Getting a CDL help

[Pborkstrom]

My brother is about 54 and looking to get a CDL. He’s in Grant Park, IL, just W. of Lowell.

Anyone have an idea as to how to go about getting one? He mentioned the training and testing is like ~$3000. He doesn’t have a truck.

Any ideas would be appreciated


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bigtanker]

Honestly if he wants to get a CDL and doesn't want to pay for school, about the only way is to get with a big carrier like Swift, JB Hunt, Schneider etc. They offer training to get a CDL. But then he'll usually need to stay there a certain amount of time.

There may be local companies that do the same but that means lots of legwork. There is still a driver (supposed) shortage and every company is looking to add drivers.

 

[Hatin Since 87]

Honestly if he wants to get a CDL and doesn't want to pay for school, about the only way is to get with a big carrier like Swift, JB Hunt, Schneider etc. They offer training to get a CDL. But then he'll usually need to stay there a certain amount of time.

There may be local companies that do the same but that means lots of legwork. There is still a driver (supposed) shortage and every company is looking to add drivers.

This.


Im not sure if being 54 will be an obstacle or not, but I had a friend who did exactly as BT said a few years back. They required him to stay with the company for a so many years, but it was worth it for them to train him and get his CDL so they’re guaranteed a driver for so many years. I don’t know anything about the trucking industry, BT is obviously the go to for that kinda advice, but I assume it’s a lot like any industry when it comes to weighing the benefit of training vs hiring skilled, and age usually plays some factor in that.


Out of curiosity, what does he do now?

 

[indyjohn]

Out of curiosity, what does he do now?

If I had to guess - IT.

3 years ago I was looking for a job. I seriously considered driving a truck but saw the very obstacles mentioned above -- pay for school or find a carrier that is willing to take a chance on you. You won't get a recruiter to admit it but I think age impacts one's chances.

In the meantime I found a job that was related to what I have been doing for 30 years, with no 'On Call' duties.

 

[diver dan]

Hi, I went to DRIVECO in gary indiana off broadway or grant st.I think it is.It has very good teachers and teachers are former drivers and have a good relationship with the indiana testing sites .I retired from inland steel in east chicago and we have a program called JOB LINK thru inland steel/mittalsteel where yu can go to a school, legitimate school, and job link pays for it.JOB TRAING its called.They have I believe a to pay in payments plan.If you get good grades , the place it shares training with is a big bus company and they will hire you right out of school.They dont tell you that till you pass the class though.They give you books and training manuals and help you thru everything including taking you to testing site for indiana.

 

[Brandon]

If he can get on with coke or something like that they will train.

I got mine for free but it is a class B not an A, can't legally drive a semi. I got mine through the schools and driving a bus.

 

[churchmouse]

If I had to guess - IT.

3 years ago I was looking for a job. I seriously considered driving a truck but saw the very obstacles mentioned above -- pay for school or find a carrier that is willing to take a chance on you. You won't get a recruiter to admit it but I think age impacts one's chances.

In the meantime I found a job that was related to what I have been doing for 30 years, with no 'On Call' duties.

Yup. Age is a factor if they are going to invest in Training you. My son did this. Found a company that would train him and he had to sign a contract to drive "X" hours/miles with them. He was 44 when he applied and they told him 45 was the cut off but would not admit it.
Why on gods earth would you want to start driving a truck at 54 years old.

 

[indyjohn]

Why on gods earth would you want to start driving a truck at 54 years old.

Same reason I would gladly drive a bulldozer tomorrow??

 

[nbunga]

Ivy tech has a CDL program.
https://www.ivytech.edu/workforce/cdl/index.html

And right now the Indiana has a program to pay for training in high demand job fields.
https://nextleveljobs.org/

 

[Kozaturf]

I went to DRIVECO as well, it's off of Grant St. in Gary, just SW of The Village shopping center. Great instructors and lots of connections to companies for after you pass the course, plus you learn on manual transmissions so you don't
get a restriction on your CDL for auto only. The IL residence might cause an issue with the way they set up testing but you'd have to ask. The options there are pay yourself or some companies will do tuition reimbursement if you stay
with them for X-number of years.

Then there is the get trained through a carrier option, this one can be tricky and you can(most likely will) get screwed. They train you and you become their slave because if you quit you have to pay back
the cost of your training and you probably don't have enough experience yet to get hired on somewhere else so you can't afford to pay them back so you can't quit and they know it.

Paying outright sucks but it gives you the most options after training. I was amazed at how recruiters changed their stories after I told them I didn't owe money for school and I didn't have a criminal record. They either became
really honest or stopped calling because they knew I could walk and go to another company that would hire new grads so the lies wouldn't work. Just have to do your homework on companies before you sign.

