A few questions on what Ive read on Schools etc

Hi everyone.
Ive been reading the posts here for some time trying to make an informed decison. lol I swear I think iam more confused now then ever. so a few questions. I want to get decent training and it be done right.

1) cdl schools community colleges I seen 160-300 hour classes are these 300 hour classes worth the extra money outa pocket. I dont mind paying it if i get that edge or actually get better trained. Id rather pay my way then be commited to a company for a year.

2) company paid training. do I bite the bullet I dont mind if I must, and go with company training? I just want quality traning is my concern.

3) if i do pay for my own Iam seeing some companys will still want you to go thru thier training. so whats the use of paying for it on my own?

4) Another concern is Iam from Illinios. From what I read If i goto school out of state with the laws here i will have to retake all my tests over again as licenses just dont tranfer over in illinios. guess we can thank good old george for that one

Been in the building trades for 15 years and theres no work now. lol ya iam the guy you see hanging from a skyscraper from a rope thats a few fries short of a happy meal building them.

Thanks ahead of time for any info

 

300 hours isn't unreasonable. Normally it's split down the middle. 50% classroom, 50% hands-on.

The legit schools follow PTDI curriculum standards, which are accepted by virtually all of the large carriers that hire entry level drivers.

http://www.ptdi.org/standards/index.aspx

 

you can also check out this site.. They have a lot of good info on schools in your area.
www.truckschoolsusa.com

 

Since PTDI says they have 65 certified schools in 24 states, your statement seems to indicate you believe that in those 24 states less than 3 legit schools on average exist and that the other 26 states offer all illigitimate courses.

Best regards

 

All I can say is I went through a community college course and was darned glad not to be indebted to any company. It just depends on your situation and how you want to work it. Money up front or money out later and having to stay with a company for xx amount of time to pay it off...

 

I'll share the info I found, or what I could find, and how I understand it:

the key is number of students per instructor. how many in a truck driving at a time? how many hours are actual behind the wheel hours? what is covered in the classroom?
I did a 160 hours school, was 4 students per truck (6 per truck on the pad/backing skills) so I only actually got one hour driving time, and practice each back one time each day (6 backing skills covered in the class). the classroom for me did not cover trip planning, or extra endorsements (hazmat, tanker, etc).
if you get more driving and practice time, less students to compete with for your turn, perhaps training on endorsements and other paperwork for the job, it's worth it.

from what I could understand, you will get the basics (driving and backing skills), plus what ever endorsements required for that company (such as hazmat). the classes are usually smaller, so student to instructor ratio is good, but is like a 160hr/3 week school, just the basics to get the cdl. you have to travel (some pay for it) to where ever their school is, or approved school for that company, so possiblly still transfering your license back to your home state. as I'm sure you've seen, you have to work for that company for a certain amount of time (varies per company) to pay for the education.

the "go thru thier training" is your time with a trainer/mentor person. all company who accept newbies do this. nothing personal, but they are not going to let someone go solo right out of the gate. the trainer/mentor person is to help teach you the how company rules apply, tricks of the road, specifics of equipment (like qualcom, refer, etc), how to send and recieve info from company (like fuel, scale, toll tickets and other paperwork), and other such details work.
the trainer/mentor person is basically so company knows you can do the job with their very expensive piece of equipment, you have learned the basics, understand the laws, and your are safe enough to turn loose. most I've seen are 6-8 weeks, or number of miles; some do it like team driving (learn on the job), some do it like shadowing (you do all the work, trainer person just there to help if/when you need advice). the "best training possible" really depends on the trainer you get. dont think matter much which company, everyone is different; different people have different teaching styles, different people have different learning styles. part of it is picking a company who's basic style works for you (shadow or learn as you go), then luck of the draw who you get for trainer. (some companies allow you to request a different trainer if have personality conflicts, or trainer is bad, breaking the law, safety issues, and such; just call recruiter and ask their company policy)
and dont be offended, isnt just newbies have to prove themselves. I've not researched a company who doesnt make all new drivers go thru a road test and/or driving test. experienced drivers have to show they are safe and know the laws and regulations too, (they just get to skip the trainer/mentor part). seems it is usually done at orientation. same with physical and ua tests. all companies do it.

