Profile For Julius C.

Julius, I am a new driver as well, and only have a Class B. I was encouraged to get an A, but would not have received any training with a tractor. I was a seasonal town employee and was able to practice on the dump trucks in the yard, but the lone tractor the town owns is strictly used for trash hauling and unable to be used for practice. If you have a Class A, you can operate any Class A or B vehicle, provided you have the endorsements (if necessary). I'm not sure if you would be held to a higher standard without any experience and a Class A. I know a lot of places I have talked to around my area would not hire a Class A driver without any experience unless they had graduated from an approved trucking school. Hope that helps.

Broc,

Yes that does help. Thanks!

Thanks, Fellas. I have one more question. If you know you don't plan on driving a big rig and just plan on driving a Class B locally, is there really a reason to get your Class A? Some truckers have told me that even if you only plan on applying for local Class B jobs, it's better to go to a company with a Class A CDL if you have no experience because you will most likely be hired above someone with just a Class B who has no experience. Any comments on this one?

When you go to school to get your Class A license, do you automatically get your Class B? One school said that if you have your Class A, that proves you can drive ANYTHING - including Class B vehicles. I've heard otherwise. So how does it work? I know you can choose to just get your Class B and not get your Class A. However, when you have your Class A, does that mean that after you pass your Class A tests, you will automatically be classified as a Class B driver as well, or are there two separate classes and tests?

Thanks!

Hi Julius,

I don't know if they are accredited or not, but if you take the advice given here, How To Choose A School, it won't matter because you will find out if companies hire their graduates and if current students would recommend them.

I hope this helps,

Paul

Yeah. It does help. Doing a lot of reading on the forum. Thanks.

Is every school listed in this forum by State an accredited school, or is it just a list of all CDL schools in your chosen state?

Whats the school, maybe someone knows but I agree with H C , most of the schools either name the companys or have there logo's displayed on there site.

Well, I asked them if a list exists that shows the companies that hire their graduates, and they said no such list exists. However, when I visit them later this week, I will come out and ask for company names and see how it goes. I'm hoping that maybe I just didn't word it correctly when asking for a "list". I'll see what happens this week.

Is there any reason a CDL school wouldn't be willing to share the companies that hire their students? And is it inappropriate to ask them to give you the name of the trucking companies that hire their students? One school I'm looking at attending said companies call them daily asking for access to their new graduates. I don't see any reason why that should be proprietary information.

1> I got hired right out of CDL school driving a hazmat B fuel truck and class A water tanker for a local big construction company. Getting some experience and making money but doing a lot more grunt work.

2> RV does not require a CDL so it is not CDL experience.

3>In my case yes, plus having all the endorsements, especially hazmat. Mostly I drive the class B fuel/service truck, then when that's done I sometimes drive a class A water tanker, bobtail dump, tandem dump, belly dump, lowboy, landoll, end dump, whatever they need. So its always good to have a little more to offer a company I think. And in my case, a class A driver applied for whats mostly a Class B position, because that will keep me local for now and get me some experience for potential later OTR.

Phil

Makes sense, Phil. When you finished CDL school, was your certificate for at least 160 hours of training?

Question one. I didn't get hired for a class B job right out of the gate but I did get hired class A right out of school and I drive both combinations and straight trucks.

Question two. When it comes to experience the key term that most of not all companies use is "verifiable" experience. They want to be able to call a previous employer and get the low down on how you drove. You are correct about the motor home analogy but again, it's not verifiable.

Question three. Not necessarily. If the company runs any combination vehicles then maybe because that driver will have some versatility of they are ever in a pinch. If however both drivers are shown to have the same amount of experience and the company only has B trucks then I can't see one being favored over the other. My question would be why a class A driver of applying for a B job in the first place.

Hope this helps.

Yes, Heavy C. That DOES help. Thanks! By the way, the reason a Class A driver might be applying for a B job (which would be my case) is because I want the benefit of having the Class A CDL, but I'm not the least bit interested in doing anything non-local. If there is a Class A job that is local, I'd jump on it. Just figured there may be more local Class B jobs than A -- especially for someone with no experience.

I have a couple of questions:

1. Has anybody in this forum gotten hired for a Class B driver position right after getting your CDL with no experience?

2. If a company is requiring a Class B driver to to have 6 months of experience driving a 26' commercial truck, do you think they would take into consideration the fact that you have 5 to 6 years experience driving a 26' motorhome? I know that's not a straight truck, but you do have to know how to back up, use your mirrors, handle a vehicle that size, etc.

3. If two people are applying for a Class B driver position, and one candidate has a Class B certification, and the other has a Class A & B, would the one with the Class A most likely get hired over the other one - even though it's FOR a Class B position?

Thanks. I appreciate everybody's feedback!

Julius, that is exactly why I suggested you check on this. BIG RED FLAG! You will have all kinds of problems getting a job - please trust me. I've helped numerous people land trucking jobs who have had issues, but this one is almost completely insurmountable.

I've heard reports of other schools in that area pulling this same garbage on people. Don't do it.

Hey Old School, I just saw your message. Okay. I appreciate the feedback! You saved me a wasted $4000!

That's crap. Find a class that will really train you. You need the time in the truck, not someone saying you spent 160 hours in it. Most companies will test you out. Kind of a driving tryout. You don't have to be perfect but they don't want to retrain someone that was just trained. Its not easy finding a school. Best of luck. I would ask the local college's. Its a lot of paper work and little out of pocket. Most can be covered through pell and hope.

So, J. Sanders, are you saying that I would NOT necessarily need 160 as a minimum as long as I've been properly trained? I've just read so much on the board where it says that when a rookie goes to look for a job, they won't take you seriously if you don't have a certificate showing a minimum of 160 hours of training. I'm going to check with the colleges as you suggested (thank you), as I see that one around my area actually has 225 hours of training over 30 days. But I just want to make sure that I understand what you're saying -- that you DO agree that 160 hours are needed or if you DON'T agree as long as you're properly trained.

Thanks!

Thanks for the response. I just spoke to Mr. George's School which seems to have a pretty good track record. However, when I asked them about the 160-minimum hours of training certificate, they said that it would not necessarily take those many hours. They said it all depends on the student. For example, a student may complete the "unlimited" course in 20 hours unless they WANT to put in more hours. OR - a student may need to take one course over more than once (or twice) in order to feel comfortable with that portion of the program. In that case, they would get 5.25 hours since each class is 1 hour and 45 minutes. I asked what they give the person upon graduating, and they said a certificate showing whatever number of hours they put in.

Does this seem strange to anyone? And would companies not take a rookie seriously if they had less than 160 hours?

No takers, huh?

Is that a GOOD "Ohhh-myyyy"? Do you know something that I may need to know before enrolling?

No. It's a school in Maryland. http://drivingschoolmd.com/

Does anybody have any experience with Mr. George's Driving School in Maryland? They do one-on-one training. If yes, did they help with placing you in a job after you got your CDL?

Hi, everyone. I'm interested in obtaining my CDL license in Maryland. Just wondering if anybody knows of any source that gives full or partial grants to people who are 60 or above? I was checking out some places online, but they all seem to be for colleges. I was thinking about going to a school like C.R. England, but the problem is that I am not interested in going across country. In other words, while I'm interested in getting a Class A, I want to start out working as a Class B driver. With schools that pay for your CDL as you work for them, you really don't have a choice as to where they send you. This is why I am asking if anyone knows of sources that provide grants for seniors.

Thanks, guys!