NTTS Buffalo?

I can't help with certification question but to give another option for training there's a pdi out in Churchville...I realize it might be too far to want to drive from G.I (about an hr from downtown B-lo when I'm loaded), but I googled cdl school in buffalo and the reviews would be enough to scare me away from them..

 

I looked at Sage in Binghamton and NTTS Syracuse. I choose NTTS because it seemed to me the more professional program. After graduating I went to Crete and spent 8 weeks with a trainer.
As far as how important the certification is, I think it might depend on your goal. The company that I was interested in would take students from certified schools. For me, it was worth it. Some of the people I went to school with went with companys that didn't work out and ended up doing other things. For them, not so much.

 

Jimbo,

I took the 7-week program at NTTS in Liverpool (Syracuse) in 2010. It's great training, especially with the amount of driving time I got (probably an hour per day every weekday for six weeks). The instructors and office people also were all very professional. The downside, as you've figured out, is the price; I paid over $7,000 for my seven weeks, and I don't think their training is worth that much. The reason for the high cost is that they're accredited and able to accept government student loans, just like a university. The result is that a lot of people take out student loans and get in the door for little or no cost, thereby inflating tuition prices. Many veterans also pay for school using GI Bill funds.

If you hire on with a carrier after school that reimburses most or all of your tuition costs, or if you have lots of money, then go for it. If you're looking for a bargain, NTTS is not it. Good luck.

 

Go to the cheapest 160 hr. school you can find.
If you have a specific company in mind you want to work for, then ask them which school they recommend. Some companies only hire from certain schools and some hire from any school as long as it's 160 hrs. or longer.

 

My class was large, so that limited the hands on practice time. Some of the instructors where very good natural teachers and some where not. The training was good enough to get my CDL. The 8 weeks I spent with a trainer after that was when I really learned the most.
Is it worth it? For me it was. But be sure you can manage the life style before taking on that debt. You don't want to take on that much debt and then find out it's not the life for you.

 

What did you end up doing ? How did it turn out ?

 

I've been with Crete 5 years next month. No real complaints about the company. It's been hard on the family, but I'm not sure I could go back to a "normal" job after being solo OTR.