The truck driving schools will always tell you that you will have no problem getting hired after you achieve your CDL. This in fact, is true to a certain point, but what they don’t tell you is the key factor you need to know BEFORE you enter into a truck driving school.

Laws concerning the commercial driver have gotten very strict in the last several years, especially after 911. New drivers are always telling me that the company wants at least six months to a year of experience before they can hire them. So now, they have spent thousands of dollars for a CDL, but have no driving experience, so they cannot get hired. It really is not the company that won’t hire them, but the problem lies with their insurance company.

The trucking company’s insurance carrier is actually the one that requires the six months to a year of experience. So how can the truck driving schools claim that you will have no problem getting hired? The answer lies with the mega trucking companies. These giant companies offer their own “truck driving schools” that will land you your CDL, and then you will be required to work for them and them alone, usually riding with a “trainer” for 6-8 weeks before being allowed to “go it alone.” In addition, during all this time, you will be at the low end of the pay scale. Also, many of these massive trucking companies are their OWN insurance company! Therefore, they can “bend” the rules so to speak.

If the truck driving school tells you that you will have no problem getting hired, asked them about the six months to a year of experience that the insurance companies require and see what they say. Most all of these “schools” have contracts with certain trucking companies that will hire you after you complete your CDL course. But you can only work for them, therefore you are stuck with that company only. If you believe you can go to a truck driving school and immediately go anywhere and start working locally, chances are you will be wrong. Your only choices will be to go with the giant trucking companies working over the road, until you can build up the experience required by the insurance companies. There are hundreds of these trucking companies that will hire “new grads” and get them “pushed” through on “their” insurance. The only problem is that over the road may not have been in your plans.

Also, keep in mind that while you are at the mercy of these giant companies, you will be at the low end of the pay scale . . . usually around $300 per week. Thereafter, the raises will be slow coming. This is how trucking companies can get their freight moved cheap . . . by constantly hiring “new grads” and weeding out the drivers that are now at the top end of the pay scale.

If your plans are to work locally as a professional driver and you have no experience, chances are you will have to attend a truck driving school and be forced to work for one of the larger trucking companies as an over the road driver. These schools provided by the trucking companies can run as high as $4000 or more. There is a much cheaper way to go than using these trucking company’s so-called “schools.”

Only after you accumulate six months to a year of driving experience meeting the criteria of the insurance companies, will you be able to go anywhere and get a job . . . including a local one.

Better still, try approaching truckers at the truck stop, alongside the highway. They will tell you where their truck driving training originated, what’s new in the road freight industry, your perspectives for employment, which transport company is better than others, etc. Ultimately, the time will come when you’ll have to make up your mind, as to what truck driving commercial license course you are going to enroll to. Let me help you here, with giving you the overview of three very different kinds of truck driving schools. Each one will be outlined with its more important characteristics, and the factors that may affect your choice, will be explained in detail.

Truck driving school run by the dedicated educational institutions.

Usually, staffed by experienced instructors and trainers. Trucks and training equipment are new to medium old; the age can gravitate towards the older, for small outfits. Ratio of teacher to student can be quite high, thus limiting your “real” truck driving time. Fees can be quite high, depending on the school’s reputation in the industry, and local competition. Classes’ times is flexible, and can accommodate individual student’s requirements. Basic CDL course lasts about 6 months.

Universities and colleges run training.

Truck driving courses are run as a part of their regular vocational training. Due mainly to insufficient financial resources, the equipment is old and hardly resembling the modern rigs you see on the roads today. Classes have a set timetable. Very low fees or free of any charges. Tend to attract mainly school leavers. Duration of the course can be as long as two years.

Truck driving company run training.

You’re learning on the job. Driving instructors are of considerable experience. Training facilities modern and well maintained. No charges for students who agree to work a fixed time after the graduation on company’s trucks. The training fleet is modern and versatile; from small Dodge pickups, to huge B-doubles, long semis and dangerous goods vehicles. Course lasts about 6-8 weeks.

Hopefully by now, you’re able to decide where to sign the enrollment forms. Before you do, ask if the truck driving school you’re considering is accredited with the Professional Truck Drivers Institute. This organization tries to maintain a uniform truck drivers’ training standards across America. Also, visit our website: truck-driving-school.biz for the latest info. Well, right now, you’re ready to enter the first stage of your rewarding professional career. Transport companies are waiting for you, with the CDL license in hand!

When you do an Internet search for trucking schools or truck driving schools you will find search results filled with hundreds of websites offering something related to truck driving schools. Then you have to wade through dozens of websites that seem to provide mostly advertisements for other truck driving schools. If you take the wrong course you end up bouncing back and forth between advertisements. This will most likely leave you feeling lost.

Well, Let’s make it easier than ever before!

First answer this question:

* Are you committed to making this a new career or are you just looking to improve your skills for a job you already have?

If your looking to make this a new career, than you should focus on the stability of the company doing the training, the quality of the training, their reputation in the industry, and your total costs. When it comes to proper training your life depends on it!

If your just looking to improve your skills for a job you already have then right off the bat you should look for a local training company. Try searches that include your city or state. For example: “Riverside Truck Driving Schools” That can eliminate a lot of the junk out there.

All Right, Your Ready To Start A New Career:

First and fore most training should be the most important piece of the puzzle to you. If your not trained properly you could end up in a bad accident or a very short driving career. That is why we say your life depends on it! As far as the training goes, someone who is well experienced when it comes to truck driving and truck driving training should train you on recent equipment.

Next consider the training time.
Are you about to attend a license mill, or is the company going to give you plenty of time behind the wheel?

After training you should of course consider your costs. If you can’t see prices for tuition, fees and everything else, you might want to walk away now or in your case leave that website. Just think what else is going to be negotiable? Tuition, fees, your safety?

Now that you know how much it costs for tuition, you should also consider other costs like financing, room and board or hotel stays, transportation to the school, amenities etc. Be conscious of the numbers game. It might be $5000 for one school all-inclusive and $4000 for another but you still have to pay for hotel. That makes them the same. So you really have to evaluate the schools and do your due diligence.

Lastly and most commonly where people are taken for a ride, is the promise of employment. Your making a career move so you most definitely need to have a job lined up for when you complete school. Here is a simple fact. If they’re not a “School to Hire” organization, then it is not a job guarantee! “School to Hire” refers to a situation where, not if, but when you complete school you have a job with the company who trained you or with another company via a contractual agreement between the school and a carrier.

For example you might go to school A, and upon completion, you’ll be working for company B. You’ll know before you even start school who your going to work for. The other option uses another very common term. “Guaranteed Job Placement” or “Lifetime Placement Assistance”, or something along those lines. The long and short of it, they guarantee they will be helping you apply for jobs.

The Hard Fact:

The fact is there are Truck Driving Schools out there that have no intention other than taking your money, getting you a license and sending you packing with a hand full of applications.

Now that you have a little more information about what you should look for than your ready to begin your search to find the school that is going to work for you. We hope this short article is helpful in navigating the truck driving school maze and wish you the best in your endeavors.