Thinking about joining the industry..........

that $700 from a community college does seem a bit low......

but, i think its best to get the education from a school rather than a trucking company....this way, you are not bound by contract to stay at the trucking company for whatever length of time said contract is.

 

Plus you can be at home while going to school instead of spending your schooling time and training time away from home. Can be a little more costly. Education wise they are about the same.

Welcome to the forum and good luck to you.

 

chompi, That is true. I know some companies like Swift and I think England and possibly Central Ref. make you sign a contract saying you will drive for that company for a certain length of time. I know I went through Swifts school long ago and I had to sign for 6 months before I could leave them.

Good luck out there, I have always enjoyed driving trucks. I started driving trucks right after I got injured in combat and got out of the Marines. My wife and myself even drove team together until we had our little one. Now its just me. It is alot of fun, and when Im home I miss the road. Its great.

 

SF, brother.

 

that $700 from a community college does seem a bit low......

Not in North Carolina, it seems they have some of the most affortable training in the US......and with grants reduced even more or free based on some emails from new drivers in that state.

Nice thing about those schools are that they state run and the
curriculum is highly scrutinized and you will get plenty of seat time in the proper equipment.

 

The way it is working for us (recent experience here) is that we use the school they provide - it will cost $3000 - we will pay that off in $100/month payments and Central will pay the other $1800 in monthly payments - however if we no longer work for Central - then we will be responsible for the cost of the schooling. We can leave their employment at anytime w/our CDL - we just will be on the hook for the full cost of the schooling. Also there are programs (?) available that if you have your military discharge and its honorable there is some financial help there - not sure of the exact details - you would need to call and ask. Anyway - that is how it worked for us. Klingon is in 'training' now and I will be starting 'schooling' at the end of January.

 

$700 sounds dirt cheap; my community college bill is closer to $2300. I've seen some big numbers thrown around on this board, up to $9K.

For comparison, the course I'm going through runs 3 months, four days a week, 8:00-4:30. The program is broken into several classes - Preparing for CDL, Trucks and Trailering, Trucking Laws and Regulations, Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance, Driver Training. I don't know how it compares to commercial programs, but it sounds well-rounded and as if it covers more than just the bare minimum to pass the test.

It doesn't hurt to call ahead and speak with the instructor to get details. I asked our instructor specifically about time behind the wheel, and he told me that we'll spend more time doing driving and hands-on work than anything else. He said the actual time mainly depends on the student; how you do and what you need to concentrate on to get through the program and pass the test. So they'll work with you to make sure you succeed.

Another thing to consider is that companies will recruit from the community college, so you'll likely get to hear a recruiting pitch from more than one outfit, and you're free to make your decision about who you want to work for. Of course if you read about recruiters here, you'll know to take their pitches with a grain of salt.

Good luck!

 

Currently here in TN at Tn Technology Center Nashville, it runs about $700 for a 2 month 220 hr PTDI program. Thats $1300 minus $600 lottery grant money that all TN citizens qualify for, if they have never taken advantage of it. They use 4 year old Volvos for the yard trucks and 2 Petes for over the road.....all in like new condition. They give you plenty of seat time, they use loaded trailers as the training advances and night driving course per the PTDI training standards. Hands down the best deal around!

The course runs 7:30 to 2:30 Monday thru Friday.

 

That does sound like the best school around. Either way $700 is much easier to pay than what the big so called training companies charge. Now if you come out of there and your record is spotless you can go out on your own and find a job that just might set you up for a future.