Greetings! A little guidance...

Hello everyone!

I've been here a few days reading as much as I can about different carriers, etc. I was laid off back in April and am currently in the beginning stages of getting some grant money to attend driver training. I have 4 pre-hires (of the 3 required) and hopefully will be getting more soon. I just want to get this ball rolling as quickly as I can. I have a bit of a dilemma though. I can't choose which school to attend....

At the start of this quest I called Southwest Truck Driver Training here in Tucson and spoke with the gentleman over the phone. I got a very sour taste on the phone. Didn't like him at all. Then I called HDS Truck Driving Institute. I like what she had to say and even went to go check out their school. She is actually where I found out the information about the state program.

After coming home that night (last monday) I found this forum and began researching. HDS Truck Driving Institute is part of HDS/DSW which doesn't necessarily have a good reputation on here. DSW is an O/O leased to Swift. I'll discuss which potential companies later, in a different thread. I ended up coming back on Saturday for an open house they had and met a couple of the instructors. Let's just say I wasn't that impressed with them.

I am planning on going to SWTDT tomorrow to check out their campus and maybe I will have a better taste afterwards. My question is should I go to HDS or SWTDT? From what I gather, SWTDT has been around longer, found several good things about them, etc. SWTDT is farther away from me than HDS is, but I don't want that to be the only deciding factor.

Any input would be appreciated!

 

Got it, thanks dagger!

 

I cannot respond, since my post count is too low....

 

Roehl isn't hiring in this area for Students. Thank you, however!

 

I was planning on covering the companies in a different thread... right now I'm just looking on insight for HDS or SWTDT. Dagger gave me some great info (first/second hand experiences) and some tips. I do not want to go to some company sponsored training since I can get the state to pay for school. Might as well take advantage of the funds available and not owe anybody than go to a school and either start in debt or get paid less because of repaying the company.