Profile For Ryan P.

I was wondering the same thing. I wanted to do a DOT before going to school, to avoid surprises. How similar are a regular physical and a DOT? I'm overweight like most other southern americans but I've never had issues with BP. Every doc visit is normal BP for me. My vision requires correction and my hearing is okay. I recently lost my hearing in my right ear after a work related incident but most of it came back and I still have some ringing. I'll probably still do a regular physical while I still am employed and have major medical, prior to going to a school. I just don't want to quit my current job and go through all that only to be kicked out because I fail a DOT.

Can one of yall Roehl employees help me with something? I was really interested in Roehl for my CDL training but when I went to the website, it did does not have my state, Louisiana, on the map for the school. My question is, is that a permanent thing, or is that temporary. I emailed the company but no one has responded as of yet. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Be safe and God bless

Thank you for your service JL!

Well Chickie, I looked into Roehl and I was really liking what I was reading, more so than the others I've looked into. Unfortunately they are not hiring out of Louisiana, which surprised me. I'm not sure if that is a permanent thing or just temporary. They also didn't have an email that I could ask about the hiring in Louisiana. Ugh just my luck lol. I'll keep looking though

I definitely understand that Errol. I just want to actually get behind the wheel, learn and practice what it's like to back. I'd also like to start pretrip insp and clutch/shifting. I figure if I do those things I won't go to a school and get blind sided having never got behind the wheel of a rig. Thanks for all of your input!

I want to thank yall very much for the warm welcome. I wouldn't know half of anything without this site and all of its invaluable resources. Yall are right, with my current situation, it seems my only option is to go to a Company Sponsored CDL program. With that being said, I will definitely use this site's resources to help me find what is best for me and my family. Of course I've been doing heavy research with companies like Prime and CR England etc. etc. Prime looks very promising, but I don't want to make an uneducated decision. Like I said before, this is very intimidating and scary for me, as it is for everyone making a major change in their life and stepping out of their comfort zone, I suppose. Again, I feel very blessed to have just came across this site with google. It is nice knowing that there is a group of awesome people, who are willing to extend their knowledge and experiences and really step up to help new comers. I will keep yall updated with my progress. One of my buddies owns his own truck, so hopefully I can get aboard with him and learn some of the basics before I head off to a school. Anything to give me an edge and take some of the stress away. Yall be safe out there. God Bless

Hi all, I am new to this site and I'm looking for advice and guidance. So, I recently decided that I have had enough of my current career. Sad part is, that career and lifestyle is all that I know, so this is a HUGE change for me and it's very scary. With that being said, I also have always dreamed of being on the open road in a rig, ever since I was a kid.

So, back to current times, I have thought long and hard about it and have also discussed it with my wife. She is 1000% behind me as always. At that point, I filled out an application for a local CDL school and was hoping they would have a way or program for me to get in. Needless to say, the school consists of 4 weeks and costs $6049.00. Well being a deputy sheriff does not come with spectacular pay, so there is no way that I can pay out of pocket. However, I still sent in the application and spoke with the lady today. I'm from Louisiana and our state is broke, so a grant is out. I'm not unemployment so the workforce grant is out and I don't even think the feds offer anything and if they do, I know I make too much for assistance.

So, she said they offer in house financing. I said great but then she told me it was depending on credit. I said crap because I am in the lower class with a family to support and life has happened to my credit lol. So, she said I could have a cosigner but I would have to put down 3k to 3500k. 3k may as well be 100k because I don't have it.

At that point I started looking into company sponsored CDL schools and to be honest, it's very intimidating because I see some good reviews with schools but a lot of negative with pretty much everyone. I don't want to get screwed over and I also don't want to get locked into a contract making 10 cpm pulling a lot less than I am currently making. I am following a dream of mine but I also want to make more money to support my family. I think this is the industry to do that because there will always be a need for truckers. I know I can do this and I really want this, but of course lack of money is in my way, yet again.

So my questions are, should I save my money and wait to get to the private school so I can apply anywhere that takes newbs ? Or should I try to find a company that offers training? If so, what company has the best reputation and will pay a decent wage to support my family?

I don't want to be gone from my family, but I also understand that I am just starting out and I will have to makes sacrifices to get my experience. Once I have experience, I can find a company that has a regional close to home or at least a company that offers more home time. I know those companies are out there, I just need some time under my belt.

I want to thank everyone for posting on this site. I have been reading info on here for almost 3 days now and I am taking in a lot of great info and advice. Please, any information/advice will be greatly appreciated. Yall be safe out there and God Bless.