What About Company Schools
(Why should I PAY for school?)
Many prospective students ask me why they should PAY for their license when there are truck driving schools that will help them get it for "free."
The following is a worst-case scenario. This means it won't necessarily happen every time, but it could, has, and will happen again.
Most trucking company schools are two to three weeks long or somewhere in the neighborhood of 80-120 hours. Afterwards you will go with a trainer to get the rest of your instruction.
So let's say that things go well, you complete your schooling, complete your time with a trainer, and you pass your test to go out on your own. Congratulations! What could go wrong?
Now, say that it is three months after you finished with your trainer and you are sitting, waiting for a load. So are nine other guys, except that they all have four or five years with the company. Now, suppose that there are only nine loads available that day in your area. Who do you suspect won't be getting a load that day -- You, or the guys that have experience? Keep in mind, they have to keep those guys happy because they could easily go to another company -- you, however, are contracted for another year and nine months.
So this happens several times, and eventually you say enough is enough. You know that you will have to pay for the "school" that the company put you through to get out of your contract, but you decide that it is worth it to get a better job. So you quit and they give you a bill for $5000 to pay for their school.
Now you go to another company to get a job, but they inform you that you need to have at least 1 year of verifiable experience OR have graduated from a school that was at least 160 hours in length. The company school you went to was only 120 hours, so it doesn't count.
So now (if you aren't so completely frustrated that you just give up on ever driving a truck) you come to see us at DCS School of Driving and pay ANOTHER $5000 to get the proper training of at least 160 hours (Our CDL course is 200 hours). So you have spent months and months and an extra $5000 to get what you would have gotten in five weeks if you did it right the first time.
A much BETTER option is to use a company's "Tuition Reimbursement."
This means that you come to DCS School of Driving and pay for the schooling yourself, but you get paid back monthly by the trucking company when you begin working your first job. We know this may be difficult, but at least afterwards you know that you have the diploma that will allow you to go anywhere you want to go, any time you want to go there.
If you stay with the company until your schooling is paid off, your CDL ends up being essentially free. If you don't, at least you aren't stuck owing a company that you don't work for anymore.
We hope that you are able to find that "perfect" job the first time, but if you don't, the license that you get from DCS School of Driving will allow you the freedom to leave a company any time you want to find a better job.
The choice is yours.
We are happy to help answer any questions that you might have.