School Tuition

As others will likely say, "don't let the company pay, you'll be indentured to serve them". You'll over pay with them, and if for whatever reason you don't finish your contract(it may NOT be your choice) you'll still owe large sums to the company. Which will likely NOT be recognized as legit training by other companies you may seek employment with...

Try a community college in your area. Talk to their financial aid staff(they will be helpful) and they will help you find a way to pay for school(it's their job). You could qualify for the Workforce Investment Act, Grants, or just student loans. Perhaps there is even some scholarships. Certainly worth checking out and would be MUCH better training IMO than most ANY company operated school.

Good Luck

 

I agree with shredfit1 whole heartedly. Trucking companies near where I live are quoting $5,000 or so as the cost of their training which they claim will be free if you work for them for at least a year. My local community college is only charging $2,000 for a nationally accredited course that I can take to ANY company.

I think the big trucking companies are hedging on the fact that most people that apply are not cut out for the lifestyle and quit early. So they're making a nice profit in most cases.

 

As I mentioned in a past post, I have to disagree. Company schools are not bad if you do your research. Learn about the company and read sites like this about what drivers have to say about them. but it's generally a great way to get the training and experience for free. If you serve your sentence (err..uh.. contract) at Swift or Werner or Schneider, you will have the experience to work for the vast majority of companies out there. It's a fair point that a company who trains you won't treat you very well for the first year, but show me one that will if you're green out of a school? New Drivers are treated rather poor in most cases across the industry. With an attrition rate thats scary, companies have good reason for it. However, Private pay schools won't necessarily get you better treatment than companies running their own. Get your experience with a clean record and you can go anywhere you want, in most cases.. Simple as that.

 

As others have said , the training is free only if you fulfill your obligation . Leaving the company may not be your choice . An accident , medical problems , or any other number of reasons can prevent you from working the required amount of time . "Get your experience with a clean record and you can go anywhere you want .. " ? A lot of members here will dispute that . There are a lot of good , experienced drivers unable to get a job anywhere .

 

that is a option tou may have to take if u cant pay for it yourself or does the state you live in could qualify you for a grant either way good luck

 

Dang man I'd croak if I had to pay $6,000 for school. Salt Lake Community College in Utah offers a 280 hour course for $1,950 or 160 hour course for $1,160. There's an extra $300-400 for lab fees / books etc. but it's still a far cry from $6,000. Supposedly it's also the best school in the state for CDL training.

 

My school was $2950 for the 4 weeks. But there was another 2 schools in the city, so I'm sure that helped quite a bit.

 

WOW!!! Everybody is walking around with a tube of KY now. When it comes to "new" truckers.

7 week accredited course at the local CC here is $700, less room and board. They've impacted the "professional" schools so bad, they've even cut their rates by 50%.