Over analyzing my choices. Pay for CDL or indenture myself?

oops, even better

 

I paid for my own CDL school and got maybe 2 hours behind the wheel with other students in the truck with me.
At Prime you're one on one with you're trainer and it's no 2 week training BS more like 2 months which might sound crappy but you'll learn a lot that will be helpful.

 

yeah this will help https://www.driveforprime.com/students.php

 

The only one I can think of is that quitting your job, selling up and heading to Prime (or wherever) is putting all your eggs in one basket. If for some reason you don't make it through training or are unable to pass the test, you are now in a distant location, with no job, no income and no CDL. If you already have a CDL and don't make it all the way through Prime's training then *someone* else will hire you and give you a second chance.

This is not to be negative and that you should think you may not make it through training, but anything can happen some of which even the best efforts and positive thinking on your part cannot change.

What if if a dopey car driver cuts in front of you and gets taken out. Prime may decide that it was a preventable and show you the door. There you are stood on the sidewalk, no job, no CDL, and everything you own in a couple bags by your feet. If you already had your CDL, you could get right on the phone to another recruiter and maybe score a ride to their orientation within a matter of days. It probably wouldn't be a great company if they would consider a newbie with an accident on their record, but at least it would be a job and a route to a better company.

 

Does that plan B still involve obtaining a CDL and going OTR?. Any reason why you couldn't just quit job (maybe take unpaid leave of absence, if possible) and live with family while going to CDL school?. Basically turn plan B into plan A.

While I am not in your situation, I can certainly identify with what it is you are thinking of doing. I myself have given it thought too. If things fall apart at home, my intention is to hit the road and go OTR for as long as I can. While I do have a CDL already it is next to worthless as far as starter OTR companies go so I would still need to attend driving school or company retraining of sort so I would be essentially be in the same position as yourself.

 

It's a very good point and it's exactly what scares me the most. I think I will do well truck driving and do well in the school. But you just never know what could happen. If I quit my job and if for some reason this doesn't work out, I will be committing financial suicide. Then again, putting all the eggs into one basket helps to drive home how important it is to be super careful and safe.

 

I decided to pay for my own training and go to a local tech school(165hrs) Jan 12,15. My thinking was MAYBE better training than from a mega, more options where to work without being indebted with a company for money they spent on me and to find a company to work for that was local for me to have a short drive from home. Start school Monday, but have a few job offers already and can go to work as soon as school is over if I pick one of them. Good luck!

 

I agree, knowing how much is on the line will certainly focus you and motivate you to put maximum effort in, but the scenario I mentioned was only to show that sometimes it isn't just down to you whether you succeed or not.

I am not suggesting that you shouldn't get your license through a trucking company, under the right circumstances I would too (not having the money to pay for school etc), just that if there is a way to swing the balance more in your favour then that might be a better approach. Having a CDL in hand before you start with any company would mean you don't have the added pressure of "pass the test or else...".

I know when I did my CDL, it was entirely by choice, something I wanted to do for myself. I had no pressure to pass, there was no job dependent on it and all I had to lose was my tuition money. I was there to have fun and I most certainly did. I did have classmates who were not so fortunate. For some of them they desperately needed that license to get a job and the stress was evident. There was one guy that didn't even finish the school, as soon as his CDL was in hand he was on the phone to recruiters and left a couple weeks early. No clue who he went to work for but I suspect it wasn't such a great company if they hired him before he had even finished the course.