Need some advice please, Tanker/flatbed jobs in South Alabama?

Hello all so first and foremost I'm 32 years old and I've been wanting to improve my life and the life style of my family. My work experience is mainly in bar security and physical labor at a local factory in town. Honestly I enjoyed several things at my factory job but the pay was just not even remotely in the ball park of what it costs to have a decent life. I have no children and my girlfriend and I can't have children but I do have a very sick mother. She can mainly take care of herself but my girl friend and I took over making sure shes comfortable and worries for nothing. So I was looking for a career that's rewarding as long as you work hard. I recently left my factory job after saving up about three months worth of bills through savings and selling off some of my extra hobbies and decided that driving seems like a great opportunity to pursue. I've been studying for my permit for about a week now and its been a great experience so far.

Now that my life story is done lol sorry for that but figured id give extra context I was looking for some opinions on what might be the best way for me to enter into the world of trucking. My experience is lack luster at best. I don't know how to drive a manual vehicle but luckily my friends will be training me in the next week or so. