Rejected by the company paying for my training

I started school Monday, passed the DOT physical, passed the state CDL Permit test yesterday (Wed) afternoon, and was told this (Thurs) morning that the company was passing on my application. They had found a more qualified candidate, I was told. I had to leave school immediately. The instructor and manager seemed to be shocked at this, since I had developed a lot of knowledge very quickly. I have a clean criminal record, stable job history, one speeding ticket in the last 3 years, I'm married and a homeowner. My license was suspended 13 years ago for failure to maintain insurance. Never a DUI or other issue. I've has 3 tickets in my lifetime (I'm 40).

Mind you I had to drive 350 miles to the school, I paid for the out-of-state permit which is now worthless, and am now in the same exact place I was when I started this adventure, 4 weeks later and out the cost of gas, food, and the permit. And I had to buy things like cold and wet weather gear, and some other items. Luckily, I am not out of pocket for anything else, as there is a 5 day period where either myself, the company, or the school can decide that it's not going to work. If that is the case, I don't owe anything.

I did find out over the few days though, that I really had a passion for this as a career. I'm looking for options. I called a couple of places in Alabama when I got home this afternoon, and there is at least one local school who thinks they can help. Interesting part was that this potential school supposedly received a notice from this same company several weeks ago that said they were not hiring new drivers until further notice.

This new school works on a different scheme. Instead of having to work for the company for a year, this one gets student loans, and the companies that they work with pay the loans off when they hire you. I'll find out more details tomorrow when I actually visit the place. I do know that if they are the source of the loans, I am outta there. If we are talking real student loans or Pell grants, I'm good with that.

Am I just going from one bad experience to another? Or have I found a decent solution to the problem of needing to make money as soon as possible, without paying for school out of pocket? Is this now on my DAC, and how would that affect me?

Crazy thing is, I'm still as excited as I was when I started this.

 

I made too much money in my soon to be former career. Unless someone comes through with a decent IT job in the meantime, options are getting slim. I quit one job to become a contractor, then the contract blew up. It's my own problem as far as getting state help.

The IT field is just in the dumper right now. I had started to dread going into work, which is never a good thing, and I was getting screwed at every turn. Give someone no control of a situation, and hold him responsible when someone else makes a mistake. But I digress...

 

PM me, and I'll fill you in. I just don't want to shoot myself in the foot over this...

For some of you out there, the answer may be obvious.

 

CDI in Oxford, AL. Close enough for me to sleep in my own bed every night, instead of some dinky dorms with God-knows-who as a roommate...

 

Been crawling all over those tech and government jobs sites since October. Major VA facilities near here, lots of Federal offices too. There's a bunch of hospitals, but one of the hospitals in town just shut down, so the market is flooded with people with tons of experience. Some of the major employers around here like Goodyear, Hyundai, and Mercedes-Benz are laying off people or cutting production, and those well-trained and experienced people are looking too.

It's pretty freakin grim at the moment. I don't see things really improving until late next year. I just need to get by until then. I'll be doing OK if I can manage that.