Comments By RWD

Thanks Jay for your input on the matter. I'm honestly still on the fence whether to do private school or join a company. Unfortunately I didn't receive a call back from the recruiters I applied for today, but I'm sure they will come. Unfortunately where I live in Mississippi, pay is pretty low. Most concrete, class B jobs pay $15 or less. Trust me I've checked indeed for awhile, even previous to my last job, it's about $15/hour or under. If I could get $18, i may go for it but I figure I could make much more money with a class A here. I mean anyone here can say what they want, but at the end of the day I know people here straight out of TDI making more way more than $15/hour so I know it's possible.

The only reason I am considering company sponsored training is because of the advice from members here. Before I felt like it was a trap, but I'm read their replies carefully and am taking that into consideration. I try to be open minded, not stuck in my ways and get into arguments with the experience folks here about how I'm right. Ultimately they know more than I do and I'm taking that into serious consideration.

At the same time, I have high recommendations from friends, one that's been doing this for 5+ years, speaks highly of our private school here and once again, it's right by my home. I really like the idea of being able to do my training and going home to my own house at night, especially when after all is said and done, I'll need to hop on a truck for several months with a driver mentor. I feel it makes the whole learning process a lot easier than going to a company, staying in their motel possibly with another student, sharing a room, then straight after hopping on a truck with a trainer for several months. I just like the idea of being able to have a bit of an easier ride in a private school and being able to go home every night. At least it takes 3 weeks off the bill of staying in motels with other people and the inconvenience that comes with it. Like I said before, I'm a lone wolf type, like to be on my own. I know I gotta do my time with a trainer in the truck, but if I can minimize the inconvenience with a private school by being able to travel from home to school each day easily and feel a bit more comfortable, that is actually important to me regardless of what people think.

All in all, I am taking serious consideration what the experienced guys here have said, as well as you Jay. I'm on the fence, going to wait until these recruiters call me back and see what they have to say. Yes, I'm aware recruiters will say almost anything to recruit you, but hey, I need to see who is willing to take me on before I make a decision anyways. Once again, thanks for all the advice and replies, and hopefully I make the right choice in the end.

Ahh ok, well I guess I have some more research to do if I decide to go with a company agreement. Small world too, Gulfport is the neighboring city to where I live. Knight was also recommended to me from someone here too. Thanks man.

I did put in a few recruiter forms online with KLLM and Pam Transport today, just to hear what they have to say I guess about it. I chose those two because they're both based fairly close to where I live in Mississippi. If you guys believe that it does work to my advantage I may give that a shot instead. Would be nice also to keep my money in the bank and not have to pay up front. Will let ya know what i ultimately decide here soon!

Thanks

Oldschool, no I'm not going to ultimately do what I want. I appreciate the advice honestly and I never thought about it that way, that they would actually care about the investment but it makes sense. I figured they would still be as quick to cut and run and make you pay them back for the schooling. But I trust what you say and it is something I need to consider now that I think about it because I would like to drive for a company that actually wants me there and did invest into me so that makes sense.

As far as TDI, one of my buddies is now OTR with ATS driving flatbed. He started with Mcelroy then went to another company and now ATS. About 5 years into it I believe. He says nothing but good things about their training. But yeah, I guess I really need to consider the option of having one of the starter companies pay train me, thanks for the info!

So, you'd rather pay out of pocket for school, then take the chance getting hired somewhere, to avoid a contract with a company pays you back for the school?

Yes, because if I go through TDI I have a wider choice of companies to start with and I'm under no contract. Said companies also have tuition reimbursement plans where over time I am reimbursed up to 5, 6, even 7k depending on the company. Mainly though it's due to the wider choice of companies, because obviously if I leave the company I choose after school, I'm responsible for the rest of my tuition.

On top of that, through my own personal research I am leaning towards wanting to drive for Schneider. Unfortunately they do not do the free CDL training but they will take you straight out of school for your driver mentor training and beyond. Also, I live 20 minutes away from it. I can go home every night after my classes, sleep in my own bed and it makes it more manageable. Personal preference really. I've also heard really good things about our TDI school here from some drivers I knew that went through it.

Thanks for all the info guys. Errol, I am actually going to do my CDL training through the Truck Driver's Institute when I do my training. I had a few buddies that went through there and they all said it was great. I also like the fact that I will be able to choose my company and not be tied to a contract. I kind of wanted to stay away from the training/contract situation. Yeah, wee hours in a big city isn't too bad, that's when I normally drive the box truck, but I figure rush hour in a huge city in a semi would get a bit nerve wracking lol. I'm sure it's unavoidable sometimes, I think that's what makes me the most nervous if I took up the career. I couldn't imagine a New York City run in a semi haha.

Jay, I haven't looked into Class B jobs. That is very interesting what you say about making that kind of money with a Class B, I didn't know it was possible. My one fallback is I started with my current company, they helped me get my Class B and unfortunately I am restricted to automatics because that's what I tested in. Unless of course I can find a company that somehow has automatic cement trucks etc. in that line of work. Do they do automatics in cement trucks and things of that sort?

Thanks again guys.

Hey all, this is my first post here. I won't lie, I've browsed around a bit beforehand and would like to commend you guys on a very informative forum.

I currently drive part-time for a local company, hauling newspapers from a central printing location to the distribution location in a 29' Box Truck. I drive about 300 miles per night, four days a week and am paid hourly. I love the job, I love the driving, the solidarity and everything about it. I'm a very sociable person but I've always been a lone wolf type, I prefer to be on my own, an introvert I guess you could say. So I figured trucking might be for me and decided to get a little more serious with a career, because let's face it, this Class B part-time gig isn't exactly a career. It's my only income, but luckily I have a 125k YouTube Channel that helps fill the gaps. It's about motorcycles, but I would love to transition to trucking vlogs if I do that as a career.

I hope that a transition to the big rigs would be a little easier for me considering I drive some kind of truck, obviously the backing is going to be way different being a truck and trailer. I also can drive a manual vehicle, my every day vehicle is a manual and I ride motorcycles. I do hear though that the shifting in a big rig is very different, I'm curious to know how as I have never driven one. My current work truck is also an automatic so there's no shifting either.

Only really a few questions I have. What would you guys consider the easiest route to take as far as dry van, reefer etc.? I'm leaning towards dry van as I've heard that reefer can be a pain in the ass at receivers. I'm not lazy or anything, I just want my first year to be as smooth as possible considering there will be so much I have to learn, so I want to try to limit the amount of stress and hiccups along the way. One thing that sort of terrifies me though, I won't lie, is traveling through big cities. I don't mean on the highway per se, but when you have a delivery through a big city that you've never been to and know nothing about and being new on top of everything. I know in my personal four wheel vehicle when I drive through a city I don't know it's pretty unnerving sometimes, I couldn't imagine doing it in in a big rig. How quickly did you guys get accustomed to that?

Anyways, don't want to leave too big of a wall of text. Nice to meet you guys, any advice, recommendations or comments are welcome. Thanks!

-Dave