Question:
earlier this week i sat down with a recruiter at roadmaster and discussed the possiblity of me getting my class a. i have come to the conclusion is not worth it. we discussed tuition which is $6000 dollars for a 3 week training course equals out to $ 2000 a week(they are making a killing) and on top of that we have to pay for our own dot physical and drug screen/ cdl permit/ license and extra 150$. u would think for 6000 dollars they would include that in the tuition price but no way. let me add u can get a 1000 dollar discount if u pay in cash. they also help u get a job with a trucking company that has tution reimbursement which is a straight scam to me. if u have a 5000 or 6000 dollar loan to take out for the school the trucking company u get hired on too pays 100- 125 a month which means u get stuck with the company for 3-4 years before its paid off and thats if your lucky. my advice is to anyone thinking about going to a trucking school go to the company and get paid training u will have to stay for a year but i dont think its that bad, dont get me wrong some people can pay 5000 for training but the reality is most of us dont. i would say i reasonable amout for training would be 3000 dollars for a three week peried. so now im stuck with trying to find a company that i can get paid training with.
what are you'll thoughts out there about this topic?

Answer:
eric,yes trucking schools are way overpriced for what you get in return,there is no excuse for it.
i work for a company that has it's own free school as long as you work for them for a year,they have a yard in wauseon ohio,up by toledo,call 1-800-621-4878 and talk to bert if you are interested.
they have classes all the time and they are usually no bigger than 4-5 students with 2 instructors,the man that owns the company has his trucks leased on with MCT,i've been with them since 1991 and have had no problems with them,i run regional out of w chicago and i am home every week if i want.

Answer:
The majority of drivers will make the same old claim. You will have better choices of where to work, get better training and have more options with private training. But as you pointed out it is not true at all. No matter where you get your training you will be stuck with the same company you originally signed on with for a couple a years at the least. The sad part is many who go the route of private training end up in the same starting companies they would of had they of done company training. No it doesn't and never has made sense to me.
WhAt makes it even worse is the thousands of newbies that take on the very large debt of most trucking schools do not make it as drivers. All they end up with is a very large negative credit rating and no way to pay it. My opinion, company schooling is the only way to go. Let them train you and employ you. So what if you have to stay there a year or so. You will have to stay at your first job that long no matter what if you hope to get the school paid for. It is also better on your resume to stay with the first company for atleast a year. Even if you dont like it.

Answer:
-Choosing a Career or Vocational School-
-Guides for Private Vocational and Distance Education Schools-

Answer:
Why anyone with $6K to spend would spend it on getting a lousy CDL is beyond me, That $6K will go a long way towards an Associates degree at a community college, or it will pay for a couple of professional certifications that will alow a person to get a better job than trucking can offer.
Answer:

I'll never understand why anyone would pay for training to earn substandard wages.

Those "degrees" don't come with a "lifestyle".
Answer:
I'm glad I never had to go to school. I learned to drive in a terminal lot. I had to learn on my own, but, I had lots of advice from some of the best LTL drivers that had as many as 30 years exp. That was in 1984..
The advantage I had:
In these truck driving schools, you don't know who the hell is teaching you. Ya, I know, they put up a good song and dance about "all" their teachers having years of exp. OK, you can believe that, your suppose too. After all, if your shelling out $6000, they'll tell you anything you want to hear, your paying for it, BS and all.
The difference? I got to pick the real pro's I personally knew and trusted from their years of exp. And no, I didn't have to pay for the advice.
Result, I'm working on a 21 year clean Commercial MVR. It will be 21 years in April, 2005.

Answer:

I agree. If one can manage to get a loan, or grants, or whatever.... there are many of other occupations one can get into that will provide stability.
One I can think of off hand is: RV Mechanic/technician. and there are lots of others..... if one can go to Community College, they can work on an accounting degree, or become a paralegal or any number of other jobs. There are hundreds of things I would do before I would spend $5-6K on a trucking school. Heck, I could live on the beach in the Dominican for a year or two on that much!!
But seriously.....if one is hellbent on being a driver.....check into company training or check with the community colleges in your area, because alot of them have "driver training" programs for CDL's. Also, if you got laid off or lost your job due to your company closing up and moving south...you could or should be eligible for "retraining assistance"...... can't hurt to ask, and if you're too proud....then when you get bit on the backside....you won't have much room to complain....
I paid for my training back in 94'.....$1295.00....with National Training in Green Cove Springs, FL....l have no idea what it would be now.So I like what I do, you don't, too bad, get over it. Get on with your life, I am.

