hello everyone from florida

hello my names edward i found your site whilst google searching some info on trucking and different. options i can go to for training and such. now this has been a big decision for me as i know trucking is more of a life style then a job. im prepared to make that commitment and follow in my grand fathers footsteps, the man im named after actually but anyway the one thing i keep coming back to is trucking school i know this subject has been beat to death but i cant find any recent info on the subject i ran a search but all the threads were a few years old. so do i really have to go i mean it seems like an awful amount of money 6.2k for road master with a 250 entrance fee. plus its in tampa which is a lil far from me. the money isnt the issue as my aunt agreed to help me with the loan. but is it really needed or can i download a study guide from online and just go take the test then get hooked up with a trainer at a company? or do i have to cough up the dough as id rather not be a burden on my family like that.