Getting Your CDL-A Without School

Candice has opinions:

I can't stand the thought of him having to stay with them until that bill is paid. Ugh!! .... but I feel [Prime] will be too fast paced for him. He already has his learners [permit].

(Paying the bill) So what do you want hubby to do: take classes at a company school then bail on them? That one year contract allows a person to take very expensive training in a trade they couldn't afford to do on their own, and the company has a driver in the seat of their own truck for at least that year.

(Fast paced) The only goal of any CDL school is to get you that full CDL license. Enough backing practice to pass the skills test, enough road experience so you don't run over curbs. And get a student through that in the shortest possible time. So it is fast paced, and it can be stressful. That's life.

I don't think it's even possible to get "free" schooling in truck driving even in Europe. I haven't looked into it too closely over here but the few prices that have crossed my monitor looked comparable to the CDL schools in the US.

Candice, your husband is going to have to pay to be an employable CDL holder one way or another - that being by going to a CDL school (not recommended on this forum) or going through paid training with a company and then working off the price the company invested in him over the course of a contract working for them.

He could also just take the training and run and pay them as if you went to a CDL school. Does that sound like a good idea to you?

Wow I think I guys are really taking me wrong, here. I dont want my husband struggling to get his CDL by having to go to more than one school and end up with nothing to show for it because he is slightly slower than most people. I want a good school, will help him pay but pay only ONCE. Not get beat to death by a company and trashed talked only to owe his soul when hes done. Come on! All of you know what I am talking about! Let's not forget, I love this dude! Would U wish that on someone you love?! I started with the infamous CR England. Didnt graduate, it was not good for me. At .17 cpm to pay them back when I was done was no incentive! Prime was great, just too fast paced for him! Thanks anyway.

I just love it when a neophyte try’s to tell us about how bad all of of our employers are...

That sh** don’t fly here Candice.

What we are talking about is #1, the responsibility of commitment to pay off the school financing. Paid CDL Training Programs do that by making payroll deductions, and often do not charge interest for the tuition loan. And #2, Changing companies in less than a year hints at job hopping - another thing companies don't like to see in their drivers.

We are just trying to clue you in to the reality. And we are doing our best to guide you and your husband into being your best in this new career.

What resonates here with me are "learning disabilities" and "he is slightly slower than most people".

As a former special ed teacher, I'd want to know that a critical look has been applied with a view of precisely what accommodations, modifications and / or adaptations are needed for any particular aspect of the job. Clear definitions on both sides, that is, job requirements and planned accommodation based on disability characteristic.

Candice, you may have wrapped that part in with confidence but I raise this point because you didn't explicitly address it. The best long term potential and success is achieved with maximum detailed upfront planning and preparation.

I don't mean to stand on a pedantic soapbox here, rather this strikes close to home. Not to hijack this thread, either, but I've been reading quietly for months in preparing for school and issues I'll have to address are moving to the forefront.... trucking will be the first career I enter knowing that I have ADHD. I enjoyed success in earlier professions, including education, but only when workplace demands mounted to the point of investigating sources of my stress did I get diagnosed (in my late 40's).

It's all about success for everyone and the road for each is different; learning disabilities, which include ADHD, are navigable. There's specific information in these forums which is valuable to me (i.e. Mountain Girl has an excellent post on ADD meds).

More can always be added here in terms of how anyone successfully approaches duties or particular challenges based on his / her own best strengths, or preferred ways of doing... after all, everyone places somewhere on a continuum of functioning and evolves preferred styles of learning and performing. Usually it's just those who've been formally diagnosed who raise such into conscious and deliberate examination - but knowing how we tick and best applying that is true for anybody!

I want a good school, will help him pay but pay only ONCE. Not get beat to death by a company and trashed talked only to owe his soul when hes done. Come on! All of you know what I am talking about!

I do not understand what you're talking about, but I know how you sound. You sound like someone who focuses on all the wrong things. You think your husband will learn too slowly. You think your experiences will be his experiences. You think the largest, most successful carriers in the industry, the ones who are most experienced at mentoring new drivers in a tough industry, will abuse and degrade him.

I started with the infamous CR England. Didnt graduate, it was not good for me.

Tons of people graduate from CR England's paid CDL training program and go on to have successful careers. Whose fault is it that you failed in your attempt? Let's be honest about that.

It sounds to me like you had a hard time getting started in this career and blamed everyone around you. Now you're worried about your husband because you think his success will depend on whether or not the people around him do their job. I don't agree with that at all because all of these programs have trained many thousands of students successfully over the years. They know what they're doing.

Trucking is a very tough industry to get started in, as you found out, but here at Trucking Truth, we believe that you are in fact responsible for your successes or failures. Do you know who would agree with us? Every highly successful person you'll find in business, sports, politics, the military, or any other endeavor in life.

I actually got mine from Prime but I feel they will be too fast-paced for him.

Own your successes and failures. Allow your husband to own his. Any of the Paid CDL Training Programs will do an outstanding job of training your husband. Whether or not he can hack it is the real question. I would hope you would inspire your husband with confidence and reinforce the idea that he controls his own destiny, not lead him to fear that he's a helpless victim of forces outside of himself.

I think that what she is talking about is that he would have a lot of difficulty with a school that is fast paced. Something 3 weeks long, might not be his cup of tea. From her posts I think that she is willing to pay, she just doesn't want to pay for a school, him not pass, then have to take another school.

This idea may seem a bit different that what most think but what about a Weekend CDL School? Those type of programs are still 160 hours but are spread out over 8 weeks versus that usual 3 weeks.

This idea may seem a bit different that what most think but what about a Weekend CDL School? Those type of programs are still 160 hours but are spread out over 8 weeks versus that usual 3 weeks.

I dont think weekend schooling is good because the only way you improve is repetition. We've had a few members that did weekend school so they could continue working while getting their CDL. Almost all of them have said they'd leave class sunday feeling confident, come in the following saturday and struggle greatly with the basics.

We all felt 3 weeks learning to drive something that huge, learning to shift (if applicable) and back a trailer that size was no where near enough. I'll be honest I'm not familiar with learning disabilities too much but maybe consider a community college course where its 8 to 12 weeks long. We've had a few people that have had learning disabilities come through here and take advantage of Paid CDL Training Programs and be successful at it. If he is on any meds you also may want to make sure they're not banned by the FMCSA or your company he'd be driving at.