It's hard to have sympathy.

I think what he is saying is finance your Cdl from a private school instead of signing an employment contract to get your Cdl. This way you are free to go to any carrier that would hire you after you graduate. It gives you more choices and your Cdl financial obligations are not tied to your job so you can change employers whenever you want. It gives you more freedom and increases your chance for success.

 

This issue is this.. a person goes to get financed personally for a school.. OR the driver goes to a company of which hardly any companies even have anymore.. MOST companies send or recommend private schools of which they support in some way or just where a prospective employee lives near that meet their standards. its a moot point.

The person gets financed (signs a contract) for training. The person still has to pay off the loan.. if they go to a private school or company sponsored school, the contract is still there. With the private school, the person goes to Company "A".. which may or may not have a tuition reimbursement plan where the company agrees to pay of X amount of their contract (training) over a certain period of time.. There is no difference in the contracts at sponsored schools. If the person fulfills the contract, their training is paid for. If the person leaves Company "A" for some reason.. they still have to pay for the training. There is no difference to the person.

If either person leaves Company "A" their training must still be paid for.. going to Company "B" is irrelevant. Company "B" is usually never going to even offer tuition reimbursement for the training. The FACT is that most new drivers all leave the industry because it is the industry that sucks... NOT the various companies. All companies, new drivers get lost, All companies the drivers start off intimidated, All companies the drivers have to learn how the pay works AND for it to catch up to them. All companies have new drivers who get homesick and want to give up and go home. The main difference in companies is what color the truck is painted.. and even that is becoming less the case.

Either the new people are going to stick it out or they wont. And most do not, that's just the facts.

 

I have to agree with Twin Screws. He is giving facts that are supported by primary sources. You are giving opinions that are anecdotal and prejudiced.

Any new drivers or those thinking of getting a CDL will be well-served to heed the advice given by Twin Screws and others on this board who have been successful and ignore those whose view of the industry as a whole is shaded by their own poor choices

 

That's the truth about schools, the industry, any employer.
Having stepped out from behind the dispatch window and gotten behind the windshield - I have "some" idea of what to expect. It's my personal fortitude that will make the measure of my success.

Any driver who signs an employment contract may do so because they are faced with the options of last resort. Whether it be the school, the employer, or the career choice. I do not begrudge the mega-carriers their reactions. Yes, you will be a number until you prove otherwise - where is that different in life? The carriers are taking an EXTREMELY large risk with noobs - look at the number of humorous Swift threads on Facebook. The risk of litigation in addition to insurance premiums, cargo claims, and equipment losses has to be staggering. The number of supertrucker wanna-be's who have preceded me have left a naturally jaded and cynical outlook for safety departments and fleet managers. Recruiters are no different than sales people - the company doesn't make money if the trucks or the trailers are empty.

To the bellyaching rookie brothers of mine I say, "Shut up, put in your time, and decide if you and your family are in for the career. Then work from a strong position once your schooling is paid off. You have 12-24 months experience, you have a clean safety record, and you don't need your hand held. It is then you can start making the coin and taking it to the bank."

"Nothing that comes easy is worth a dime." - Woody Hayes

 

The outcome is the same because the people are the same... the CDL is the issue.. either they stay or they don't financing and pretending that going to a company of choice where the are still completely clueless about the industry. Pretend that most drivers entering the industry are willing to load and unload freight or are even capable of peddling freight.. or will walk into a union shop and get anywhere near full time unless its one of the major metro areas no one with sense wants to live..... pretend all you like.. you're apparently good at it.. I have worked in the CDL training industry for a long time.... for both a company school and then a nationally certified "private" school. We did all the financing also as one of the options... the default rate was about average for trucking schools... around 85%.

 

Private school 6,000.00 cash, 9000.00 financed
You may have freedom of companies, but you still have zero experience with CDL, so good luck at all these great jobs you get with private schooling. It's mainly going to be mega carriers regardless due to insurance. It may not be 85% default, but I can speak from experience, if class begins with 40, by the end of testing for permit, drug tests, and 1 st week of training that 40 is down to 20-23.