Advice Needed For CDL Training And Choosing The Right Company!!

Hi everyone,

I am seriously considering a career in trucking and could use some advice. I have been researching CDL training programs and noticed there are a lot of company sponsored options out there. While the “free training” sounds tempting; I am worried about getting locked into a contract with a company that may not be the right fit.

Can anyone share their experiences with company sponsored training versus paying for CDL school out of pocket: ?? What factors should I consider when choosing a training program or company to work for: ??

Also,, I have read about some companies treating drivers poorly or not offering consistent loads. How can I make sure I end up with a company that values its drivers: ??

Any tips on questions to ask recruiters or things to watch out for during training would be greatly appreciated. I have also gone through this thread https://www.truckingtruth.com/truckers-forum/Topic-20258/Page-1/extremely-new-to-trucking-and-need-some-advice-kubernetes/ it helped me a little but still need some tips and advice.

Looking forward to hearing your insights and learning from experienced truckers here !!

Thanks in advance for your help.

With Regards, Marcelo

Welcome, First and foremost don’t listen to internet trolls about how horrible big companies are. Every job and or career have outstanding folks, everyday hard workers and their share of mistakes.

We advocate company training for one very good reason. They go through the hiring process before you are accepted, not after. If they accept you they give you a job after graduation from school. Don’t worry about contracts. Anyone worth their salt can stand on their head for the short duration of any school contract.

We have people come through here all the time that go to private school only to not find a job after graduation. The license is in effect worthless at that point. A CDL with no experience is exactly that, worthless.

Apply to the companies with schools. If more than one accepts you then you can make the decision which one you think fits you best. If only one gives you a shot take it, do your best to learn and get 1 year experience then you can choose to move somewhere else. 1 year in the scope of a career is very short.

We are all different and have different wants, needs, and desires. There is no perfect company!!

Also the industry is still in chaos and many companies are not hiring and/or hiring very few new drivers. Hopefully the industry is close to a turn around.

No matter what company you work for they are looking for good reliable drivers that get the job done. Lesrn how to be that driver and you will do well.

Also,, I have read about some companies treating drivers poorly or not offering consistent loads. How can I make sure I end up with a company that values its drivers: ??

The answer to this question is simple and will also answer your first question of company training versus private school: Any company that is willing to invest in you and your training will also value you as a driver.

These companies are paying good money to investigate your background, hire you on, fly you out to their training facilities, feed and house you while in training, provide excellent training and do everything they can to help you succeed, pass the cdl test, and put you to work as soon as possible. By doing so they've already shown commitment and investment in you as a potential driver. They also have a job lined up for you right away, because they need to earn their investment back. For most companies it takes about a year for them to earn their investment back, that's why they have those contracts in place.

Don't be afraid of those contracts, they are security for your job as well.

Private schools on the other hand only care about getting you your cdl. And then what? You're on your own to find a job in a tough market. While you may be able to then hire on with a good company, they've got no skin in the game and so if you make any mistakes you have no surety that they won't just fire you right away. Which would then make it that much harder to find a job in a currently tough market (if you care about reputable companies that value their drivers anyhow).

Again, don't fear the contracts, it works both ways and means that both you and the company now have skin in the game. Use that to help motivate you to work hard and make this a successful and rewarding career.

I went through company training and I don't regret it at all. Also, of note, I was a driver trainer for my company for nearly a year. During that time I've trained drivers who have gone through company sponsored training , and those who have been through private school. I grew to appreciate those with company training over private school because I already knew what standards of training company students went through (and it was high), versus the unknown of the private schools. Crazy as it sounds I don't know how some of the private school students got their cdl. Some had never been taught proper pre-trip, one had never been taught how to navigate a roundabout, and another had never been taught how to perform a 45 or 90 degree back. These are basic things we had to learn in our company training before we got our cdl. From a training perspective, those deficiencies made it that much harder to get private school students caught up to speed and ready for the real world of trucking.

Onsdag could have written the first chapter of the book called What It's Like to Become a Truck Driver. But that's already been done: See Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Truck Driving

I got my start with Swift's CDL school. True, the usual deal is the company pays up front for your training then your payroll deductions as you drive under that contract pay them back. (Veterans often get a special deal. At Swift I drove out the 1 year contract and didn't pay a nickel for my training.)

The bad reviews are often from people who didn't understand how trucking works. So they cry any tell the world they were victimized, while in reality they didn't learn how to work in a trucking company.

Trucking is a complicated business. Government regulation (mostly for safety reasons), company rules, the Over The Road lifestyle take some getting used to. 4 million truck drivers live this way every day. You can too. Companies know this and they are well experienced in getting you up to speed.

As for your "good fit" concerns, ask questions. Not just with recruiters, but other truck drivers and of course right here in the Trucking Truth forums. (Check out the Training Diaries section.)

Don't be a stranger!

Decide type of loads you want and the trailer...

Dry van , reefer , tanker, flatbed, stepdeck...

Find a company that has that you can start with no experience.

Search how many trucks they have, search their dot number on fmcsa for their csa and safety to see how they're doing, their safety, wrecks, trucks.

Search company on maps and reviews and where they are located and if close enough you want to go home every weekend or few weeks.

Find company reviews here or apps like driver pulse and ask other driver questions.

Do they have trucks you want? Do they pay good? 50cpm isn't bad to start.

Are their driver facing cameras? Doing things illegal, against company rules, will be used against you and can ruin your job if company decides it goes on your csa.

See what the average weekly pay is.

Decide if you want to still have a life that means anything, sad, alone, away, homeless over the road.

If you don't like a company, get some time in 6-12 months, find a better one.

It's what you make it to be

I knew this was in here somewhere:

Questions To Ask Trucking Company Recruiters