I'm hoping to get some advise from veterans and from new drivers. My 40-year-old brother is thinking about going to TCE in Eagan, MN. The cost of school is $5000+ and requires a cosigner for the loan. He has asked me to be the signor. He has a difficult prior history that I won't go into, but I feel hopeful and encouraged that he's thinking about moving on with his life. My concern is that I'm not sure if driving schools are on the up & up. Nearly $7000 for 3 weeks of training sounds like a LOT of money to me. Are there other ways to obtain a CDL that would make more sense? Does a student who goes to one of these specialized schools have a better chance of obtaining employment? I guess that my concern is ... he'll complete the training, obtain employment at Werner or one of the "prehire" companies, and then find that there are no assignments available. I'd really appreciate feedback from anyone who has gone through one of these programs and/or from veteran truckers. Thank you very much!
$7000 for a 3 week program is way to much. Look into Community colleges they offer the best training and they run between $800-$3000 or so. Or look around for another truck driver training school in your area. I paid $2750 for a 4 week course. American Trucker
If the prior history has to do with drugs, alcohol, work history, MVR history, employment history, felonies, misdemeanors, etc., he's got his work cut out for him. Carriers are becoming more and more picky about their requirements. I'm not for a second saying it's not possible.....it's probably going to be #### tough though. Get your info from here or directly from a carrier's website, NOT, I repeat, NOT, from a driving school recruiter. Private driving schools will take your money, "talk the talk" about pre-hires, and lead you to believe that prior indiscretions can be smoothed over. Be careful!
Thank you both so much for your responses. He has a clean prior history in terms of anything that a criminal background check would uncover. However, he's lived in a group home for recovering alcoholics for the past three years and has a very, very sketchy employment history. He says that he's talked to Werner, TMC, and a few other employers all of whom have offered a pre-hire letter. But my guess is that the pre-hire comes with conditions, and once they investigate his background and see no prior employment history, those conditions would come into play. Is this a safe assumption to make, or are they really more concerned with no priors, a clean driving record, etc?
Did the prehire letters come as a result of applications he has submitted to Werner, TMC, and the others?
Hello and Welcome to the TR I would suggest having him check into the WIA program offered through your local Employment Security Commisson, or Career Source...This program is designed to help train paticipants to enter or re enter the workforce.It could take a few weeks to get the funding, but, in the long run there will be no payments. Best of Luck!
