Beginning Truck Driving - School Or On The Job Training?

I'm in Georgia and I am just starting out on the road (pun intended). I am preparing to get my CDL (without schooling) of course that really means my CDP (Student permit). So after that I need to get hands on training. I had two conflicting advice's from different sources. One told me don't get "ripped off by a driving school (well both said that) and suggested I take a job looking for student drivers, which will train and pay me at the same time. That sounded good, coming from someone who has not spent 1 second in the business. the other source said don't go to a PRIVATE" school, but go to a Community college and take a course there. He said the private course are rip offs and there is not enough time to really learn what you are doing. He also said community college courses finish you with all of your endorsements and you are completely ready to drive independently when you finish. His counter advice to the other person was these companies hire student drivers for "insurance reasons", and so they can pay someone less than a non-student driver. so now I'm trying to figure out what really is the best route - is there a company out there hiring student drivers who really intends to make them competent, fully endorsed drivers, giving them the time to learn and upping their compensation accordingly at completion of a REAL program? or does that NOT exist, and instead I need to look into a reliable learning resource before taking any type of job? I have to weigh the value of taking a three month course against taking a job that pays and trains - but it all depends on if there are honest joes out there on both sides. Any advice?

THere will be several that will post several links to help with your research,but until then. All schools have one goal......to train you to get your cdl A license. Independent truck driving schools or community colleges either one will help you with this. You will have to pay 3000-5000 dollars for this knowledge.

Company sponsored schools are generally about 3 weeks long and will give you the same knowledge.....to pass the cdl skills test. Neither will be paid. WIth company sponsored schools after your training you will go through orientation, offered a job then start road training. Road training can last from 3 or 4 weeks to a month or so. You will be paid during this time. After road training you will then get to go solo and make what ever that company is paying for entry level drivers.

Remember company sponsored schools have a vested interest in you not only obtaining your cdl but being successful. Yes these companies will want you to sign a contract and stay with them between 9 and 12 months. They will deduct a small monthly payment to pay for the school. After the required time with the company is completed your "school loan" is paid off.

I hope this helps some.

I will breakdown this reply into 2 sections. Company sponsored and Private School (including community colleges). Here is the skinny.

A) Company Sponsored. A company sponsored program (I.e. Prime, Swift, Knight, etc..) will train you the way they want to drive. They require little to no money up front. They will however require you sign a contract. The contract is usually around a year. Coincidentally we encourage you stick with your first company for a year anyways. Usually companies that put you thru their training will be slightly more forgiving of rookie mistakes. They need to recoup the money spent training you. It is in their interest to help you become a professional driver. The training is usually broke up into 2 phases. The first phase training you how to pass your CDL exams and the second doing your "finishing" training.

B) Private School. The sole job and the only thing they will really teach you is what you need to pass your CDL exams. After you get your CDL they have done what you paid them to do. You will still have to get a company that accepts new drivers to hire you. After their orientation you will go on to complete "finishing" training with your chosen company.

Remember, A CDL does not make someone a truck driver. Just a person who maybe capable of becoming a truck driver.

Bruce I was in the same boat as you. There are private schools that work with several trucking companies that take students that graduate their program. The process typically starts with getting you pre-hired with one of these trucking companies. Once pre-hired you start training. After graduation and getting your CDL you then starting over the road (OTR) training with a company mentor. Note, these companies do tuition reimbursement but ultimately you are responsible for the tuition. Most of these schools offer tuition financing and as long as you remain with a company that does tuition reimbursement the company will make these monthly payments for you. Option A that Patrick explained is correct. I decided to go with driver solutions which recruits for Pam Transport. Driver solutions is one of the schools listed here on truckingtruth. I went with them because i didn't have to come our of pocket for anything except licensing costs at the DMV. I have to sign a one year contract with Pam and if i remain with them then tuition is covered. They do no deduct the tuition from your pay. However the pay is on the low side, but i guess that is a trade off for them paying for school. If you decide to leave prior to the year then you will be responsible for the tuition that Career Tech billed driver solutions. Based on my home work, most if not all drivers usually have a rough first year and typically do not make a lot of money. Do you own home work and take a look at the list of companies that have programs like this, the list is here on truckingtruth.com. Good luck!

