[NHHunter]

Can some of you help me out and fill in this questionaire? I am getting my CDL using the Trade Act, so I have to prove that I have contacted other drivers in the field to learn from their experiences. I appreciate any help you can give me.

Business Name:



Address:



City:

Name/Job title:


How did you choose this line of work?


Where did you get you training?


What are the common duties connected with this occupation?

Most interesting aspects of your job?

What skills, personal characteristics and educational requirements did you need to do this job?

Does your company offer opportunites for advancement?

Inhouse training opportunities?

Outlook for work in your field?

How does technology affect your job?

What changes do you see for your job in the next 5yrs?

Is there anything else you feel I should know about this occupation?

[Sabine]

send you a pm with the info

[Fozzy]

The main thing that you need to know is that trucking schools and trucking companies are two different things, you need to stop piddling with the schools and get yourself cleared/pre-approved to go to WORK. Some of these schools are a waste of time as they are not approved nor certified enough to be accepted by some of the trucking companies! Do not listen to the schools when it comes to your future.

[NHHunter]

Sabine, thanks for your help!

[Skywalker]

If you are seriously interested in become a driver, you need to read Fozzy's post again....and do what he says.

If you are trolling for personal identification information.....go away.

[NHHunter]

Originally Posted by Skywalker

If you are trolling for personal identification information.....go away.

No...thats not the case at all. I looked into 4 schools 1 company sponsored school, 1 PDTI endorsed school, a community tech school and a CDL mill. The company sponsored school was RDTC(ROEHL) I was approved to go there but that course is only 4-5 weeks. The PDTI and the mill are the same, they only teach youwhat you need to know to get your CDL, thats it. The community school is 12-16 weeks and really covers alot more than just driving and how to pass the test. Its a good school, I am confident in my choice of schools, Ihave talked to a few former students and they all recommended this school.

[nickbtubas]

stay away from the mill. you should look into a company(s) and see what they require regarding CDL school. than you can decide which route is better for you to take.

you best bet is probably the community college and could get a better experience than a CDL school

[Fozzy]

Originally Posted by NHHunter

No...thats not the case at all. I looked into 4 schools 1 company sponsored school, 1 PDTI endorsed school, a community tech school and a CDL mill. The company sponsored school was RDTC(ROEHL) I was approved to go there but that course is only 4-5 weeks. The PDTI and the mill are the same, they only teach youwhat you need to know to get your CDL, thats it. The community school is 12-16 weeks and really covers alot more than just driving and how to pass the test. Its a good school, I am confident in my choice of schools, Ihave talked to a few former students and they all recommended this school.

You are falling for a bit of the salesmen BS from the publicly funded schools. MOST if not all of the CDL phase of training is going to be similar in all schools, the difference is that most people entering the industry do not have the luxury of riding around in a truck unpaid for weeks and even months. As for "covering a lot" again, a lot of this is skipped and CAN be skipped to get you to work. Most training fleets are going to train you to do the job you are hiring on to do, using the equipment you will be using. Learning how to do something that chances are you'll never need or soon forget is a waste of valuable time if your family is starving to death. I do not automatically "knock" some of the shorter schools as CDL mills, We were PTDI certified and were a 15 day school. It's all how you use the time. We mimicked the HOS to a point, you ought to have heard some of the students bellyaching when they had to work all weekend or the day following night driving.. turning on an "eight" is a real shock to some people.

[Ridge Runner]

Originally Posted by NHHunter

No...thats not the case at all. I looked into 4 schools 1 company sponsored school, 1 PDTI endorsed school, a community tech school and a CDL mill. The company sponsored school was RDTC(ROEHL) I was approved to go there but that course is only 4-5 weeks. The PDTI and the mill are the same, they only teach youwhat you need to know to get your CDL, thats it. The community school is 12-16 weeks and really covers alot more than just driving and how to pass the test. Its a good school, I am confident in my choice of schools, Ihave talked to a few former students and they all recommended this school.

