Complete Newbie

You can also do this: pay for private school with a credit card, then hire on with a company that does tuition reimbursement. This way, the trucking company is giving you the money each month to make the credit card payment.
Here's one with a $6000.00 sign-on bonus that would be enough to pay for cdl school.
Raven Transport
Truck Driver (OTR), $6,0000 Sign-On
Salary: $65,000.00 to $75,000.00 /year
To qualify, candidate MUST be at least 21 years of age and possess a valid Class A CDL License. For those brand-new CDL drivers graduating from a National Publicly Funded Truck Driving School, we have a program for you (earn while you train (6-8 weeks) and then $.40 CPM until you make the one-year experience level). Paid orientation. Rider program available and Pet Policy available.

 

System Transport:
We are now offering to pay your tuition back 100%!
CDL-A Company Truck Drivers – Glass Haul Flatbed Drivers
Location: RALEIGH DURHAM, NC

• Base Pay $0.50 Per Mile – Up to $0.74 Per Mile!

• $1,000 Sign-On Bonus

• $300 Quarterly Safety Bonus (90% + Achievement Rate)!

• Pick/drop pay

• Tarp pay

• Hourly pay

• Weekly Pay + Direct Deposit

• Paid Orientation

• Assigned Equipment

• Medical/Dental

• 401(K)

• And much more!

 

There's not much difference in any of the trucking company schools, though a few stand out for being above average:
Millis Transfer - dry van running eastern half of USA
Wil-Trans - refrigerated running eastern half of USA
Jim Palmer Trucking - refrigerated running coast to coast
Roehl Transport - flatbed/refrigerated/dry van - dry van has a "National Fleet"
Schneider Bulk - best paying of all these. A recruiter might set you up with a private cdl school & pay upfront for it. Schneider Bulk is tankers and they usually put you with dry van division for 6 months, then switch you to tanker division. Get the details from a recruiter. Tanker drivers usually make around $1000 - $1500 weekly.
Contract Freighters - www.cfidrive.com - coast to coast dry van.
Prime Inc. - refrigerated/flatbed/tankers

 

Try Superior Carriers. I don't think they have a CDL school but they'll hire you out of school if I'm not mistaken. You might be right in their hiring area and they pay well too.

The misadventures of a rookie tanker yanker


From Schneider to Superior

 

Check the with the un-employment office in your county. There is a program, here in Ohio it's called the WIA program, where the county/state will pay for you to be trained in another field, like truck driving. It is a grant so you don't have to pay it back and they cover all costs, and that will allow you to go to a private school. Worse they can say is no.

Good luck.

 

All of the training companies are pretty much the same thing. They are just a means to gain your first 6 months to a year of experience. One might give you more driver comforts while the other pays a few more cents per mile. What type of trucking are you looking into? Reefer, Dry van, Tanker, Flatbed?

A few companies to stay away from: CR England, CRST, Western Express.

 

Pay your own way at private schools or they have tuition assistance.
*****
Contact your local J.T.P.A. for qualification requirements. They pay all cost for CDL training and offer daily lunch and gas money in the form of a weekly check. Some trucking companies even reimburse the cost of schooling to YOU!

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Schooling is not necessary. You may choose to obtain a CDL permit from DMV.
If you did not complete the driver education program designed specifically for commercial motor vehicles, hold a commercial learner's permit for at least 30 days before taking the CDL road skills test at DMV.
Borrow or rent the unit for testing purposes.
Good Luck!