Should I get My CDL with the military Waiver or got to a school

Post 9/11 GI bill... depending on the state you can get approximately up to $54,000 which is yours for 15 years to use. You can pay for trucking school and save the balance for later if you like.

Though your case is a little different I would still consider a community college for my training than some fly by night school.

 

I agree with condo, you're better off going to a community college for training.

 

Same situation here, I ended up going to a community college for 6 weeks of training, def worth the price paid. I'd skip on the 3 week joints, just from the training environment some provide.

 

Well the first thing that your trainer will say once you get in a truck is "forget all you learn in school welcome to real trucking" I was able to be a decent shifter by the second week

 

the school should be for regs ~ if you can load-up a lowboy / dropneck or anything like that learning manual will probably be a ten-minute & one-question like it was for me - at least for Eaton-Fuller, Dana is Different ..... if you are going to go to school consider the college idea and talk to FFE & Stevens and some others, there is a flatbed operator here that seems to be good and there is a heavy-haul discussion area ..... I have not been to any school & got Class-A C.D.L. with Tanker & Trailer but no HAZMAT ..... most every company is going to comply with insurance stipulation of one to three years driving DOT regulated & for some reason the insurance companies accept school / class / training then in-cab with experienced

what you need to work on is whether to go O.T.R. for something like dry-van or refrigerated vs what else is available .... if the driving will transfer to civilian credit of time in cab then plenty of places will probably hire-direct at discharge and either put you in school or whatever that company does as routine operations

 

Even though I had mine I still went back to school on the VA's dime.
It was a great learning experience and well worth it.

 

Just go to an expediting straight truck with an automatic . More money and better lifestyle than going to a low paying , high turnover OTR carrier
There's no BS low pay training period either . Start on your own at full pay right out of orientation

 

Look at it this way. You'll be coming into a world where there's a lot of drivers looking for work. If you come out of the military and only have military experience you'll be at the bottom of the list and it will be extremely hard to find a job that you might like. If you go to a good accredited school then you move from the bottom to almost the top. You will certainly be over a graduate of a school with no experience. It will give you a better chance to find a job that you will like. Do not settle on the first job that comes around and do not believe any recruiter that comes to your school. You'll need to do a lot of research. Good luck.