QuestionQUESTION: I want to be a truck driver. Can you give more information about how to get the CDL? Which one is the more beneficial, the company pay for the tuition or I pay for the tuition?
I live in Sylvania,Ohio. Where is the truck driver academy?
Thank you.
Dave
ANSWER: I attended a State operated school, while my brother attended a 3 week course with a private school. I received a scholarship that paid my tuition and my brother still owes thousands of dollars for his loan. My brother signed on with a company that would have paid for his schooling, but he didn't stay with the company long enough. I said all that to say from my experience, I would go with a State operated school if possible. If you can't, most schools have companies that will pay your tuition, but make sure you understand the terms. I went to school in GA, so I'm not sure how Ohio works. Here is some information I found, maybe this will get you started in the right direction. If you ever need to ask anything, shoot me a line, I don't believe in dumb questions.
STATE OPERATED CDL SKILLS/TESTING LOCATIONS
Address
City
Telephone
1361 East Main Street
Newark 43055
740-345-4818
8730 Lake Road
Seville 44273
330-769-5090
8210 County Road 140
Findlay 45840
419-423-2841
25 McCarthy Lane
Jackson 45640
740-286-4245
4560 Kyles Station Road
Hamilton 45011
513-863-8097
PUBLIC/THIRD PARTY CDL SKILLS/TESTING LOCATIONS
Name
Address
City
Telephone
*Canton CDL Testing Company
2230 Shepler Church Avenue SW
Canton
330-456-4571
*CDL of Northern Ohio
3905 State Route 103
Willard
800-446-8875
*CDL Testing Inc
4060 Perimeter Drive
Columbus
614-294-3684
Champaign County Board of Education
1512 South US 68
Urbana
937-484-1519
*Mid-Pike
20972 Middle Pike
Wapakoneta
419-568-3835
*Northwest CDL Center
26718 Oregon Road
Perrysburg
419-837-9400
Pike County Joint Vocational School
175 Beaver Creek Road
Piketon
740-289-4171
*Rathburn Enterprises
1688 Pricetown Road
Lake Milton
330-538-2216
*US America/Manufacturing Inc.
Route 1
Gnadenhutten
740-254-9313
Warren County Education Service Ctr.
320 East Silver Street
Lebanon
513-695-2927
*
All testing locations denoted with an asterisk have vehicles available to rent for testing purposes with the exception of the school bus test.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank you for your prompt reply.
I had a couple of questions:
1. Do you have a study-guide to take this CDL exam? or I can bought it from the state or the third party driving school?
2. Is it easy to get the job if I can get the CDL directly to the state without the driving academy?
3. Do you know about OTR, local, etc?
4. How many years of experience does the company ask to fill in the position?
5. How much does the company pay for the novice driver?
I am sorry maybe there are too many questions.
Once again thank you.
Dave
AnswerYou can't ask too many ?s when wanting to start a career in truck driving. Your local Drivers License office should have a free book, if you take a CDL class, they will provide all the books you need. I highly recommend taking a class, and if possible stay away from the three week courses. The longer courses will provide more information at a pace you can absorb. Some trucking companies will hire drivers with no experience and they will train you to get your CDLs also. Most companies with local driving position require 2 yrs experience, ever now and then you'll find one that will accept 1 year. Chances are you will have to drive OTR your first 2 years. Most companies pay .28 to .30 cents a mile with no experience. If you get out and drive hard and get along with the dispatcher, you should get 2500 to 3000 miles a week. You will most likely be out 3 to 4 weeks. When I drove OTR I would let my dispatcher know what date I wanted to be home. So during that 3 or 4 weeks, I would do what the dispatcher wanted and I drove hard. What I mean about driving hard is, I didn't stop unless I had to. I would leave out and only stop for fuel most of the time, and I was always on time. A lot of times I would be a day early and the dispatcher would let me drop the load and pick another load and be on my way. Now not all dispatchers are good, some will try to take advantage of you. I have drove OTR and local, I've been a Safety Mgr, and now a Motor Carrier Compliance Officer. All total I've been in transportation the last 12 years. There are serval web sites available to search for companies hiring drivers. Just Google truck driving jobs. Also look around your area, you might luck up and find a local job, but it might not pay that much. I don't know how close you are to a Roadway terminal, but they use to hire drivers right out of school. That would be big money ($19 -$22 hr). Send me follow up marked private and will send you my personal e-mail. Search for some companies on the web and send then to me. I'll help you pick out the good ones. You can also go by a truck stop and they will have free books with companies looking for drivers.
