Is C.R. England a good company to start out with?

Back when I was with CRE as a phase 1 trainer I had a couple of former military students and basically England treated them just like regular employees. Meaning they received the same offer for CDL training as civilians. You still had to work there 6 months (I think its 9 now).

I also had a student who was Navy reserve and his DM would never get him home ontime for his once a month weekend drill or whatever he called it. He would call me complaining about how his DM ignored his requests to get home. He also faxed her a sheet of when his Navy training would be and she accused him of falsify that document. She sad she needed his drill schedule mailed to her with a official seal from the Navy on it. Basically she could care less of his military commitment. England is not a military friendly company!

 

Read the latest thread on this company under bad company forum and all the posts that follows.That should be enough to scare you far away.

 

Iceman, use your GI Bill at an approved school. I had 1 post 911 deployment and it paid 60%. The more deployments, the more it paid. After school look for VA friendly companies that are associated with the VA apprenticeship program. There are several I know of. They partner with the VA Apprenticeship program and the program supplements your first year pay up to $1000.00 a month to offset the low training pay and costs associated with getting your experience.
If you are near one of DOT Foods DC's they will hire directly from school and are a great company. They pay back tuition with no strings attached over 36 months after you clear probation.

 

I was not in the military but I just graduated from a local college professional truck driving program. One of my fellow students had been in the army and used his VA benefits to pay for the class. He did this so that he could receive a broader range of training that he would have received by going through a company school.

As for C.R. England, we pulled into a truck stop to take a break and there was a CRE driver trying to back his truck, it was funny to watch. He would start to back and the trailer would start swinging to the left, then he'd pull forward and start backing and the trailer would start going to the right. He'd stop again pull forward and try again. When we came back out in a half hour, the CRE driver was still trying to back up. I think that says something about C.R. England's training program. Even our instructors thought CRE was a very poor choice of a company to drive for...

 

not sure where you are, I used my GI bill and went to sage technical services in colorado, but they have locations in other states. it paid 100% and its a pretty decent school, like other said there are lots of other schools that will accept GI Bill

 

Shneider National has a Miliatary Apprenticeship Program that you should look into after you get your cdl. If you get into their training program for veterans you will recieve 1,000 per month from the VA plus whatever pay you earn from the company during your first year with them. Darn good deal if you ask me.

 

Stay far away from CR England.

 

come to central ref. if reefer is what you want.

 

1. Stay away from CRE!!! Go work at 7-Eleven; you'll make more money. Seriously.

Now, independent vs. company affiliated schools. There's no real difference. Neither is "better". Either will get you your CDL; the affiliated schools are usually faster and, not surprisingly, cheaper. Once you get your new Class A CDL, you will be at the same place regardless of which route you take.

And despite what a lot of people are saying, going to a company affiliated school does NOT commit you to working for that company. If you stay with them, they'll usually pay off your schooling over a given period of time. If not, you're on the hook for repayment.

News flash: CDL schools teach you what you need to know to pass your state DMV CDL exam. They teach you nothing about how to be a truck driver. You will learn that in the first few months once you get out on the road.

Full disclosure: I went to Swift Academy in Richmond, VA this past summer. I recommend it HIGHLY. Swift Academy is accredited, so any company that hires new drivers will accept their training. Swift doesn't pay all that well the first few months on OTR, but they get a lot more competitive once you get six months of experience. I managed to land a dedicated position after three months, so I'm happy now.