Newby + CR England =???

OK, I have read a zillion posts about CRE. My situation is a little different than most. I am a conductor for BNSF. Freight traffic slows in the beginning of the calendar year and being low in seniority I have been furloughed or laid off. I expect to be off for 4-5 months. I expect this to happen for the next few years. I get unemployment for 6 months and my benifits keep rolling for 4 months at no cost to me. When BNSF calls I will go back to work for them, the job pays too good to let it slip away. Being on unemployment, the state of Wyoming seems more than happy to pay for job training, or hook me up with a WIA grant.

CRE has a CDL program in Salt Lake City that takes 3 weeks. I've got family there so room & board is covered. Cost it $3500 or $2000 if you pay up front. If I can't get WIA to pay I would pay up front for the savings. They say after passing you are hired and go OTR with a trainer for 90 days. est. pay for those 90 days is $450/week. If I am not called back to BNSF by the end of the 90 days OTR, I would get my truck and drive company for CRE till they call, or bail with my 3 months experience and fine something else.

Option 2 is to take a course at my local community college, where I live. I don't have many details other than they offer classes starting every Monday and the tuition is $3400. They say they have "Corporate Alliances - Our multiple relationships with local and national trucking companies
ensures a quality job placement for the student after graduation." and lifetime refresher courses for free. I haven't been able to talk to anyone on the phone but I just started calling this morning.

Now with CRE I would get at least 3 months OTR which would help me down the road get hired somewhere else. I understand that this may be more if an insurance requirement that anything else. With my local CC I would not have that benifit. I will ask them when I get ahold of them what kind of jobs people are getting right out of class, maybe even talk to a former student.

I would like to work local (there are a lot of jobs here which require CDL in the coal, oil, and methane industry) and most of those places want someone with experience.

So Hopefully someone will have some advice, pointers, other questions to ask before I commit. thanks in advance.

pete

 

Thank you all for the feedback. The decision has pretty much been made for me as the grant for training is only available for the community college here in town. They will pay $75% and it is up to me to pay the rest. Still a good deal I think. I have an interview with them next week to see if I am a good candidate for their grant program. I'll let ya'll know how it goes.
pete