Profile For James L.

I might be the worst recruiter ever, cant even get this dude to look at millis and he lives 20 minutes away from a school.

Bit late on the reply but I actually called them Thursday! No open spots in the school till August, which actually works out for me to get everything I can think of ready, and to try and put back a bit of money to keep on top of bills or anything I might need.

I had a look at Knight but it doesn't look like they accept applications from my area based on the information here.

Many of the company profiles are probably out-of-date, so it'd be good to talk with recruiters about details like that. I checked here on Hirschbach after reading about them on Freightwaves; the profile says they have 700 trucks and require one-year experience, but now they have 2000 drivers and their own in-house paid CDL training. Their website says they pay during orientation and training as well, so search for them too, in threads here people said they're great.

I hadn’t thought about the info being out of date.

I’ll give Knight a call and some others and see what’s current. Thanks!

What is your second choice and why?

Based on what I have read both on these forums and other sites, CSRT, Prime, and Swift all seem like good options.

Not trying to come off like a recruiter but Knight pays you while in school as well. But...you have to pay for your own lodging and food. Most of the companies have slightly different takes on how they go about it but it works out about the same no matter who you go with.

I'd highly recommend taking a shotgun approach and applying to many different companies. It's always good to select a company you want to go with based on them falling in line with your priorities but as was said, there's no guarantee you will get hired by them.

Also I see a lot of people thinking they are going to find a company that somehow deviates from the rest of companies and pays miraculously high rates right off the bat. It's just not the case. They all pay about the same in relative ways and a student is a liability, not an asset yet. It costs a company money to train and develop you into a productive and safe driver.

I had a look at Knight but it doesn't look like they accept applications from my area based on the information here.

Okay…

Do here’s the thing;

Even if you are the perfect candidate, for a variety of reasons they are not obligated to disclose, Roehl may pass on you. Then what?

That’s why we suggest to exercise multiple options.

In that case I would move to my second choice after scraping every penny I possibly can to scrape by. Wouldn’t be easy, but also wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to scrape anything I could together.

James we almost always suggest NOT to put all of your eggs in one basket. You have many options, and yes Roehl is the only company I know if that pays a student while they are in school. There is a distinction though it’s important to understand; school (Paid CDL Training Programs) and road training are two different things. Every company pays a driver during road training (including Prime).

If you cannot financially afford 3+ weeks without a paycheck while in school, then indeed Roehl might be your primary option.

I suggest using this link to see who bites:

Apply For Paid CDL Training

Also not a bad idea to read and study these links:

• Truck Driver's Career Guide
• Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
• High Road CDL Training Program
• CDL Practice Tests

Good luck!

At my current job I just keep up with bills and have very little in savings. Financially Roehl really does seem like the best option.

I have been looking at the guides and done some of the practice tests, and plan to continue doing so before I even think about scheduling the permit test. I want to be as ready as possible.

All the replies so far have been great help, I truly appreciate it!

Where are you from? Millis is great company as well as Roehl. Millis pays while you train also. I am sure Scott from CFI will chime in also. A little more info about your location etc will result in more folks chiming in.

I’m pretty close to Rome, little town called Rockmart. Millis is also a good choice, but they haven’t gotten back to me yet on some questions. Millis website seems more tailored to experienced drivers, so I was unsure if they took in new drivers. My understanding is that they have a center less than 30 miles from me in Cartersville.

I'm looking to start a true career in trucking. Not just some job, not just a try it out and see what happens. I want a true career to get ahead because where I live that just isn't feasible without spending tons of money on a degree that may not pan out. So far Roehl is my top choice, and they have a training center about an hour away from my home. Being paid during training is very desirable for me since my bills will not wait on me, being single has some downsides like that, nobody to help cover while getting trained. I tried looking through the topics, but have not seen any recent topics for Roehl. Are they a good company to start with, and how do they do the training? I've seen the paid CDL page, but I'd like to hear from other's experience with them, good or bad so I know what I am getting into with them should they be who I go with.

Prime seems like a decent choice, but the time spent training and not getting paid is off putting for me.

CRST also seems good, and being mostly teams from what I have read is definitely a nice way to keep learning from someone with more experience.