 

[maxwelhse]

My brother is about 54 and looking to get a CDL. He’s in Grant Park, IL, just W. of Lowell.

Anyone have an idea as to how to go about getting one? He mentioned the training and testing is like ~$3000. He doesn’t have a truck.

Any ideas would be appreciated


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

First thing he should do is go down to the library or pony up the $50 for this book:

BUMPERTOBUMPER®, The Complete Guide to Tractor-Trailer Operations

I was never a driver, but worked in other areas of the trucking industry for several years and the single best thing I did to radically advance my career and general truck education was to read that book. It will walk him through all of the basics of the terminology of trucks (what's a glad hand, what's a tag axle, etc), theories behind operation, and a lot of kind of day-in-the-life type of examples (gear selection for grades, loading dock approaches, etc). It's a well written book that assumes you know nothing, but it drills down to enough details that you can walk away with a good enough understanding to at least ask decent questions.

If he reads half of the book and gets bored and stops, trucking isn't for him. I found it to be a page turner, personally.

That's about all of the actual help I can provide, but just from anecdotal conversations here and there he's in for a wild ride for a couple of years if he gets in with an outfit like BT mentioned. That's probably the route I would go if I were in his position financially, but he can basically kiss a couple of years of his life goodbye for not much money assuming the anecdotes are still true. From what I was told, most guys jump ship as fast as they can and then the money starts to come in. Just like apprenticing in anything I suppose.

 

[wagyu52]

Took mine cold 20yrs ago I was 32, no way I’d want to do that at 52 and it was easy back then. Most of the guys at work that have taken it in the last 5 years have had to spend $$$ to get through. Passing it without one of the schools is not going to happen, least not in the first try.

 

[maxwelhse]

I did just remember one of the more interesting side hacks for obtaining a CDL. Places like Home Depot don't usually have dedicated truck drivers, but still need a guy to deliver the bigger orders on the flatbed with the forklift. When I worked for them back in college, they paid a guy in the lumber department to go get his and they let him use their truck for his test. He had an ultra cushy gig after that. 100% local runs, practically brand new leased truck that he could pretty much anything he wanted with, almost never had to deal with loading docks or freight depots, etc. Load up the skid of drywall, drive it across town, unload the skid of drywall. Wash, rinse, repeat. He probably wasn't pulling down huge bank, but he slept in his own bed every night and was still documenting professional driving miles.

Anyhow... Worth a shot?

 

[Pborkstrom]

This.


Im not sure if being 54 will be an obstacle or not, but I had a friend who did exactly as BT said a few years back. They required him to stay with the company for a so many years, but it was worth it for them to train him and get his CDL so they’re guaranteed a driver for so many years. I don’t know anything about the trucking industry, BT is obviously the go to for that kinda advice, but I assume it’s a lot like any industry when it comes to weighing the benefit of training vs hiring skilled, and age usually plays some factor in that.


Out of curiosity, what does he do now?

He works for a food prep company that supplies Sam’s and Walmart. He’s driven forklift in the past, but there aren’t a lot of jobs out by him


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Pborkstrom]

If I had to guess - IT.

Ha that would be me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Hatin Since 87]

He works for a food prep company that supplies Sam’s and Walmart. He’s driven forklift in the past, but there aren’t a lot of jobs out by him


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It will be tough at his age to make that jump I think. Again, I don’t know much about that industry but mid 50s is tough to switch careers.

 

[boogieman]

I got my CDL in 1999 and drive full time untill 2012 then transitioned to part time management and driving split. I now manage a company in Indy including helping with recruiting. One thing I will say about driving jobs in Indy is drivers are needed badly. I am hiring drivers from southern Kentucky at this point. With that said if someone fills out an application and went to Schnider, Swift, Celedon, Etc driving school and has not had at least 1 year at another company I won't even look at them.

The training at those large companies is a joke at best. They show you (not teach) just enough to get a license then send you out with a trainer for 3-4 weeks. It takes longer than that to know what you are doing. The Large company schools also make you sign a contract that if they train you then you must stay with them for a full year or have to repay the full tuition price back to them. With them having you in their pocket and knowing you more than likely will be leaving after contract they will abuse you to no end. They will keep you from home for 2-3 months at a time. Not give you any real miles and pay you 15-20 cents less a mile than a real company. Saving the 3-4000 ends up costing you way more than that. Go to a big truck stop around you and talk to drivers with the uniforms from those carriers and see what they have to say about it.

