Trucking School Vs Paid CLD Training: Survivor Stats?

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Anne A. (and sometimes To's Comment
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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....

What ARE you doing these days, good sir?!?!? Healed up and back in the saddle ?!?!?

~ Anne ~

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.

Fm:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

Pre-hire:

What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?

Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.

We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.

A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment

The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.

During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.

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.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
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