Thank You Trucking Truth

After a ton of thought and research about schools, company training and the best approach to getting my CDL a friend of mine with 24 years trucking experience convinced me to do it on my own. I studied here religiously for 2 weeks. I did all of the online training course here and felt pretty confident.

Yesterday I got my medical card and went to the DMV to get my permit. Thanks to the info here on Trucking Truth I blew through my GK test and all of the endorsement tests.

Tonight I start training with my friend and he expects me to be testing for my CDL within a couple of weeks.

Thank you again Trucking Truth. After studying here I was completely prepared for all of he testing at DMV. I will continue studying the pre-trip info here while I am working on my skills on the road. This site really works and I think anyone who really wants there CDL can get a great jumpstart here.

Welcome aboard Jimi! That's great news! Congrats! I'm always thrilled when people come back from their CDL testing to report that our training program did the job. That's awesome!

Now myself and the other experienced drivers are all going to have one huge concern with you getting your CDL on your own. The overwhelming majority of trucking companies that hire inexperienced drivers will not hire anyone that hasn't attended a legitimate truck driving school. The trucking companies, and more importantly the insurance companies that insure their drivers, normally insist on seeing a certificate of completion from a school that meets their criteria. Without that certificate, no job.

I'm not sure if you're familiar with it, but there's a process referred to as pre-hiring where you can Apply For Truck Driving Jobs and the companies will tell you whether or not you qualify to work there. This process can be done before you even commit to attending a truck driving school. They'll review your application and if your background checks out they'll tell you what they require as far as schooling. If you complete the schooling at one of their approved locations then you can be almost certain they'll hire you. I say almost certain because a pre-hire is not a guarantee. For instance, hiring standards could change from the time they approve you until you actually graduate from school.

But generally speaking, if you can get two or three pre-hires at least, you should have no problem landing a job somewhere. We have an excellent article about Understanding Pre-Hires so have a look at that quick if you like.

But our concern is you'll get your CDL on your own and have a heck of a time finding a job. Your friend with 24 years of experience is an old-school driver and we LOVE old-school drivers. But unfortunately they don't always understand the issues for people who are new to the industry and he may have inadvertently taken you down a slightly different path than you should have gone. This are quite a bit different now than they were back in the day when it comes to hiring practices.

But even if you get your CDL on your own and can't land a job you're happy with there's still a great option. You can go through a Company-Sponsored Training Program and they'll get you out on the road as quickly as possible. It costs them a lot of money to train people so the quicker they can get you out there making money the better it is for all involved.

So one way or another you'll be fine. You might have to jump through a few extra hoops, but in the end you'll be out there driving with the big dogs.

Now myself and the other experienced drivers are all going to have one huge concern with you getting your CDL on your own. The overwhelming majority of trucking companies that hire inexperienced drivers will not hire anyone that hasn't attended a legitimate truck driving school. The trucking companies, and more importantly the insurance companies that insure their drivers, normally insist on seeing a certificate of completion from a school that meets their criteria. Without that certificate, no job.

Question: Would already having your CDL and being willing to go to the company school work? It seems if they are willing to accept and train someone with zero experience it would be advantageous to take someone in with a completed CDL without actual road experience. If nothing else, it shows a lot of self initiative, right? Just wondering because I have thought of the go-it-alone process as well.

Would already having your CDL and being willing to go to the company school work?

As long as your background checks out I would expect they would jump at the chance. I can't think of any reason in the world why they wouldn't.

Finally have a chance to follow up. While it took a little longer than I had hoped, I now have my CDL-A. DMV around here is so backed up that it was a 6 week wait to get an appointment for the road test. I opted to pay $175 and do the test with a third party tester. I was able to get my license without taking out a loan, spending $3-5k on a private school or signing 12-24 months of my life away for less than desirable pay. My ability to get it done was largely thanks to this website and the vast amount of knowledge available here.

