Non-Sponsored Training

Started doing my homework the last few days. Prices are varying widely. One "accredited" school in Kommyfornia offered me the "special cash discount" for 40 hours of training (I believe this number applies to the classroom only): $1,300. This is up to 66% LESS than other schools. If it sounds to good to be true.....

I spoke with a recruiter for a major company based in Oregon, and she said to make sure the schools hours total 160 and that they teach you double clutching on a 13 speed manual transmission. She said not all schools do this. I don't know if that 160 number is classroom instruction or total course hours?

Any who, I can't make heads of tails of it all. Any thoughts, comments or recommendations are more than welcome!

The 160 hr requirement is pretty common from what Ive learned . Its total hours as well . The school I will be attending in January/February is broken down as follows:

84 hours in classroom 52 hours in yard skills 24 hours in private drive appointments

Transport companies that hire recent grads will have their own 1 on 1 road training. Some will be as little as 2 weeks , but others can go up to 30k miles. I think the school hour requirement is to make sure you have 'some' education and at least a 'minimum' of drive hours .

~S~

Thank you, Schism! I am going to call back Ms. "160 hours/13 speed tranny" and ask her for their approved schools list in CA. Then I will call those schools and see what they tell me. Cash prices are running between $1,300 and $4k. A HUGE range, to say the least.

Welcome aboard Democracy Doctor!

Don't worry about that 13 speed. Some schools have it, some don't, but none of the major companies that hire recent graduates have 13 speeds. So that doesn't matter too much.

What I highly encourage you to do is read through our Trucker's Career Guide. It will cover about every topic imaginable that pertains to getting your trucking career off to a great start, including how to choose a school and a company to work for.

The main two things you want to do when looking for a private truck driving school is:

1) Ask them for a list of major companies that hire their students. Call some of the companies yourself from home to verify this. If major companies will hire from a school then they're legit.

2) Take a tour of the school and speak privately (away from the staff) with some of their current students. If a school's current students seem happy with the program overall then that's a great sign.

So if major companies will hire from a school and the current students feel the school is doing a good job then you have a legitimate candidate to consider.

We also have a series of articles on How To Choose A Truck Driving School so have a look at those.

Thank you, Brett!

I was talking to a recruiter from MTC out of Oregon. She gave me I the speal on the 13 speed trannies. They hire newbies and she was the only person to tell me to tell me this.

Update on schooling: Upon re-inquiry at the one low-ball school, the price is actually $4.5k, NOT $1.3k. This brings the price in line with every other school. The recruiter was too busy playing salesman to listen to me the first time we talked.

Welcome aboard Democracy Doctor!

Don't worry about that 13 speed. Some schools have it, some don't, but none of the major companies that hire recent graduates have 13 speeds. So that doesn't matter too much.

What I highly encourage you to do is read through our Trucker's Career Guide. It will cover about every topic imaginable that pertains to getting your trucking career off to a great start, including how to choose a school and a company to work for.

The main two things you want to do when looking for a private truck driving school is:

1) Ask them for a list of major companies that hire their students. Call some of the companies yourself from home to verify this. If major companies will hire from a school then they're legit.

2) Take a tour of the school and speak privately (away from the staff) with some of their current students. If a school's current students seem happy with the program overall then that's a great sign.

So if major companies will hire from a school and the current students feel the school is doing a good job then you have a legitimate candidate to consider.

We also have a series of articles on How To Choose A Truck Driving School so have a look at those.