CDL liscence......any info would help....thanx

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Originally Posted by dixie760

Is there any kind of student loans or grants that I can get to go to a local truck driver training course

I doubt it. I would reccomend a tech or vocational school in your area and take that route. I payed $980 had to go for about 5 hours a day for about 12 weeks. There are CDL schools out there that will get you a CDL in a couple weeks for about $3000-$5000 bucks. They will promise you the world and offer job placement but then your are at the mercy of a company for at least a year. Company schools do this too. The problem with this is if yo go start driving and get a couple non-preventable accidents or they don't like the way you look, you can get fired and still owe the $3000. I think the reason for no financial aid is that the course is just to short, because I checked into financial aid for welding school recently and it didn;t qualify either.

[StealthRabbit]

I had a few co-workers use TAA/ Nafta (unemployment / retraining) funds to go to CDL school.

I would do some serious investigation and talk with your local worksource office.

If you are serious about a career job, and feel you can handle it... I would consider a 'company paid course'. Some of them I find to be superior to the 'for-profit' places, and the 'seat-time' is important benefit to a company school. Be Aware... you will not be home much for a few years. research the Companies that offer schools and get some referrals, and validate the company's safety record.

good luck

It's a good idea to start this career in the spring, rather than the fall ... Cautious hours behind the wheel... good mentoring, variety of conditions, making mature split second decisions - that is what counts, and realizing you are driving a lethal weapon which MAY / will break someday.

Following distance !!! (4 sec minimum + extra for road conditions and loaded weight buffer)
ALWAYS Looking ahead and around for an escape
Knowing whats coming (like the bozo that will run the stop sign...)
Backing as little as possible, and walking behind rig BEFORE you back.

this is a good safety course and used by many employers
Smith System - The Global

[Robhu]

I worked at a city transit (bus) company as a mechanic for 30 years which I retired from. (Yes mechanics do drive busses. Usualy when they are not in the best of shape or on road tests).
I was grandfathered so I didn't have to take the driving test since I had been driving buses for years when the
CDL law came out. I did have to take classes and pass written tests. I had to have a class A CDL with passenger endorsement. I had the combination vehicle endorsement because we had our own wrecker and towed our busses.
The company I worked for had our safety department take training to become certified CDL instructors. They could train but they couldn't give the tests. You had to go to a certified state testing facility for that.
The company hired people with good backgrounds and trained them on our property with pay.
If you could find a company with the same type of training program, and get paid during the training, that would be great.
Some people took advantage of it. They got the training, passed the tests, then quit the job. They got payed training to get the CDL, and abused a good faith system.
Passing all the tests is not a guarantee that anyone is a good operator of large vehicles.
Common sense, individual driving skills, realizing that people who you travel with on the roads have no idea that your large vehicle can't do the same thing as their small car, and your ability to realize your own skills and the limits of your vehicle, can make you a good driver and keep you on the road and employed for years without making you lay awake at night thinking about the family that got hurt because that plastic license in your wallet automatically made you think you were an expert.