First let me say that I am all for learning all you can about driving a truck before you take the wheel solo....BUT think about this: A PTDI school ( mill ) and a CDL "mill" are the same thing in the eyes of the trucking company if the "mill" is a 160 hr school. ( Just make sure with some of the companies you plan to apply with before hand to be safe ). Even Crete (and others )says on their web site only PTDI school grads. excepted. Funny, they ALL excepted my school and it was NOT a PTDI school.

Now let's do some simple math. CDL mill = 3 weeks; Community College = 12 to 16 weeks. That is a 9 to 12 week difference. Depending on how long you are out with a company trainer let's just say you average $400.00 a week ( and you should do better than that ) for those 9 to 12 weeks. That's $3600.00 to $4800.00 dollars. How much money did you really save by going to a community college?

Going either way what you will wind up with is a CDL Class A that you CAN'T use until a training company puts you with a trainer to TEACH you how to drive a truck.

I have yet to see any trucking company that posts a higher pay rate for a new trainee that comes from a Community College, a PTDI certified school or a CDL Mill ( 160 hr course ).

Just some thoughts to ponder,

Ridge

P.S. Does anybody know how many actual hours in involved in a "college" course? I would be willing to bet if you take out " The History of Trucking" type classes and counted only the classes that teach the skills part they would come close to the same amount of hours.

[ddog]

Originally Posted by Ridge Runner

First let me say that I am all for learning all you can about driving a truck before you take the wheel solo....BUT think about this: A PTDI school ( mill ) and a CDL "mill" are the same thing in the eyes of the trucking company if the "mill" is a 160 hr school. ( Just make sure with some of the companies you plan to apply with before hand to be safe ). Even Crete (and others )says on their web site only PTDI school grads. excepted. Funny, they ALL excepted my school and it was NOT a PTDI school.

Now let's do some simple math. CDL mill = 3 weeks; Community College = 12 to 16 weeks. That is a 9 to 12 week difference. Depending on how long you are out with a company trainer let's just say you average $400.00 a week ( and you should do better than that ) for those 9 to 12 weeks. That's $3600.00 to $4800.00 dollars. How much money did you really save by going to a community college?

Going either way what you will wind up with is a CDL Class A that you CAN'T use until a training company puts you with a trainer to TEACH you how to drive a truck.

I have yet to see any trucking company that posts a higher pay rate for a new trainee that comes from a Community College, a PTDI certified school or a CDL Mill ( 160 hr course ).

Just some thoughts to ponder,

Ridge

P.S. Does anybody know how many actual hours in involved in a "college" course? I would be willing to bet if you take out " The History of Trucking" type classes and counted only the classes that teach the skills part they would come close to the same amount of hours.

Hi Ridge,

Mid Florida Tech in Orlando is 160 hrs / 4 weeks / M-Th (10 hr days) and the only school in FL Crete accepts (unless PTDI checksheet if verified by instructor - ?). Some schools are 320 hours / 8 weeks / M-F. Watkins Shepard takes most any community college technical school in FL, 4 to 8 weeks.

Not only are the community colleges in FL about $2K (no living arrangements though), but you can get WIA, and other assistance which may be up to $5K. So 4 weeks + 2 weeks (good) company training and ready to make good wages.

Compared to a $6K loan with 18% and assigned to a company 8 months to 4 years with graduated earnings starting at $375/week, its not a reasonable choice (down here in FL imo any way).

BUT, I'll have to move up to where you live to get a reasonable demand level job. Need to stay where I can get financial aid first. I didn't see any links to your school and if you work with Crete, you are already better than only '1' commercial school chain investigated. And even that was not bad, as long as don't pay 18% loan and if could get a good company.

I'm a newbie and just learning, so if I said anything wrong, its the only way for me to learn: show how dumb I really am. Please don't throw me off because I don't know any better, yet ops: