Fulfilling a childhood dream to become a truck driver and seeking advice for a new driver

Private schools are the most expensive way to go.
Find a community college program of the same length if you can. It will be much less expensive and likely just as good. I've met people who used the GI Bill and gave away $20K to these schools for six months of part-time classes (How's that for an incredible waste of taxpayer money?) after I paid $1,850 for a five-week full-time class and got my CDL with all endorsements. (Note that I don't use any of the endorsements now.) Same license at a fraction of the cost. Shop carefully for a school.
The non-trucker perception of truck driving isn't anywhere close to the reality. See if you can find a driver to ride along with on a load. Go to truck stops or elsewhere and find a driver or two to talk to about the job or their company. Listen to the ones who are happy with their companies. I went through four companies before I found a good fit. There's a huge learning curve in the beginning and the trucking industry seems to eat people alive because there are a million ways to fail or screw up. You have to be extremely focused and smarter than a truck tire, THEN you need to be able to be assertive in the interest of safety or common sense or in the face of sheer galactic stupidity. A thick skin also helps. An ability to tolerate living in a small space for long periods of time while getting virtually no exercise while eating crappy food also helps. Most of the food you find on the road will kill you eventually. There's a reason truck drivers suffer en masse with high blood pressure and/or diabetes. Addictions to caffeine, nicotine, sugar, fat, or carbohydrates will likely only get worse due to stress and the need to stay stimulated while being basically physically indolent. Add to that the stresses of being away from family (if you have one) and other loves ones and the impacts that being absent from children has, and you've got trucking in a nutshell. I hope the money is good enough to make all of this worthwhile and that you love to drive more than you love family, home and health. The money is a wildcard, since the different pay schemes vary so widely even among companies that will hire new drivers. Oh, and if you have questions about whether you can pass the drug screens, you probably shouldn't even bother.
[Edit: Beyond all that, Schneider is a great company for new drivers. Safety culture, good support, 60 mph company speed limit. Believe it or not, moving/driving too fast is how many new drivers get into worlds of trouble. Also, 60 mph seems to be a sweet spot for avoiding merging accidents. All SNI asks is that you be a responsible adult and not act like a clown who has run away to join the circus.]
Good luck!

 

People actually have dreams about this crap???!!
I live it and it is more a nightmare having to deal with most of these hillbillies out there....hehehehe

 

i wish hillbillies were all i had to deal with. Habla espanol?

 

Nein....but I know German and Russian I would rather put up with anyone but Hillbillies... Heck Latin folks from South of the border are a great culture. Defiantly more classy than some inbred from Outhouse Creek Ky

 

A fraction of the cost? Not necessarily. If one is working for $8.50/hr during the 6 months of part time classes, how much do they lose by not being in a truck for 5.5 months? I would opt for $850/wk over those 24 weeks ($20,400.00) as opposed to $8.50/hr over 6 months ($8,840.00). Now, if you make more than $8.50, say $18/hr, that's another story. It all depends in one's situation.

 

They are not one culture. It really depends on who you are talking about. . Argentines are good. A few others are good but you clearly are not in a latino dominated area to be spewing that ignorance. Give me a hillbilly any #### day of the week over these foreign invaders.