cdl-no school

I got my Class A on my own as well nearly 16 1/2 years ago, been trucking since day one. Learned from doing not a book. Look at small local companies, someone will give you a chance. Good luck!

 

since you're in NC and close to me, I can say that if you don't get on somewhere with a smaller company and absolutely HAVE to get into a school to get the experience to get hired, the NC community college system is running an excellent program that i'm in now at davidson county community college and i believe randolph county has a similar program that's probably closer to you and both courses will get you in, get you the experience to cover alot of companie's insurance requirements, and get you out for right at or under $1000.....and there are some decent companies recruiting at our school, not just the usual bottom feeder starter outfits, alot of them local and smaller outfits......if you want detailed info on the course i'm in PM me and i'll give you specifics but it's an excellent program, i'm getting above average training and alot of road time and the total cost was only 925......

 

if he attends that school the cost would be good as he will not need a permit or an appointment to take the tests all over again. they can word the certificate as "advanced training" rather than "refresher"...

this is the terminology my school uses, "Advanced Training"....and the cost is (i believe) $1,000. well worth the aggravation it'll save him later on.

 

Getting a CDL on his own is a big plus in the eye's of anyone considering it shows that he is after all independent and can do things on his own with out the help of others. Down side to it is is that it's not adequate schooled training by a licensed instructor required by carrier insurance companies. That's why I voted against going that route because I knew I would end up in that very same boat with no paddle. I would recommend Prime Inc. if they will take you because of that under age impairment. They do have one of the top schools around and the training is tiptop. Worth a try and might land you in a job. Good luck.

 

You may be able to get on with a dump truck company or an environmental company. I work for an environmental company and guys that want to drive can go get their permit and then drive with our guys and when they are ready to take the test they can use the company truck. So they have no more experience than you. Some up your way may be a and d environmental or maybe hepaco. There is usually more work envolved than just driving but you will get experience and then can move on if you choose.

 

This is what I was thinking too. The school I graduated from charges about $1,000 for people who already have the CDL-A but need fresh driving time to get hired.

All the places I've applied to as a new student want to make sure you have been out of school no longer than 30 days. Over that 30 day mark and I would have had to go back for another week of driving and manuvering. The school I went to will let you come back no charge for week long refresher courses for up to six months after graduating, after the six months is up you have to pay the $1,000.

I've applied at every local job and small trucking company I could find around here (OTR was my last choice but was the only place I found an employer willing to hire me). I pretty much got the same story at all the places, their insurance carrier wont let them hire drivers with less than a years experience. One place that is two minutes from my house needs drivers. The guy I talked to said "I'd love to give you a road-test right now and hire you if you could drive but my insurance company will not cover you".

I haven't heard anyone mention the phrase "advanced training" at my school. But maybe I wasn't listening. "Refresher" course stuck in my head because I almost had to take one.

 

Most big OTR companies hire by formula. You don't fit in. Try some smaller local companies, construction, etc, get some otr experience THEY WILL CONFIRM. Try the big companies, again, in a year or so.
I"ve driven 27 or so years with a mixture of companies who don't report to dac, companies who do, and companies that don't exist anymore. Most companies only count what they can easily confirm....by whatever method they have set up.

 

This is exactly why entry into this industry should be different from most other jobs. In trucking you first settle on one or two likely employers, not some vague handful of different companies in different places, but specific companies in specific locations and then get the license in a manner that makes Company A or Company B happy..

Some companies that hire students only hire students from certain schools. People will tell you the CDL school accreditation has ended that, but it's not true. Insurance companies decide what new-hire will have and if the insurance carrier says all new-hires will have big ears and come from Indiana, you can bet the new-hires will have that to be hired. We can argue if that's reasonable or necessary, but the insurance carrier makes the decision and they count, we don't.

 

this is true, the INSURANCE Industry RUNS the trucking industry...

when we have a "safety related industry" (which trucking is, did everyone forget this fact..??), the insurance companies will dictate who gets hired, who does NOT get hired. would anyone want a "self educated, self licensed" air-traffic controller or railroad engineer, or commercial pilot flying YOUR family....????

i think NOT..the days of "self education and self licensing" have long since fallen by the wayside of rules, regulations, laws, and PROPER training, NO MATTER WHAT anyone says about schools and the training techniques they use to get the students in the front door, spin them around and spit them out that front door with a "diploma" in hand...

will a "self educated, self licensed driver" ever get a job...?? maybe so, but then again, maybe not, it's a gamble one takes and suffers the consequences when a job cannot be secured.

maybe the "mom & pop" places, maybe the deadbeat low-life-scum places will hire such people....i think playing the odds for a good paying job being "self educated, self licensed" are far too great to take such a chance if only to "dish out" money in the future....which COULD HAVE BEEN DONE the first time around......

 

So, in one or five years, when (hopefully) I have no tickets, no fines, no points and every load on time... prospective employers are still going to ask where I went to school?

Mikeeee