Company CDL Training Programs With Short After-graduation Contract Times?

Are there any companies that don't require a full year of contract work after you complete your CDL training with them? Sounds like a year of slave labor to me. Three months or less would be optimal). Thanks.

Are there any companies that don't require a full year of contract work after you complete your CDL training with them? Sounds like a year of slave labor to me. Three months or less would be optimal). Thanks.

Celadon has a 6 month contact option...CRST is a 10 month contract..all the others that I know of is 1 year or more.

So you think it's unreasonable for a company to ask you to work for them for a year after they trained you for a new career and paid for it out of pocket? You don't even know how to drive a truck yet but you're already assuming that the largest, most successful companies in the nation are no good and they're all just lining up to take advantage of you?

Wow. Great perspective. It's like you're offended that they would even ask you to do anything for them in return at all. I mean, they're only offering to take you off the street, train you for a new career, and pay for it, and then take all of the liability risk to put you in a truck by yourself with no solo experience at all. You will literally be one of the most dangerous drivers on the planet and they'll be responsible if you screw up.

But yeah, how dare they ask for anything in return. I mean, seriously, work for them for a year??? Wow, that's just dastardly and despicable!

No one will train you for free, nor should they be expected to. You are a Rookie! Hold up your end of the deal, pay up front, or buy out the contract. I have read on this Forum countless times, and believe it to be true. Work for your first company for at least 1 year, DO NOT hit anything, DO NOT get any tickets. If you do that there will be tons of JOBS waiting for you. Just my 2 cents

Good Luck!

Tractor Man

Brett was a little more blunt than me. I tried to be nice. THANKS BRETT

Brett was a little more blunt than me. I tried to be nice. THANKS BRETT

Actually I was gonna thank you! I should have been nicer about it but I really get annoyed when people aren't interested in paying their dues or earning respect or appreciating the efforts and risks that others are taking for them.

Sounds like a year of slave labor to me.

Richard, seriously!

What, do you think they are going to be whipping you with a bull whip or something?

It will take you a year to even begin to be a productive professional at this job. They are going to be paying you for everything you do during that year, and trust me it will be precious little money, if any, that you make for them during that first year. The average rookie driver is a considerable liability and very seldom a valuable asset during that first year. They are taking a huge risk in betting on you, because you are very likely to bail on them or tear something up really badly.

I'll tell you what it sounds like to me - you want them to give you everything you need for free just so you can go somewhere else and find a better paying job! Does that really sound like a fair transaction to you? The last statistics I saw on the cost of training these new student drivers in these company sponsored programs was nearly ten thousand dollars per student. Some of these programs have been canceled or cut way back due to the overwhelming expense, and limited results of getting any benefit of recruiting drivers that way.

Richard, I earned close to a thousand dollars a week during my first year - does that seem like slave labor to you? Will you earn that kind of money? Not with your attitude you won't, because you will always be looking for greener pastures. It takes commitment to this job to be able to learn the ropes, and one thing that contract will do for you is force some much needed discipline on you.

Prime even pays you 700 bucks a week minimum during the second training phase, and you sure don't know what you are doing at that stage of the game. Please cut us some slack with the slave labor comments. Learn a little history before you start taking a lucrative training proposition and comparing it to slavery.

Okay, my rant is over, and I know you are just parroting something you saw somewhere else, but now you are in with some people who can help you understand how this all works. If you hang around here we will help you get things off to a great start. We don't want to see you become one of the thousands of statistics that comprise the failed truck driver crowd on moan and groan web sites blaming their failures on "slave labor."

Here are some resources for you to check out - they will help you understand how this whole career works - do some studying and then come back with some more intelligent questions and we will gladly point you in the way of success!

• Truck Driver's Career Guide
• Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
• High Road Training Program

Oh Geeez, I get annoyed too!

And while I'm typing my response you guys are already all over it!

Brett, I have read your book twice, just started # 3. I start school with Swift on April 11. This website has been invaluable to me since I decided to pursue this Career. I'm almost 56 years old. I have worked since I was 15. NO ONE EVER gave me anything. I don't understand the younger generation. They do not seem to understand the concept of paying their dues and working their way up the ladder. It seems they all want to start as the CEO.

Thanks again!

I can totally agree with the 12 month / 1 year commitment idea. Actually the one year commitment is a better deal than most of the tuition reimbursement deals some of the other companies are talking about. The ones I have seen pay out at $150 a month. Here in Southern California about the minimum you are going to pay that I found is around $4000. So basically it's $4000 / $150.00 or 26 - 27 months.

The company courses are basically valued at $3500 and are also a bit shorter as well, it looks like 3 - 4 weeks compared to 5 - 6 weeks from my perspective. From what I've read you can also opt out of some of the company sponsored courses at 6 months and pay the last $1750 out of pocket. I wouldn't necessarily be inclined to sign a concrete 12 month contract myself but it's also a darn good deal in my humble opinion. Especially with little to no money out of pocket.

JJ