Current Class B Driver Considering A Class A Career
Topic 27689 | Page 3
Everyone in this group pushes hard for sponsored school.(makes me think the referral/recruiting fees from these links are pretty high)
You guys are so cynical. I've been on this journey of helping new drivers for about seven years. Nobody's ever paid me a single dime, nor would I ever want to receive any remuneration.
Jay, if you had any concept of the size of the audience here, you'd understand the "rooftoos" reference. A lot of people read these conversations.
It has to be huge. I lurked for months before joining.
Look I’m not trying to tell everyone to take my route. What you guys prescribe is right for almost all. This guy is the exception imo. If I was on every thread shouting this it would be wrong. I’ve read the horror stories of people going the private school route. What you guys do should be commended. All I’m saying is people should realize they are on the hook for a substantial amount of money should they fail. I feel that could be stressed a little more. My buddy was shocked. (It was all his fault. He didn’t do his homework) but we both know most don’t do their homework. If they did there would never be stories of guys with horrible driving records going to private schools and having a worthless CDL from it.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
All I’m saying is people should realize they are on the hook for a substantial amount of money should they fail. I feel that could be stressed a little more.
Jay, we stress repeatedly about how much commitment is required to make a good start at this. I know you see us teaching this all the time. Why would anyone expect a company to spend major resources on them for specialized training and then not expect a commitment in return?
These companies really don't want to be in the bill collecting business. They want drivers. They put out a tremendous amount of money and take considerable risks doing this. Jay is correct in that there's no free lunch.
Jay, why do you consider financed tuition to be evil?
ll I’m saying is people should realize they are on the hook for a substantial amount of money should they fail. I feel that could be stressed a little more.
They are two ways to pay: your own savings, or Other People's Money. Should you fail at any big ticket plan, you are out the dough, whether you're savings are gone or you owe big time.
So don't sign up for any CDL school if you expect to drop out before you get a job. Be safe and keep hauling the mud.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
I’ve been here for about 5 months and from what I’ve seen, the majority of the newbies who post here are serious, responsible people who are willing to give 110% study and effort. Therefore, being on the hook for training isnt a concern. I dont recall anyone since I’ve been here who went to a company training program and failed, and if there were, they didn’t post about it. I looked into private schooling before finding this site and all the schools around me(Philly) were $5-12000 with no guarantee of employment. It seems to me its far less a gamble going to company training vs private school
Jay, One thing you're neglecting to mention is the willingness of a company to help someone struggling if they went to paid training vs private. Kearsey struggled at Prime initially backing and was given extra time. Marc Lee went to Schneider and Veriha and they felt his backing wasnt good enough and they sent him home because they didnt invest in him.
With paid training they are losing money unless you become a productive driver. They're willing to give you the resources to become one but it all falls on the driver to get it done. Most that fail aren't committed. They jump in without researching this career and have a rude awakening once they're out there. Whether you're local or OTR the long hours take a toll on your social and family life
If Brett were to receive referral $$ for someone using a link why is that bad? He shared a couple weeks ago what the cost to run this site is. With the wealth of excellent information here we're lucky it's free to us. We share our time and knowledge for free. I took a path not recommended and quickly seen WHY it isn't.
Take a moment to read about this Accident . Those dump trucks take a beating with all their off road driving. In my area the DOT constantly has them pulled over for inspections because of how beat up they look.
We're glad your path has worked for you.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Also no disrespect Jay but you've been a cement hauler for 2 weeks based on your post history. You seem to think you'll make the same $$ as if you had been OTR which I'm doubtful of. I'm glad you're doing something you enjoy and works for your family life, but to come across saying we don't know what we're talking about because of the 2 weeks experience you have makes you look foolish. In that link in my last post Minnis B felt everything was great the first 6 weeks before his reality check kicked in.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Jay, why do you consider financed tuition to be evil?
They are two ways to pay: your own savings, or Other People's Money. Should you fail at any big ticket plan, you are out the dough, whether you're savings are gone or you owe big time.
So don't sign up for any CDL school if you expect to drop out before you get a job. Be safe and keep hauling the mud.
I don’t consider it evil. I think it’s a good thing all I’m saying is if you don’t give them a year you will be on the hook for more than you might have gotten through private school for. I agree with 95 percent of what you guys preach. In this case I don’t think there’s a huge issue if he goes the private school route. He already has a B we know he has a clean driving record, and is a good driver with his 29 foot truck. He isn’t as green as most. Again I’m not advocating private school for every person. Had private school been 6K for me I would’ve went with company sponsored training.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Company Sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
Jay, Brett and I both went to private school. I had a squeaky clean record with years and years of employment stability. I got so many rejections it was almost comical. As far as getting a CDL , one is just as good as the other. When it comes to actually getting employed and having the support to succeed, the Paid CDL Training Programs are head and shoulders above the private schools.
The reason we stress this is simply that we like to see people succeed. Anything we can do to fight against the painfully pathetic success rates, we generally beat that drum pretty hard.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
One shouldn't forget the fact that the turnover rate is so high in the industry as a whole precisely because so many opt to go with HarryJoeBob's Driving School/Tire Center/Pizza Emporium.
The cheapest path is rarely the best. Most reputable private schools charge in the area of several thousands, quite on par with the company sponsored training price. At last check, Prime's tuition for example was less than $5k, a bargain for high-quality one on one training.
Company Sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
EPU:
Electric Auxiliary Power Units
Electric APUs have started gaining acceptance. These electric APUs use battery packs instead of the diesel engine on traditional APUs as a source of power. The APU's battery pack is charged when the truck is in motion. When the truck is idle, the stored energy in the battery pack is then used to power an air conditioner, heater, and other devices
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Attending Truck Driving School Becoming A Truck Driver CDL Training Choosing A Truck Driving School Company Sponsored CDL Training Free CDL Training Free Truck Driving School
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You guys are so cynical. I've been on this journey of helping new drivers for about seven years. Nobody's ever paid me a single dime, nor would I ever want to receive any remuneration.
Jay, if you had any concept of the size of the audience here, you'd understand the "rooftoos" reference. A lot of people read these conversations.
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.