I went to school out of state. from what I understand, you do not retake all your tests over again to transfer back to home state. is like transferring a personal driving (car) license. you will have to pay to transfer hazmat and retake the written for it (my state anyway, I've heard this is common for many states, but dont know for sure).
you might have to retake the written test, depends on your state, just like a car license. the cost varies per state, but is same as a renewal. check with your state dps/dot to be sure of costs and requirements for transfer. for my state, I was told if license is less then a yr old, just have to pay fee to transfer, but if over a yr, have to retake written test and pay a fee. the state I'm going to school in, long as current license if valid, no tests, but pay a fee for the transfer. just have to call and ask your local dot/dps office.
(is state policies, not federal)

I suggest: call your local dps/dot and find out details on transfering cdl and endorsments. call the places your are interested in attending for training and ask how much actual drive time/wheel time; ask what all they cover in classroom (just cdl basics, additional endorsements, log books, trip planing, qualcom, etc). call the companies your interested, see which schools they accept (the community college near me, two of the companies I wanted to apply with did not accept their training, so be sure to ask. and yes, that CC did offer job placement, and was a certified)
also ask if have to change license to that state for where attending school, if additional fees not included in tuition (the cost of license and physical were not included with tuition at school I attended, and caught some students off guard)
I ended up at a 160 hour, 3 weeks school. was the best financial choice for me, and I was able to apply with several companies that way. for tuition reimbursement, some companies still want the contract for a yr or specific amount of time, but I can live with that. I wish had been the smaller classes as I was told over the phone, so I suggest going and looking the place/school over, dont just take the word over the phone. ask about condition of their trucks and equipment, then go look if you can. try to hit the school over lunch or during a break time, ask some of the students their opinion of the place. over all, I got the basics I need to get my cdl and begin my new career, so I dont disagree with the idea of training this way.
If I had been able to afford a longer program, with additional training (such as trip planning and other minor details my trainer/mentor now have to teach me, and have to learn endorsements such as hazmat and tanker for myself) I would have preferred it. those usually have smaller classes to.

IMO: if the training is certified, it will get you in with almost any company. if it is accredited, you might qualify for some financial assistance. all companies you are going to have to do your newbie time to prove yourself, just like any job. the extra time is more about the details, and if they dont cover details, it not worth the money or time.
you want to get your cdl in a reasonable amount of time, but you also want as much driving time as possible. if they train of different transmissions, equipment (the school I attend has 9 speed and mostly 10 speed, freightliners, a kenworth, but mostly volvos), and do they offer different trailers (do they do loaded, unloaded, different lengths of trailers, tanker, flatbed?). school I did said loaded and unloaded on phone, and they had a tanker. but if I'd gone to place and looked, is all unloaded, and the tanker trailer is out of service due to breaks.
if you choose company direct, is more like apprenticeship. if is not certified training, plan on putting in some time there, to get experience before considering changing companies. some companies will ask for refresher course at a certified school if you decide to change companies later. (they want that certified piece of paper for their insurance from what I understand, has nothing to do with qualification or skills), but I've also heard once you get a few years experience going this route, and decide to change companies, some companies pay for the refresher certified class.

hope this helps, sorry so long. again, best of luck, hope find something that works for you.

 

You are correct, in that relatively few schools are actual PTDI members and thank you for pointing that out. But what I said is legitimate/accredited CDL schools FOLLOW the SAME STANDARDS, which were originally developed by the FHWA in 1985 and endorsed by the stakeholders (trucking companies, insurance companies, etc.). PTDI does not have a monopoly on those standards.

 

not all schools follow PTDI standards, and not all are certified. I found several that were not.
I think as long as they are certified, is a good school, can apply almost anywhere, but you do have to ask. courses are not going to advertise that they are not to PTDI standards or advertise that they are not certified.
the ones that do advertise they are certified and hold to PTDI standards, just check and see if the company you'd like to apply with recruits from that school, or what their job placement is like, which companies recruit from there. some offer extra perks, like paperwork and endorsements, so choose one that suits you best in your area.

 

Actually you said "The legit schools follow PTDI curriculum standards". No, they do not have a monopoly on those standards, but many legit schools want nothing to do with PTDI and use their own curriculum standards, and my point was that there are many schools that exceed PTDI standards without considering PTDI standards as anything but lacking. When my Community College has reviewed standards we have always decided that we would not seek certification from any entity whose standards allowed for certification of any school of less than our standards. I do not mean to throw stones at PTDI (Or anyone else), as certifying orgs are necessary to provide some minimum standard training levels, but there are many legit schools which reject PTDI, and they should not be slighted just because of it.

Best regards

 

Nothing wrong with exceeding standards.

The school I work for is accredited through ACCSC. We were re-certified earlier this year. Pretty similar to a DOT audit. This is the document they use to evaluate our curriculum:

http://www.agsafetyandhealthnet.org/CVTA Tractor Driver Training Suggested Subject Outline.pdf

It's pretty much identical to the PDTI standards.

BTW, Our CDL program is 600 clock hours.