Future Trucker Looking For Best Training

I've seen the posts on the site about the driving schools and what they offer. I've also seen the prices range from 2500 to $6000. I know there are alot of drivers out there that can chime in on this so I'll just ask the question strait up. Which school is the best for the money spent and the experience gained. Also, is it best to stick with the company that trained you for a given amount of time or would it be better to get trained then find an opportunity somewhere else. Thanks for your comments. Phil

Welcome aboard Phil!

For starters, the easy part of the question is how long should you stick with your first company? We always recommend sticking with your first company for a minimum of one year. It takes time to learn how to handle that rig, adjust to life on the road, and prove yourself to be a safe, reliable, hard-working driver, and developing a good relationship with a solid dispatcher.

Proving yourself and developing that relationship with dispatch is the key to happiness in the trucking world. Trucking is performance-based. The companies all have plenty of freight for their best drivers. Once you prove yourself and you have a solid dispatcher that trusts you, things will be good for you. If you're not a solid driver or you haven't earned the trust of dispatch, you're not going to get the miles, good loads, and home time the better drivers will get. So you'll want to stick it out for a year no matter where you start out. Get that one year of safe driving under your belt and you can work pretty much anywhere you like. That's the goal.

As far as choosing a school, there are two main types - Company-Sponsored Training Programs and Private Truck Driving Schools.

Company-sponsored programs are owned and operated by trucking companies. There are little to no up-front costs but it's not like a private school where the goal is to graduate everyone and land them a job in the industry. A company-sponsored school is more like a tryout. It's very fast-paced and probably fewer than 25% of the people that get an opportunity actually wind up going on to work for the company. The rest fail physicals or drug tests, lied on their applications, couldn't learn the materials quickly enough, or had a bad enough attitude that the company didn't think they would pan out. So you save money with company-sponsored programs, especially up front, but they're super challenging. You will sign an agreement to work for the company for one year to pay back any tuition you may owe, but we recommend sticking with a company that long anyhow, so to us that's a trivial detail.

Private truck driving schools are a more relaxed paced, more one on one attention, and you're (hopefully) treated like a paying customer. You have to pay for the school up front but once you graduate you get to work at the company of your choosing.

Either route can get you where you want to go. It mostly comes down to whether or not you have the money to fork out for private school or not. But there is no wrong choice. It's a matter of preference and your personal situation.

We have tons and tons of detailed information about how to choose a truck driving school in our Trucker's Career Guide. That guide will teach you soooooo much about getting your trucking career underway. It will also point you to our articles about how to choose a truck driving school. There are a number of em and they'll really help you understand your options and how to make the proper assessments.

Hope this helps!!

Phillip, welcome to the forum!

I'm going to take a stab at this and hope it's helpful. I personally went to what I thought was a very good driving school, and enjoyed the experience while getting myself started in this career. Having now said that I personally think the Company-Sponsored Training available to new people entering the industry is really a good way to go. Taking this path keeps about six grand in your bank while your getting trained and it also guarantees you a job after you've successfully completed the training. Who could ask for a sweeter deal than that?

People think they have a lot more options when they go to a private school, and I guess they do, but I encountered some problems when I started trying to land a job and it ended up costing me even more money than the school costs and the price that must be included of not being able to work a job while I was in school for a month.

Mind you, these are solely my opinions, but they are based on real world hard learned lessons. The thing that is so good about the company sponsored training is that you actually get to choose the company you want to work for even before you get started training. Once you've studied that and chosen a company to go with you can start the application process. They won't bring you into school if they don't think you're a good potential match for what they are looking for. So, right from the beginning, you get to clear some of the hurdles that get people all snared up in the application process.

Training at these companies is usually fast paced, which some see as a negative, while other people actually prefer an environment like that. Because it is fast paced, you would do yourself a big favor, and put yourself at the head of the class right from the beginning by working your way through the High Road Training Program available absolutely free to you compliments of Trucking Truth. If you'll do this you can get your driving permit before you go to the training classes, and that will save you a lot of trouble and effort, plus your teachers will be absolutely amazed and impressed with your knowledge.

Part of the deal about the company sponsored training is that you have to agree to work for the company for a certain time period. Usually that is one year. Now I've seen people look upon this as indentured servitude, but I think that is ridiculous. I mean they are paying you, and some of them like Prime are paying a really healthy rate to beginners who have very little to offer other than a year of hard learned lessons. No matter where you go to work we would encourage you to stay at it for one year of safe driving anyway. So that one year commitment is something you should be prepared to do anyway.

The first year for a rookie over the road truck driver is really a learning experience anyways. You asked about the best training, and my opinion is that your first year on the road is the absolute best training you will ever get. It's hard to understand until you actually get out there and do it, but there really is so much to learn and get an understanding of before you can feel like your on top of the game in this business. Not only are you learning to handle an 80,000 lb. giant vehicle in all types of situations, but you are also learning how to deal with dispatchers, critical timelines, life on the road, a life of phone only relationships, solitude and loneliness, and a host of sometimes frustrating things that go along with this lifestyle.

I love this job and my wife says that I took to it like a duck to water. It's a crazy lifestyle in a way, but if you're cut out for it you'll really enjoy it and make a decent living while having the time of your life.

I wish you the best in your pursuit of a driving career, and if we can help you further we will be glad to do it.

Dang it Brett, you keep making me look like a parrot. I can't seem to get the jump on you anymore!

I recommend looking at the length of the course (the longer the better as far as practice goes), how many students to an instructor/trainer, how many tractors (if you can practice with different speeds of transmissions), trailers (their lengths, doubles practice, etc.), and passenger vehicles (if you want that endorsement), whether they have mechanics and a shop on site to fix them (students are hard on the equipment), if they have a driving and backing course, if you can test with their equipment and have a DOL tester on site (FYI, if you have a private tester, the DOL may require you to retest at random), and maybe ask them what employers have hired students out of the school (if it is not run by a trucking company).

Alright guys I choose prime trucking out of Springfield, mo and I will start orientation on August 6. I am thrilled to be getting started but what I need to know now is what are the best things to take considering I will be training and getting my CDL through them.

Phillip, its a balancing act, as far as what to take. But the most important thing is ANY DOCUMENTATION that the school may need. You can always mail it back home, but if they need something, and you don't have it, they may be sending YOU home. Other than that Items To Pack that link will tell you the basics. Above all else, you don't want to pile your trainers truck all up with your stuff !! It won't make a happy trainer, and you won't enjoy your training time. So for clothes, keep it lean, your laptop, if you must. It will really come down to what kinda truck your trainer will have. But remember, you will get the top bunk, and not much else....Good Luck..and keep us informed !!!