Need some advice! On Truck Driver Training.

Yes, any question is a good one.

 

Ok, I went to a 4 week school (VA paid), then went to a starter company (Swift). Went with a Mentor (read: Babysitter) for 6 weeks. After that, had a company truck solo.

The short schools are kinda hit and miss from what I've learned. Some are good, some not. Mostly what they'll do is get you trained to pass the CDL drive test. I was lucky and found a pretty good one up here in WA state. Your mileage may vary....

My school consisted of 7 hours a day, 4 weeks. 3 or so hrs backing, 3 hrs on road making turns in the city. Normally 1 hr at the wheel during road time (3 students per rig). By the end I could shift, pretrip, log ok, and do simple backs.

As a student driver, Swift paid $450/week for 4 weeks, then $500 the next 2. My mentor and I had a dedicated run of 700 miles (R/T) a day. By the 3rd week, I did the majority of the roadtime, with him spelling me to finish the runs. At the end of this I was an ok driver. I was confident enough to handle whatever I ran into biggrin_25525 on the road.

Now, some community colleges have longer programs. One of our local schools does loads with a teacher but take 6 months to complete the course. I couldn't be unemployed that long.

 

a c.d.l. school only gets you ready to pass the states c.d.l. test. No school can teach you all the things you need to know.So school starts when you get with a company and get out and start getting into the industry, i hope you get with a good company and get a good trainner. Good luck.

 

In general even after going to school at a tech/vocational school, you will still need to put in some supervised training time with a trainer, probably at least a month.

In 2003 I did a semester at Southeast tech in Winona, MN. Then spent 2 days with a trainer at Monson Trucking, Duluth, MN (RIP), and then I was on my own.

50 years ago a 16 year old would ride around with daddy or grandpa, and they would get smacked upside the head every time they scratched a gear or did something wrong. And they went and got their chauffeurs liscense and that was that.

A semester at an accredited tech school bears a lot more weight than Swift's or Werner's 3 week crash course as far as finding a job. Swift ONLY trains you for SWIFT, WERNER ONLY trains you for WERNER. Other companies will look at your swift or Werner diploma and laugh, forcing you to retrain. A decent school gives you a lot more options. I hope this helps...