Schooling & Training Time

both schooling and training will involve actual truck driving (though schooling will involve quite a limited amount). both will also vary widely according to where you go. school can range from 2 weeks (or maybe less) up to 10 weeks or more at a community college. going with a trainer as a new cdl holder can be a set amount of time from 3 or 4 weeks to a couple or few months, or it can be a certain amount of mileage.

my school was 2 weeks long. i went with a trainer for 4 weeks. but your experience may be different. you need to decide where you want to go to school first, maybe have a couple options, and ask THEM how long it takes. same for working with a company, though id say your list for comparison should include many companies. then find out what questions to ask to help you make an informed choice. narrow the list down from at least 20 companies to 2 or 3 based on your research questions, and then choose. once your list of companies to work for has whittled down to a few, dont be shy about going to a truck stop and finding current drivers who drive for the companies still under consideration. face to face, ask THEM how great or horrible the company is to work for. id certainly tell you if you came up to me...and if what they says sways you toward working for that company, offer to use their name when applying. many companies offer a recruitment bonus of some sort.

 

my significant other is working on his Dumb and Dumber right now, so i have a pretty solid time frame for up to phase 2. if you go with Stevens and are at the Dallas location, you will have 3 weeks of class/drive training, and during that three weeks, you will be taking your written and driving test for CDL. youll be staying at the hotel and get a weekly food allowance, which will be bundled in with your school loan and need to be paid back. We live in the Dallas area, so he didnt stay at the hotel during the school, so i am not 100% on the hotel paid part. You will be in a truck on day 2. Maybe not driving it, but definitely in a truck.

Once your training is complete, and you have your temp permit (and I think the TX laws changed at the beginning of the year to remove the hotel residency feature but I am unsure)... if it hasnt, you will use the hotel as your address and once your training is complete, transfer the CDL to your home state... UNLESS its IL. Illinois has a different CDL policy. no CDL can transfer into IL, but IL CDL can transfer to any state.
Anyhoo...
During the school/getting your CDL part of training you will not be paid. Pay does not begin until after the class training is complete.
Once your training is completed, you may spend a bit of time waiting on a trainer to begin Phase 1. During that time you will be paid, but you will also be on call for "here and there" things that Stevens will find to keep you busy during the waiting.
As a woman, it may take a bit longer to get a trainer than it would a man. For obvious reasons. You may be OK with a male trainer, it just also needs to be a trainer OK with a female trainee. It isnt sexist or discriminatory, merely a matter of preference... as is a smoking vs non smoking trainer/trainee.
Your pay during training is a flat 350.00 weekly. Stevens pays by T-Chek. Google it. You will be issued a card on which your money will be deposited, and you can select a percentage of your pay to be direct deposited to your bank should you desire. That 350 is what you will be paid until you get your own truck. Tuesdays and I think either Thursday or Friday of each week, you have the option to advance up to 50.00. If you do not use the Tuesday advance, you will only have the 2nd advance. The advances come out of your next weeks pay. If you are doing this without help from home, those advances will be what you survive on.

Once school training is complete and you are assigned a trainer, phase 1 is usually 4-5 weeks, 8400 miles, 2 mountains, all regions of the country. phase 2 is called dumb and dumber for a reason, its two students riding team, doing all trip planning etc. phase 2 is where my knowledge ends, I believe its also 4-5 weeks, about 7400 miles, but not 100%.

If you have a company trainer, you will be able to use your card to get fuel which gives you a free shower at most truck stops. with an alliance trainer, you will likely have to pay for showers. As a woman, I strongly suggest you get on youtube and search truckerdesiree and view her "hygiene is funny" post. And remember, any time you have the chance to pee, take it.
Hope this helps a bit