School Or Company Sponsored Training?

Hey all. I want to start my career in truck driving however I am stuck on what I should do. I don't know if I should attend a local school or go with a company sponsored training program. I was hoping some people out there have some company sponsored experience that they could share that's not negative. It seems that everything online about it is either outdated or negative and I know someone out there had to have had a positive experience with it. A local school would be nice since I would be close to home and have more employment options upon graduating however it's a bit expensive for this lower-middle class worker. Company sponsored training would appear to be the answer, however, you are locked in a contract with a company for a year and I don't really like the sound of that. Any advice would be helpful. Thank you.

Well think of it this way.... You pay up front for a non company sponsored school. If you don't finish the contract period at a company sponsored school, you will have to pay the cost of tuition. It really is a wash either way. The advantage of company sponsored school is you have less out of pocket expense to get going going. You will be making about the same for your first year either way. Check out my thread in the dairy section of this forum. Is it titled, Roehl training from start to finish. I am in school as I type this.

In regards to the local school option, have you checked in to any financial aid or grants that a school or labor department may offer? Also, many companies have tuition reimbursement that would cover your out of pocket expense. Here is an old post of mine on community college that you may find helpful:

Hey TruckingTruth,

I recently graduated from Georgia Northwestern Technical College on February 25. Here is a link to the program for those interested:

GNTC Commercial Truck Driving

I started school on January 7. It was an eight week program that ran Monday-Friday, 8:00am to 1:15pm. Before registering for the class I needed the following:

~DOT Physical $38 ~DOT Drug Test $35 ~Motor Vehicle Report $8 ~CDL AP Learner's Permit $45

In Georgia, we have what is known as the HOPE Grant. It helped fund some of the cost of the program. The school is also provided money from the government to help lower the cost of tuition. The approximate cost is $1,200-$1,300, and I paid $839 out of pocket. Most starter companies have tuition reimbursement up to $6,000, so I should not have a problem getting my money back. I spent an additional $32 on books. They included an hours of service book, two log books, and a road atlas. The main book for the class ($50) was provided by the school. They have copies in the class paid for by trucking companies. They lend them out, and we turn them back in at the end of the 8 weeks. At the end of the class, I had to pay $50 for my road test. It was given by a third party tester. He is a retired CDL teacher from the school.

I chose this program for a couple of reasons. The main reason was because it allowed me to keep my full time job while going to school. It also allowed me to keep my job options open after graduation. On the first day of class, I went in and noticed only one other student. AWESOME! It was only me and him for the whole 8 weeks. I had my own truck the whole time and ended up with 526 miles and 16.5 hours OTR behind the wheel. There where some days I was able to be OTR behind the wheel for 2-3 hours at a time. During my class, we went over the basic pre-trip, maneuvers, and road driving. One thing that really helped me out was I had the chance to do a full pre-trip on the truck everyday for 8 weeks. There where some days later on in the program that we just did a shorter version. We also learned log books and trip planning during my class. I have heard some other students in various programs say they were not taught this.

It was a great experience and I am very happy with the choice I made. I understand everybody's situation is different. I encourage you to do your research and find out which route is best for you. There are many different options for schooling out there. I am sure I have left out some information here so if you have questions please feel free to ask. I am always glad to help.

What Anchorman said, and there is also a program called WIA that paid for the school for a few of my classmates...

The benefit of paying for an independent school is that you can pick which company you want to work for and already have your CDL and start working for them without any contractual obligation. On the other hand, as WT pointed out, if you already know which company you want to work for and they have a CDL school you'll learn quite a bit about your future employer every day.

Best of luck, have fun, and be safe!

Adam,

Good luck with your decision.

As for me I chose a private training center. For the reasons that Anchorman described and shared basically. I start on the 7th of April, it is a 10 week course, 80 hours classroom and 320 hours practical. All hands-on training is 1-on-1, and I am signed up for the specialized training as well which will give me hands-on experience with flatbed, tanker, etc.

I am really excited about getting started, I got my physical completed yesterday and am all set to go.

Hey Adam. Sorry I took so long to get to your question.

First of all, everything you said sounds accurate so you have a basic idea of a few of the differences. The one thing I'd like to point out is that we always recommend you stay with your first company for a minimum of one year. So in our opinion the contract is no concern at all. You can't establish a good reputation as a driver and get to know the important players in your company so you have allies when you need them if you're jumping companies every 6 months. And when you're new to trucking you don't know enough about your company or the industry to even make a good decision about which company to drive for. I mean, think about it...if you're worried about leaving your first company after just a few months that means you made the wrong choice in the first place. So what would make you think after just a few months you would now know enough about the trucking industry and the millions of companies out there to make a wise choice at that point? You wouldn't. And if you do change companies you're starting at the bottom again. So you're going to have to stay there for a year or so to really prove yourself.

See the vicious cycle people get themselves into? They never stay anywhere long enough to get the best treatment, the best freight, and the right allies on their side. That is how the experienced drivers get the great miles, the special favors, and the home time they deserve. They stick around a while, prove themselves, and get to know the right people. So don't worry about that contract. That's a good thing.

Now we have a million resources for tackling this subject so let me list some of em....

1) Our Truck Driver's Career Guide has a chapter on Choosing A Truck Driving School and it covers the differences between the two.

2) Our Truck Driving Blogs have a category of articles on How To Choose CDL Training. There's a lot of good articles there.

3) Our forum here has a section called CDL Training Diaries where people keep journals of their time in CDL training. You'll find entries on most of the company-sponsored programs out there and a bunch of private schools.

To me, the biggest factor in that decision is simply money. If you have the cash or can get some sort of financing like WIA (Workforce Investment Act) to go to a local school you're better off. Generally speaking the training is done at a slower pace, you'll get more one-on-one instruction, you'll be taught the "industry standard" way as opposed to a "company-specific way" of doing things, and of course you'll have your choice of trucking companies that hire student drivers.

But in the end you're not going to succeed or fail based upon which type of schooling you choose. Either one is going to get you where you deserve to be if you're willing to put in the work and keep a great attitude. You can save some money going the company-sponsored route but you might have a little better experience and more choices going the local route. I give a slight edge to the local route but if I were in a position where company-sponsored training was my only option I'd jump at the chance without hesitation.

Thank you so much, everyone. You guys have really helped and have given great advice. I am enrolled in this sites CDL training which is F'in rad. I LOVE watching WigWag Production videos on YouTube with TruckerMike. I just can't wait to start my new career in trucking!!