CDL Licensing

Am I reading that you can got to a company school, pay up-front (Workforce Reinvestment Act) then say good by and work for whomever...???

That's really not the best way to approach it. Not every company is going to accept training from other companies so don't assume you can go to one company, get your training, and then go work elsewhere. It may or may not work that way.

If you have the money up front then go to a private Truck Driving School. Don't go to a company-sponsored program for your training.

Listen, that first year of your career it matters very little which company you choose to work for. If you don't have the money for private schooling then go to a company-sponsored school, get your CDL , and work for them until the obligation is up. Then go elsewhere if you'd prefer. The obligation is short...maybe 8-12 months. No big deal.

If you have the money for private schooling then go that route.

I'm gonna say this though - I've seen tons of people come into trucking desperate to make money as quickly as possible and it doesn't often work out well. The problem is the early stages of your career may be slow going. The checks are small and you're in training so you won't often be running as hard as a veteran driver would be. People wind up stressing out, getting in arguments with the company because things aren't moving quickly enough, and things get to be a mess. Before you know it you're on a bus headed home. So just be aware of that. There isn't much you can do the first few months of your career to speed things up and get those checks rolling in. You just have to do your best to be patient and roll with it.

Thank you Brett for chiming in. I appreciate your input and i REALLY appreciate your blog and all this different parts of it. Very impressive and very helpful... Thanks again.