I wondered the same thing prior to beginning my career. After much research I discovered private cdl schools often cost between $2000-8000, you may find some cheaper but remember, you get what you pay for.

Following said training, most companies that would hire you will require you to go through their own training program and most are the larger companies, mainly for insurance purposes. There are smaller companies out there but they can be hard to come by for a non-experienced driver, though not impossible.

I did some research on company sponsored training , checking into things such as training pay, starting pay, length of training and overall reviews from those that have done it. I decided upon Prime and am glad I did.

Prime provided me with a bus ticket to MO to begin, they put me up in their hotel and covered food for the first week. Said week consisted of physical, getting CDL permit thru local DMV , some simulator training and other basic orientation tasks. Contrary to what Bolt stated, I met my trainer that first Friday and my actual road training began the next day Sat, precisely 6 days after I arrived. I spent about 3 weeks driving OTR with said trainer, who was awake and observing/correcting me along the way. During this phase (PSD), Prime loans you $200/wk for food, to be paid back at $25/wk after obtaining license and becoming an employee. When myself and trainer felt I was ready to pass tests, we returned to terminal where I did just that. After testing, I filled out some paperwork to become employee and made a trip to DMV, as well as post office for passport. The next day we were back on the road for the 2nd phase of training, TNT. During this phase, you drive 30,000 combined miles, dispatched as a team, this generally takes between 7-9 weeks and you are paid a minimum of $700/wk gross. If you go over 5,000 miles, it is 14cpm. After the mileage mark was meant, as long as trainer feels you are ready, you return to the terminal to upgrade to your own truck. Upgrading consists of some simulator training, videos and a couple other classes over a 2-3 day period. When this is complete and you have been assigned a truck, you will be dispatched a load. You will also be given a list of things you must get for the truck, all of which are available at company store, driver lineup or the permits office (these purchases can be taken out of your pay in weekly increments). Depending upon what kind of trailer you pull and truck you take, you will start between 41-46cpm. I started at 46cpm as soon, pulling a reefer in a lightweight truck. Lightweights pay an extra 5cpm, have less space but easier to maneuver in tight spaces and can haul heavier loads, making more loads available to me. You will be contracted to work at Prime for a year, if you do, training is forgiven. If you leave early, it runs about $3500, paid back at a prorated rate (if you stay 6 months, you owe half, stay 3 months you owe 3/4, etc..) You also must bring about $160 to training, $100 for registration, rest for permit. You can bring more if you'd like, there are several restaurants and a Wal-Mart within a short walk. Sorry this is kind of sporadic, I just remembered things as I went. I would hardly consider prime to have been a "rip-off."

Whatever route you choose, do research and don't sign anything or throw money down until you have thoroughly vetted the company.

Hello and welcome to TT. I decided to go the community college route. I live in GA as well, went to a small school in Rock Spring, GA called Georgia Northwestern. Tuition was under 2k but was covered with a workers grant I got. This route gives you the option to choose a number of companies if signing a contract isn't your thing. Others are right however, you should try and stick with whoever you land with for a year. I went with Maverick, a flatbed company. Started kinda in the middle of the year but was on pace for 50k.

Ps what part of Georgia are you from?

Patrick separated out the two major types of school - Private and Company-Sponsored Schools.

BQ wrote

Following said training, most companies that would hire you will require you to go through their own training program

And I want to clarify that. A driving school gets you the CDL , and that's it. Trust me, you're not ready to hit the road OTR just yet. You could call this "training".

Then any company that hires recent grads will put you through orientation (3-4 days) then hook you up with a road trainer for several weeks of that OJT. There's no repeat of classroom time. Once you get into orientation, you'll be lined up for a paycheck.

Company schools simply pipeline you through school, orientation, and into your road training, 1, 2, 3.