My advise is go to a good school that does actual training and not just here is how to get your CDL. In Indiana the best two are IvyTech and Vincennes driving schools. They are a longer course but drivers know what they are doing when you come out of there. and being actual schools you can qualify for grants, loans, etc. At 10 extra cents a mile the average driver will earn an extra $10k a year and be much more hireable. I start my solo drivers at $.55 and my team drivers at $.63 a mile to start with the drivers averaging 120,000 miles a year, and they are home at least every other night. You do the math. My top guys are earning upwards of $95k a year. I don't care how old you are if you got the skills to be a good driver you can find a job.

One more piece of advice, do everything you can to protect you license. No speeding tickets or moving violations of any kind including seatbelts (they are now considered a moving violation on a CDL). The better insurance companies won't let you be hired if you have 2 or more moving violations in the last 36 months. That includes in your personal vehicle. It shows you are a risk. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me.

 

[Pborkstrom]

I did just remember one of the more interesting side hacks for obtaining a CDL. Places like Home Depot don't usually have dedicated truck drivers, but still need a guy to deliver the bigger orders on the flatbed with the forklift. When I worked for them back in college, they paid a guy in the lumber department to go get his and they let him use their truck for his test. He had an ultra cushy gig after that. 100% local runs, practically brand new leased truck that he could pretty much anything he wanted with, almost never had to deal with loading docks or freight depots, etc. Load up the skid of drywall, drive it across town, unload the skid of drywall. Wash, rinse, repeat. He probably wasn't pulling down huge bank, but he slept in his own bed every night and was still documenting professional driving miles.

Anyhow... Worth a shot?

That works be brilliant. He’s the kind of guy where I’d do the leg work.

It sounds like the lumber guy fell into that deal, but it can’t hurt to ask. Thanks for the help


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bigtanker]

I got my CDL in 1999 and drive full time untill 2012 then transitioned to part time management and driving split. I now manage a company in Indy including helping with recruiting. One thing I will say about driving jobs in Indy is drivers are needed badly. I am hiring drivers from southern Kentucky at this point. With that said if someone fills out an application and went to Schnider, Swift, Celedon, Etc driving school and has not had at least 1 year at another company I won't even look at them.

The training at those large companies is a joke at best. They show you (not teach) just enough to get a license then send you out with a trainer for 3-4 weeks. It takes longer than that to know what you are doing. The Large company schools also make you sign a contract that if they train you then you must stay with them for a full year or have to repay the full tuition price back to them. With them having you in their pocket and knowing you more than likely will be leaving after contract they will abuse you to no end. They will keep you from home for 2-3 months at a time. Not give you any real miles and pay you 15-20 cents less a mile than a real company. Saving the 3-4000 ends up costing you way more than that. Go to a big truck stop around you and talk to drivers with the uniforms from those carriers and see what they have to say about it.

My advise is go to a good school that does actual training and not just here is how to get your CDL. In Indiana the best two are IvyTech and Vincennes driving schools. They are a longer course but drivers know what they are doing when you come out of there. and being actual schools you can qualify for grants, loans, etc. At 10 extra cents a mile the average driver will earn an extra $10k a year and be much more hireable. I start my solo drivers at $.55 and my team drivers at $.63 a mile to start with the drivers averaging 120,000 miles a year, and they are home at least every other night. You do the math. My top guys are earning upwards of $95k a year. I don't care how old you are if you got the skills to be a good driver you can find a job.

One more piece of advice, do everything you can to protect you license. No speeding tickets or moving violations of any kind including seatbelts (they are now considered a moving violation on a CDL). The better insurance companies won't let you be hired if you have 2 or more moving violations in the last 36 months. That includes in your personal vehicle. It shows you are a risk. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me.

My CDL school was only taught me how to pass the Test.

 

[maxwelhse]

That works be brilliant. He’s the kind of guy where I’d do the leg work.

It sounds like the lumber guy fell into that deal, but it can’t hurt to ask. Thanks for the help


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

FWIW, it does not take much to be a superstar in the box store retail world and that's one of the reasons the guy got the deal he did. The guy that did the CDL thing was just a regular dude with a decent work ethic and a good attitude that showed up on time and did his job well. I'd say he did that for a couple of years before the CDL thing came up, but he never asked at the beginning of that process either. It just sorta happened through osmosis (so, yes, he fell into it), but it was brilliant on his part to end up where he did.

So, if a guy walks into a box store that does large deliveries and says he wants to be on the inventory management team with the goal of becoming a CDL delivery driver, that might be something that gets fast tracked. The inventory people unload the delivery trucks (forklift and pallet jack work) and work 2nd shift for the most part. Pretty cush gig too, but not the highest paying thing ever.