Answer:

Maybe Beagle knows....

Oh yeah...the lifestyle!! I forgot. Maybe that is why I failed at trucking!!! Never could quite get the hang of the lifestyle - never could see why I should!!
Answer:

I stopped by and toured the RoadMasters Columbus, Ohio facility. Nice place and all.....but awefully expensive. !!!!!!
Instead, i'm paying up-front for a NO obligation 4 week training at ROEHL's Wisconsin school. The school last for four weeks. Total cost if you selected room and board is under three thousand. They do have financing plans but then yer obviously obligated.
Much better deal than RoadMasters and i gotta believe the training i'll recieve will be of greater quality.
If you stay on with them , reimbursement is $200 per 10,000 miles.
I'm gonna stay on and give it a shot with ROEHL after training. Because of my location in Ohio , i've been able to secure a 7on4off - 7on3off schedule.
You might wanna check'um out.....seem like good folks to me and majority of feedback on them is favorable.

Answer:
http://www.cretecarrier.com/crete/sccapp.html
Out-of-state is $622.50* plus books and a $25 graduation fee.
Housing while attending school is the student’s responsibility; however, both Crete Carrier Corporation and SCC can supply you with housing contacts where students have rented in the past.
ten weeks in length.
no strings attached to the company,it's run by the community college and the good corperate citizen crete helps them by supplying used equipment for the tax write off most likely and to fish for drivers who do good enough to get hired by them.
columbus ohio terminal,school in nebraska
Answer:
would you rather spend $6,000 to make 40k the first year or get free training and make 25k the first year,that free training stuff can be expensive
http://roundtable.truck.net/viiewt.php?t=46862
click on his free training story
Answer:
Yea your right Zigzag the free training can be very exspensive. Unfortunatly for many they pay alot of money and go very deep in debt to start their career off with SNI or one of the many other training companies. So not only do they get to loose a bunch as a driver they also end up in deep debt. Thats why I say take the free training. Most say their either looking at SNI, USless Exp., Werner, Swift or a couple other popular choices. Since their going there anyway they might as well not pay for the screwing.
Of course a community college would be far better if they planned on stepping away from the norm and actually trying to find a good job instead of the normal take almost anyone companies. But why pay a dinme and go somewhere that already has training?

Answer:
Just in case someone is going to read these posts to get information about training and schools, let me point out something. First, go to your local unemployment office and get a list of state approved training programs. This gives you a starting point for costs, locations and availability. At least the unemployment office is not trying to sell you something. Second, investigate community colleges and technical schools in your area. It may well be possible for you to attend classes during the evening or on saturday while still earning a paycheck during the day.
.
In general, the more backing maneuvers that a training program teaches the better for you. Another key question is how much time at the controls of the truck will you get? Time in the truck is not particularly relevent if you are watching someone else do the driving. You have to learn by doing. New drivers seem to have problems with keeping a legal logbook so find out if the school covers logging. Ask about job placement. Remember, get it in writing. Contact various trucking companies and ask them what schools they accept grads from and what schools they do not accept grads from. Be an informed consumer.
.
In the end it may boil down to financing. There are two different paths available to you. You can go to any of several training companies, sign a contract that obligates you to work for that company for a year or more to get your CDL license. If you leave that company before you have fulfilled that commitment, you are obligated to pay for all or part of your training. You signed a contract and it is legally binding.
On the other hand you can pay for your own training at a private or public(community college or technical school) and are free to seek employment anywhere. If you are unemployed, talk to the people at the unemployment office about the Workforce Investment Act(WIA) funding.

Answer:
No doubt the Comm. College method is cheaper. But , thats a 10+ week committment. Enter into this formula the cost of housing and the amount of food cost over this period , and i'd have to say its very comparable to what i'll spend in the 4 week deal at Roehl.
Most importantly is the NO committment clause. I just can't imagine anyone would want to endure a years worth of un-happiness trying to fullfill a contractual agreement. Being miserable for 12 months can't be a good way to learn a trade.
FREE ain't free......... explore alternative methods of financing [there are many] so you can attend school of your choice w/o the hook.