Trucking School Vs Paid CLD Training: Survivor Stats?

Just conjecture, and hope this is not the case.

Exactly.

We've been proving for years that company-sponsored training is the way to go. Every now and then someone comes on here and wants to discount our advice, though.

OK guys, there's a lot of bogus information being speculated here in this conversation. Cajun One, most people come here hoping to learn something valuable. Occasionally we get someone who thinks they should be teaching us. You cracked me up when you tried to "extrapolate" information based on an entirely different subject and apply it to your ill informed perceptions about schooling and contracts for the truck driving career. It reminds me of the convenience store manager who extrapolates the idea that he could be the manager of a Fortune 500 company. What is he basing that thought on? It's merely his own conjecture. It isn't based in any sort of reality.

You are correct in that the 'Leasing Programs" are a profit center. You are way off base when you assume the "Company Sponsored Schools" are profit based programs. These programs are consistently costing more than they return to the company. They have never even been considered as a means of turning a profit. They are one way these companies can assure themselves of recruiting new drivers. The turnover in this industry is sometimes astronomical. It would be fine with many of these companies if they had plenty of students coming out of private schools to be recruited. Unfortunately they don't. They spend an exorbitant amount of money on these programs just to keep new drivers in the pipe line. They don't have a better choice.

We teach people "best practices" here. We firmly believe these company sponsored training programs are solid, fair, and somewhat successful for their purpose. That purpose is not profit. It is to fill their ever pending need for drivers to help them grow and be leaders in the challenging business environment of moving the world's freight.

Private schools can be beneficial, but first ask them what recruiters make presentations there.

I used a private cdl school. They have recruiters from US Express, TMC, Maverick, Swift, and few others make regular appearances there.

Some states offer tuition grants through their employment agencies for private cdl schools. That way you could get a cdl for free.

Breaks almost over so I'll keep this short. We have a member named Marc Lee that unfortunately doesnt come around much anymore. Marc felt private school was better because you was able to go anywhere he wanted and landed a perfect (to him) gig for Amazon. Within his first couple days he fell climbing out of the truck. He was terminated. He had some unrelated medical stuff he needed to get taken care of so he was out of the seat for a few months. He then went to Schneider, Verihia, and Dutch maid logistics. They felt his backing wasn't where it should be and promptly sent him home. They had nothing invested in him but a bus ticket. Compare that to other members experiences. Kearsey (sorry to pick on you!) Was very open about struggling and it took numerous times to pass her CDL test. They continued to work with her to be able to pass her exam because she went through their program. It's a different company but we've seen the same play out many times with many different companies. I'd be more than happy to elaborate further shortly, backhaul will likely be 2 hour wait.

What a great forum, always good advice. Elated PackRat agreed with part of my post -even if it was to my admission that don't know the answers.

Figuring my, zero, industry experience will not benefit me, regardless. So will apply to all hiring in NC for CDL training as soon as I get the CLP. 12/22 Learned in today's reading, have read it before but now sinking in, Recruiters get you to the facility, only then does HR decide who to move in to training.

Speaking of HR: Looking into DAC to see if records are correct. HireRight has zero info on me. TheWorkPlace has 5yo history for one job of a 5yr term.

ot: just read of CrazyBags, Prime Trainer, fired after altercation with a female trainee. Months ago but would have to think hard about male/female cohabitation in a traveling box. Hope he keeps his PreTrip videos running.

Hello, I guess I must be the exception (in the small percentage of drivers).... While I do think that company sponsored training is better for most people, I had done my research before talking to the school I ended up going with, and for me, going to a "private school" was a better choice for me personally. I took out a student loan to pay for school, and got my pre-hire letter from Werner with my orientation date and tuition reimbursement info about a month before I got my CDL. I started with Werner a week after I got my license, and was on a dedicated account about 3 weeks after I finished with my trainer. I averaged over $50k/yr before my tuition reimbursement, and my student loan was paid off in a year. I had spent almost 5 years with them before I had to leave because of a previous injury.... My FM called me for about a year after I left asking me to come back to his account, and every few months I still have the company call me asking if I want to come back.

The last year I was with them, I made almost $55k, and I worked only 4 1/2 days a week, and home on weekends. But I also had a great working relationship with my FM and consistently proved to him that I could get loads done that more than 1/2 the drivers on the account couldn't because of understanding the HOS rules and pushing myself.

I will say that for the vast majority (75% or more) of people should go through company sponsored training because it would be an incentive for not only the company, but for the driver to stay with the company for their contract length so that the training would be "free", and it would be a guaranteed job for at least 1-3 years....

Reguardless, do not pay for cdl schooling out of your own pocket.