Here is what I learned: While mine was not the most common path or highly recommended by many people in the industry the truth is there are more than one way to do anything, if you set your mind to it and are committed. I am fortunate to live in an area that has tons of trucking companies both major lines and lots of smaller local ones. While most companies advertise a minimum of experience or certified schooling what I found out is that many of them use that to filter out applicants. It takes about 15 minutes for a company to run your license info through their insurance company to see if you are insurable via their policy. I ended up with 3 offers from local carriers and 2 from major national carriers. Home every night and off weekends certainly made it worth the extra effort.

I am in no way recommending my method for everyone but did want to share so people could see that you don't necessarily need to follow the traditional or recommended route to get where you want to be.

Congratulations, you say you've got some offers, but I would appreciate it if you'd let us know what you end up doing. It will be interesting to see what you can get without that training certificate. I'm not surprised you made it, but I would be interested in seeing how the next step goes for you.

Glad it worked out for ya. About 99% of the people that we see come through here are coming into trucking as a last resort. Now I am not saying they are any less determined than anyone else it's just most would rather still have a job where they are home with their families more. Sometimes there is not the option to pick and choose the companies they want cause they live no where near a large city. So I am glad it worked out for ya.

Hey I'm glad it seems to be working out for you!

I'm also curious about where you wind up goin and what you wound up paying your friend to train you. Fuel, wear and tear on the truck, and his time almost certainly wasn't free. So I'm wondering how much money you saved in the process?

Your choices of companies are also going to be severely limited until you get some experience so I'm wondering how well that first job is going to suit you.

I'm certainly glad things seem to be working out for you but I want to reiterate that this really isn't the way to go about getting your CDL. If for no other reason, you want to make sure you get the proper training and have the most options available when it comes time to land your first job.

It was 6 weeks ago that you initially mentioned wanting to get your CDL and now you have it. That's about the same amount of time it would have taken in school. Most schools are anywhere from 4-6 weeks. So you definitely didn't save any time going about it that way and you've limited your opportunities by probably 90%. You may have saved some money in the process but where will you stand in that regard six months from now? Will the job opportunities available to you pay as much as the opportunities you would have had going through a legitimate school? The money you saved in school might be erased by a lower salary and fewer choices in the beginning.

These are all just things to consider. Normally when there's a well-beaten path to getting somewhere there's a good reason for that....because it's the best path. In the case of getting your trucking career underway the best path is through a legitimate training program. But this case does show that it's possible to do it other ways. Whether it makes sense to do it other ways is another question entirely.

I am a little alarmed by what I perceive as negativity and skepticism. I felt I made it clear that my path was neither traditional nor recommended. I think I had a unique opportunity and was merely sharing my story. Never did I intend to encourage anyone to do the same as I am sure the majority would not have similar resources.

As I stated in the beginning, this was a friend. I didn't mean acquaintance or simply someone who I knew that was a trucker. He charged me nothing for his time. I was able to drive his company truck, on his normal route under real life working conditions. I was able to actually drive a tractor trailer, hauling loads for more than 100 hours of real world driving. Considerably more than I would have acquired under educational conditions. I also was able to observe more hours than in a traditional driving school scenario. I trained myself on the classroom portion using the High Road course here, so I know I got more detail and a more thorough understanding of the material in addition to spending far more time studying than I would have in a classroom for a week.

There are 1,000's of posts on the Internet attesting to the fact that driving schools do not teach you how to be a truck driver, they teach you how to obtain your CDL. I achieved that result without paying $3-7k out of pocket and gained far more experience than I could have in ANY driving school be it company or private. I know that I am way more prepared than the average driving school graduate. I was able to do things that school students are not. I have been through scale houses multiple times daily, blind side alley dock every night, actually maintained a real logbook , performed real pre and post trip inspections, fueled the truck, slept in a sleeper, driven in all weather conditions, dealt with a breakdown and drop/hook trailers every night. None of these are taught or experienced in any school that I am aware of.

