Looking for paid CDL training

Stay far away from CR England and CRST. They are two of the worst. Did you look into CFI?

 

Try and decide on a “first carrier choice” first, then determine if they have their own school, offer outside tuition reimbursement, and if they have an approved list of schools.

It’s really hard to judge who has the better schools and who has the better apprentice programs. I personally think some carriers do a better job of “schooling” [with in-house schools] new drivers because they have a very vested interest in them being safe and successful since they presumably will be operating their equipment and taking care of their customers (at least in the beginning)

 

Why ?

It's part of the job.

 

States run grant programs called WOIA or WIA through the state unemployment office. If truck driving would pay more than your current job, or you are unemployed, you could have CDL school paid for you by the Feds. The states administer the WOIA/WIA program.

Half of trucking companies have Tuition Reimbursement or TR programs. They will pay a fixed amount per month, in addition to the pay you have earned, you can apply toward any CDL school loan. They will not pay your TR amount unless you borrowed money for CDL school.

Understand getting a trucking company to pay for your CDL training obligates you to a year of working for them. That's not a bad thing, but if you find you don't like the conditions at the company you will either need to work out your contract period, usually 1 year, or repay the cost of your CDL training.

Concentrate on finding a trucking company you want to work for because they match what you want. Then decide the best way to get your license. CDL school is often only 3 weeks. You will not have time to sort through trucking companies while going to school. Look at trucking companies around your hometown, say a 1 hour drive. Working for them will make certain things easier for you, like a place to park the truck when you go home.

Roehl, Millis, Prime are pretty good places to start if it matches your needs. Like shoes, it's more important how your choice fits you rather than how one company fits most drivers. Ask the company to have a driver contact you and ask him/her questions. It's not enough to know the company pay rate, average miles, average trip length, general freight lanes, etc. You want details of the current driver's working conditions and treatment by the company. Obviously they will have a happy driver, probably a trainer, contact you and tell you great things. Also check the company forums at this web site for drivers working for that company and read past posts about the company. You can't select a trucking company by reading ads and looking at company web sites.

Trucking is not nearly as dangerous as MOST civilians think it is. Women, even smaller women can do the job like any other driver. The big hurdle I hear about is that many trucking companies have few if any female trainers. It's not unheard of for a woman student to have a male trainer. Some women are OK with that and some aren't. You don't have to accept a male trainer if you don't want to, but your choice may be waiting for weeks or months to get a female trainer, if they have one. Once you get your own truck it's much easier than sharing the truck with another person.

It's best if you have no experience shifting gears in a car. That car experience is nothing like shifting gears in a truck. Most new trucks now are automatics. Shifting gears in a truck and backing trailers are not difficult, you just need to learn how to do it. Women almost always can be taught more easily than the average man because they don't view learning as admitting a character fault, like SOME men.