I have been a little confused on 2 articles on TT Brett wrote regarding the choice between private and paid training. The 1st article I read titled Why I Prefer Paid CDL Training Over Private CDL Training was self explanatory and gave great reasons to choose paid training. The second article titled Private Schooling Versus Company Sponsored: The Basic Differences. In this article Brett writes the following “ At a private school the experience will generally be better because you're a paying customer. The pace is a little slower and they'll be more patient with you. They'll work with you more individually. With a company-sponsored program you're more like a player trying to make the team. It's like a tryout, and not everyone makes the team. The environment is usually fast-paced and there is a little less tolerance for those who aren't picking up on the skills as quickly. It's a totally different approach.” Brett also states “ For me, the major difference comes down to whether or not you have the money available for private schooling. If you can afford to go through private schooling it's the preferred path overall. The experience is a little better and you'll have the option of working for any company that hires students from your school after graduating.” So you can see my confusion if you can afford private school. I’m hoping Brett will let us know if he has changed his mind or if private is preferred if you can afford it. Thanks to all for the great information and debates.

Not all private CDL schools are equal. Many try to cram as much stuff in you in 3 weeks and get you out the door. Hopefully with a CDL but no guarantee. Technical Colleges are generally better as they will cover more and take longer. A good school will have a good selection of recruiters to come in and visit with students. But you will still need to go out with a company trainer to get the fine skills down. Now both do have failures.. SO you have to go in with the mindset that you can do it and focus on the tasks at hand.

I have been a little confused on 2 articles on TT Brett wrote regarding the choice between private and paid training. The 1st article I read titled Why I Prefer Paid CDL Training Over Private CDL Training was self explanatory and gave great reasons to choose paid training. The second article titled Private Schooling Versus Company Sponsored: The Basic Differences. In this article Brett writes the following “ At a private school the experience will generally be better because you're a paying customer. The pace is a little slower and they'll be more patient with you. They'll work with you more individually. With a company-sponsored program you're more like a player trying to make the team. It's like a tryout, and not everyone makes the team. The environment is usually fast-paced and there is a little less tolerance for those who aren't picking up on the skills as quickly. It's a totally different approach.” Brett also states “ For me, the major difference comes down to whether or not you have the money available for private schooling. If you can afford to go through private schooling it's the preferred path overall. The experience is a little better and you'll have the option of working for any company that hires students from your school after graduating.”

Hey PG, thanks for posting this. I can see how that is confusing, and I know the last thing Brett wants is to give you confusing information. Since he's extra busy right now, I'm going to throw a few things out here to help clarify the things he said, and I am sure he will jump in here later when he is able.

First off let's realize that one of those articles is just explaining the differences between the two types of schools. The other is explaining why Brett prefers one (Company Sponsored)) over the other. Now, he did make a few statements in the article explaining the differences that sounds as if he prefers "Private Self Pay Schools." Those comments point out some of the advantages of a private school, and it was written earlier than the article in which he declares his personal preference. I think what makes it confusing for you is that you don't have our perspective.

Let me explain...

We've spent years helping new comers to this industry. We interact with a lot of new drivers and wannabes. In the course of our labors in this forum, we learn as much from you guys as we hope we impart to you. We've repeatedly seen new drivers take one direction or the other. We've watched and learned from their reports and experiences. All the data we've gathered speaks loud and clear. In today's environment, the Company Sponsored Training Programs are more effective at producing long term success stories. One of the biggest problems we've witnessed is not so much the fault of the Private School Programs, but rather the liability issues of taking on new drivers. Rookies make mistakes. Every trucking safety director knows that.

We want people to be successful. We want them to be able to get through that rookie year and go on to thrive in this rewarding career. We've repeatedly seen rookie drivers from private schools get dismissed after a minor accident because the safety director determined they are going to be too much of a risk. Once that happens it is extremely difficult for them to find employment, and they are often just out of luck when it comes to pursuing their future trucking career. We also see a trend indicating when the company employing a brand new driver has "some skin in the game" they are way more likely to work with a new rookie after a minor accident. That's really where these Company Sponsored Programs start to shine. They actually have an investment in the driver, and they seriously want to make that investment pay off. We've even seen some remarkable instances where mercy was extended to new drivers in some fairly serious accidents. Those folks who have paid for their own schooling do not typically experience this, and while most of us think we won't be having accidents, statistically the numbers are really against us.

Truck driving schools are challenging. Brett points out the differences in one of those articles, and he nails it. Both ways require diligence and commitment, but if somebody knows they are going to be a little slow to pick up on things they may be better served by parting with their cash and begging for extra help from their school. We can't guarantee they will get it. We think the best odds for long term success today are in the Company Sponsored Programs. All you get from any truck driving school is a CDL. That is sometimes a tough challenge, but it's really the easiest part of establishing a trucking career. Always try to think long term. Think about the consequences of an accident and the many challenges lying ahead of your quest for a career. We love seeing the many success stories in our forum. The failures are heartbreaking to us. We especially agonize over the folks who clearly insist on taking their own path, disregarding our good sound advice, and then ruining their chance at the rewarding career we enjoy. We've seen our share of successes and failures right here in our forum. We always want to point you guys in the direction that we deem best.