better school, ntts or pdi?

pdi,

then shoot for wegmans eventually......

 

Truck Driver Training Scholarships
Look at this information also. This website is part of this "thetruckersreport" website and at the bottom of this page.
I have a good friend in Rochester; he has an ice cream store there. If you see him, tell him there's new jogging trail in Shenzhen, China. He'll probably burst out laughing.

 

Yes, I read what you wrote. I'm also a veteran. What I'm getting at is it may be easier & quicker to let a trucking company you like send you to their school and then hire you also. What difference does it make who pays for the school, the trucking company or a veterans program, as long as you get the result you want.

 

Seriously? How about the commitment forced on you by those companies that "pay" for your schooling? What if he does not like the way the company works? Well sorry dude but you signed an agreement that said you will work with us for X number of months to PAY IT BACK. If you fail to complete that contract you have to pay it back anyway. Doing it his way hes not locked in to any one particular company.

 

Neither Squire nor Wil-Trans requires contracts.

 

What happens after you complete school and then decide 3 months down the road the company is ####e? Do they say thanks for your 3 months and good luck in the future or are you on the hook for the $3k (or whatever they value it)?

 

Personally, i'd go for ntts in buffalo, its actually at an old freight warehouse, back in 1995 went there for my cdl training and took the full 10 hour course, its tough, but you'll be far better off skill-wise than these POS 2-3 week schools like mti. You might get your cdl faster with these other schools and it might be cheaper, but the instructors were old salts that had been in the industry 20 years or more, unlike transam and schneider, who think that someone who was barely out of school is a qualified to be a trainer. Just learning how to point the truck down a length of interstate and push the throttle is nothing compared to the other manuevering skill you will need if you want to have a good career without getting into a wreck. That extra training program length could save your life, and lives of others on the road.

For those who think i'm being paid to say all this, you're wrong, this is from my own experience both in that program, and my 17 years out here on the road, and its the reason why the idiots at FMCSA need to establish a minimum 1 year training and apprenticeship for new otr drivers. If that had been in place, i have no doubt maybe this industry would have a far better reputation. The last time i recommended a 1 year period, i had people jumping on me about it costing too much. To those people, i recommend you ask how much a life saved is worth. If money and profit are more important to you than saving lives, you are no better than the corporate scum who have destroyed this industry's reputation.

 

Not only that, but they might decide YOU'RE ####e and you're still on the hook for their school.
Let's say you have a little "preventable accident" at a customers yard, they can fire you for "cause" and you will owe them for whatever they value their school. Some pro-rate it down over time, others it's the full amount until your year is up. It's a form of indentured servitude. It works out well for many, but there are always a few that get burned or burn themselves. It just adds to the risk and stress that first year otr.