but its true. Here is the catch I have to unload my trailer I touch 100% of all that freight up and down a ramp all night in all kinds of weather. also note Im home 3 days a week as too. Its not for everyone because it can be physically exhausting however it pays well especially for a rookie driver. Good luck to you

 

If you go to a cdl school you can always find local work with no exp and be paid hourly and be home every night. seems like local pays more than OTR for some reason too, should be the other way around.

Edit: nevermind, just noticed you don't want local work

 

No you would think that but it isn't true. In order to keep enough trucks for new drivers they get rid of most to keep the training mill running. They have a stronger fiduciary interest to keep turn over high. Safety only comes in to play to keep them safe enough, long enough, to turn drivers over. For most of you 3 months is or should be your goal before they let you go. At least you might have enough experience then to get another job. It used to be 6 months at most places. Now you can find a few that will hire at 3. New drivers coming in should have a clear understanding that making it a year to pay off your loan is a long, long, shot.