Question:
My wife and I are just starting a trucking career. We are in the process of losing our dairy farm after 32 years. We are selling everything we own and plan to team drive until we get back on our feet. Any advice anyone can give us is greatly appreciated. We are looking at 2 schools, MTC in St Louis and The Great Southern Commercial Driving School in Ga. Any feedback would be helpful. We really don't want to take to many steps back before we start moving ahead.
Answer:
Welcome aboard TruckNet.
Sorry to hear that you're losing your farm.
If you are already in debt & think trking is going to get you out of it...don't hold your breath.
Try to have your finances in order as much a possible BEFORE going to drving school.
I don't know anything about either one of those schools, I do know quite a bit about living on the road.(as an OTR Drvr)
Take plenty of notes & ask plenty of questions in school & during your OTR training.
SAVE-SAVE-SAVE!!! as much as possible.(before, during, and after your drving career)
Although it is possible to make a fairly decent wage trking, it's not going to do much good if you blow it as soon a you make it.
It is soooo easy to mis-manage money while otr....Be WISE with your money.
Feel free to PM me if you have more questions.(or comments)

Answer:

Do you really know what trucking entails?
I have lost count of how many drivers I have met who have either gone broke (some of them have gone broke repeatedly) driving a truck or who have wasted a lifetime in the biz "trying to get on their feet".
Answer:
Good teams can make money out here OTR.
Many teams don't "want" to run, they are out here partying or visiting relatives around the country.
There are two types of people in this business.
Those who want a good paycheck, but don't want to work for it. Thus, are always crying about not making money.
Those who "work" and are not sitting at home crying all day. They are the ones that make the money.

Answer:
Highwayman has a good point -- it's can be dificult to put money ahead or pay-off debts (if that's what we're talking about) driving OTR. But...... folks accustomed to running a farm are probably used to hard work and tight money management. And If you want to turn any kind of positive cash flow in trucking, that is what you have to do: Work hard, be thrifty and make careful decisions.
I hope you have better luck than some. trucknet is an excellent resource for the many ins and outs. I'd first suggest researching everything you can here -- much of it will be hit and miss -- and pay particular attention to the warnings and advise about truck schools and training. There are rip-offs waiting to take advantage of you, so research every move carefully.
Picking a school:
1. Ask the truck schools for the names of several trucking companys that hire their students to run team.
2. Call those companys and verify that info. Ask them what other schools they hire from nearby.
3. Research trucknet's archive regarding trucking schools and company training.
And as mentioned above, make sure you're coming into this with some ready cash. It will take several months from the time you start school, until you're actually running team by yourselves (through with training) and making regular paychecks. At that time, you should be able to gross 65k-80k as a team, but will have spent many thousands (10k+ including living expenses during the bridge) getting there.
Good luck, start reading trucknet's huge archive of info and advice, and let us answer questions as you go along. There's a bunch of us who drop by when we can to give the best advise we know how, so ask questions and let us help you. We may take different sides on some issues, but averaged together, we'll generally steer you in the right direction.

Answer:
I would check out CFI- they are a good team company and do hire out of school. Why not call them and see if those schools are on their 'list' ?
Thats Consolidated Freighters Inc I believe.

Answer:
we just wanted to say thank you all for your replies. Luckily my wife and I are not owing a lot or money. All we are looking for is an opportunity where we can work as hard as we are accustomed and find a company that will give us the work. We realize we have a lot to learn and are willing to pay our dues. again any comments anyone might have on 2 schools would be appreciated. The MTC Driving School in St Louis and The Great Southern Commercial Driving School in North Ga. Again thanks for the replies
Answer:
Where many fail is, when they start making money they spend it on things they do not "need"..
Like a $35,000 SUV. and the dam thing sits parked for months on end...
Get rid of everything, you probably will not even need a car. Car, registration, insurance, can be a waste of money.
Work hard...Throw all your money in the bank.
There are drivers in this business that have paid cash for their home, cash for their car, and cash for everything else.
You'll hear drivers boo wooing about not having any money.
I met one such driver the other day that works for us. He has a major problem picking up and delivering loads, but, doesn't have a problem telling you where "All" the best truck stops are around the Country that have the best trucker bars.
So, my advice is: Be careful who you get your information from.

Answer:
I don't know where you live but there are many LTL opportunities for teams with good pay and home time also. Old Dominion, Watkins, Estes, and AAA Cooper are just a few that come to mind. Some will even train you at no cost for 1 year commitment.