newbie

hey denis, i hear what your saying, but there is an advantege to paying that,
1, im there 6 months, therefor, it give me 6 months exp.
2. it allows all the knowledge to sink in and settle down in side my almost empty head
3. its 10 weeks of class work
4. 10 weeks of hands on
5. 4 weeks in the truck on the rd
6. 8,000 i dont have to make a commitment to a company
even tho most comp dont do contracts, but you make a comitment, well at least till you trainning is paid off, where as idont have to..
so thats that.
and also dif companys come in all the time, at least 1 or 2 a week, so it gives us a chance to see who is out there, and compare and decide

 

I don't think this will count as 6 months experience in any way. I've never heard of such a long course. As for the experience, most companies say they want at least 1 year OTR experience, not just 1 year of experience. Right now ABC Training & Testing, about 5 miles away from me, is offering a 190 hour course for $3700. The number of hours I see most companies wanting is 160. I think you definitely overpaid, but I also think the extra time will really make you a safer, smarter driver, which is a good thing.

 

I sure hope the 12/3 course is not for flatbed drivers. I'm trying to drive for the National Van Fleet and that definitely won't work out too well. I just received all of my paperwork yesterday and quickly went over it. It looks like I have some reading to do this weekend with all of the fine print. As far as roommates are concerned, I'm not quite sure what to think. The paperwork says one thing while people here say the other.

 

I have to agree with you on that. I read through my paperwork and a few things popped out. People here say no roommates. Paperwork says roommates. People say you're guaranteed a job on completion. Paperwork says you're not guaranteed a job. The one thing I DO know is that if you go through the flatbed course, you're qualified to drive van, flatbed, and curtain. In the Van course, you can't drive a flatbed without going through another course. I think the flatbed would offer a cushion for when freight slows down.

 

Good luck, and make sure you come back now and then and tell us how things are going. Its valuable information.

 

I believe your guaranteed a job upon completion, they just can't say it legally. I didn't know that about the flatbed course. Thanks for the information.

 

hey well as the old saying goes.... we all start somewhere, so weather its 6 months or 4 weeks, were still learning, and were always going to learn, even after 10-100 years from now...

 

At Roehl you actually pay $350 for the 3 weeks of room and 2 meals a day. You get a single room. Not a big deal...you will soon be spending 4 weeks in a large closet with a stranger. I do alot of camping in a tent. But I like to have my own tent. You have to pay your dues. If I did not enjoy doing something new every few years I would continue to do what I am currently doing. The open road is calling me. Time will tell if it sends me back home.

respects to all,

dennis in se pa

 

I didn't know that about the flatbed course, either... apparently there's some extra training for tarping and such. I actually read it on this forum. Also, I'm pretty sure you're right about the job guarantee, although the paperwork says that anything not in the contract isn't legally binding.

 

Thanks for that info... I wasn't aware that $450 check included meals. I thought I'd be eating oatmeal for 3 weeks...