The driving school I researched locally, the only one near me that is "accepted" by many of the local and major carriers, is $3000 for 4 weeks in addition to travel, food, lodging, permit, physical and license (all things I would incur or be indebted for no matter my route). They do offer lifetime job placement but the majority of the companies that they place with are the same ones who use this place as their "company school" and are entry level positions. Fact, Schneider Trucking uses this school locally for their company training. It is the exact same course I would receive if I paid for it. I would be in the same classroom with company students. Those folks obviously have employment for the next 12 months but it is to pay off their $5000 debt. ($5k? But the school only charges $3k?) and if you don't stay with the company, you now owe them $7500. Not to mention the company receives a $10,000 grant from the government for training someone in a new profession. To me, that sounds like a scam. Anyway, you get your CDL and certificate from the school and now go to work for a big trucking company where you start off in on the job training for $350 week for 4-6 weeks (with some companies its as long as 6 months). They take their monthly payment out of your check to get reimbursed for your schooling. Once you have completed your time with a company trainer you finally get your own truck where they pay .28 cpm. Based on the research I have done, 2200-2500 miles per week seems to be about the national average. 2500 x .28 is $700 per wk gross but lets not forget that monthly payment for your school "loan." That's $31,400 gross first year after repaying your debt.

I didn't spend $3000. I am not indebted to anyone for any amount of time. My license isn't a different color & doesn't have anything different written on it than anyone else's. I have tanker, hazmat & doubles/triples endorsements with no airbrake restrictions. All of which I studied for and tested on my own thanks to the High Road course. I would've been able to have my license in 3-4 weeks but the NCDMV doesn't road test at every location and even the locations that do test only do 2 per day. The wait was nearly 6 weeks. I researched and found a third party tester locally. It cost me $175, because I supplied the vehicle, and I had 6 attempts. Even with that, DMV controls when and how many they are allowed to test so I had to wait 2 1/2 weeks. I smoked the pretrip and got 100 based largely on the info here.

My friend who helped me made some calls to local companies he had worked for in the past and got me 2 offers within days. I accepted a position with a small furniture company (6 trucks) for $15 per hour, overtime after 40. They pay for my medical insurance. I am home every night in my own bed, I have every weekend off. I have my own assigned truck and I average 70 hours per week. $66,000 first year and I don't owe anybody anything except thanks to my friend & this site.

I am not now nor have I ever claimed to be an expert on truck driving or the industry but I definitely did my due diligence on the subject. I was committed, busted my butt and made the most of the opportunities that were available to me. Sometimes there is a "beaten path" because people are lazy and don't look for alternatives. Again, not suggesting my method for anyone else, simply sharing my story.

Where will I be in 6 months? Better off than those who chose the common path I think.

Thanks again for the site and info.

Jimi...First of all Congratulations on getting your CDL..Now your adventure will begin !!! I think I need to explain a thing that has become a sticking point between what you chose to do, and what TT is telling all the people coming here wanting to be truck drivers...so here goes.

Your route to getting your cdl is not the norm...and thats ok !!! you just took advantage of opportunities that were presented to you...I commend you for stepping out there and making your own path. You have a friend who is willing to train you. That is a boon to your trucking career !!! I'm sure he will take the time to show you all there is to learn about being a trucker...Its always nice when you get to learn from someone you already know...My husband trained me for OTR...I"m sure he took more off of me than ANY company trainer would have..(.besides, he had years of practice ducking dishes). Now the problem that most of us at TT foresee is your ability to gain employment without the normal certificate that states that you have received and passed 160 hours of formal training. I think that if you are able to drive with/for your friend for a full year, or are able to find an employer who doesn't require one, then the lack of a certificate won't be a problem. Any trucking company will take you on if you have a year of experience. I'm not totally sure on this point, and if anyone else has any insight, I'm sure they will chime in. So..therein lies the conflict. We here at TT like to steer our newbies down the tried and true path to getting their CDL, a steering wheel to hold, and hopefully, a future job that they will enjoy. I won't slap you for going your own route...I'm kinda that way myself. And I sincerely hope that years down the road find you happy in your choices. We aren't beatin' ya up for your choice...But I would really like to know how your training and first job come out.... Good Luck, Jimi.....stay safe, stay sane.....and go enjoy your adventure !!!!