Get my CDL at a School, or sign with a Company? And other ?'s

Tons of good schools...I suggest when you get into school your 1st week start putting in applications with companies so you can get a job lined up that way when you are finished you aren't wasting 6 weeks looking for work. You will be able to grab your gear and get to work....Our Resident GURU of trucking will be along shortly he is A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE Listen to his Advice...Good luck

 

Go to a school the unemployment office will pay for. By doing this you can hit the road with a decent company right out of the gate.
As far as the bald head, get one of those hats that looks like a small umbrella and wear it. Can also just wear a wet cloth hand towel on your head; you've probably seen that in your world travels.
Get the endorsements while in school, especially the hazmat endorsement. Even refrigerated companies occasionally haul a hazmat load.

 

MEET OUR RESIDENT GURU Chinatown....HE IS A WEALTH OF INFO....THANKS BROTHER

 

Couple of good companies that hire new cdl grads:
Freymiller
Dynamic Transit
Both hire new cdl grads with no experience. If website has "experience required", ignore that because it means the website hasn't been updated recently.

 

Definitely a local school. Most states have grants to help pay for it. I paid 200 for my cdl out of pocket. And got to choose a company that I wanted to go to. It was a 4 week school that started with 3 students in my class. By time we hit the road there was only me and one more. So I got a ton of time behind the wheel.
The companies you can choose from when you already have your cdl seem to be much better than the ones that offer schools. Imo

 

Lol, you just described me! Although I'm not bald yet I've reached the stage of rapid hair loss

Definitely go to a private school if that route is available. Having your Class B is also a big leg up as you'll only need to take your combination test to get your CLP. Having the Hazmat and tanker endorsement along with a TWIC card will also open up a lot of doors and expand your options. The Hazmat and TWIC take a few weeks to get so it's best to get started right away.
First thing I'd do is decide what I wanted..Tankers, Flatbed, Refer or Vans. Then make a list of companies you want to work for...and set your goals high. Don't get into the mindset you have to settle on a crap starter company. Next I would call your top company picks and find out what schools they hire from...For example, Trimac, in my state only considers new grads that attended the school I am going to.

 

Trimac had an ad recently for a local position at their Santa Clara terminal. The ad said the pay is $80K and home every day. Also had they will hire a new cdl grad for the position.

 

Kinda hard to beat that for a local gig!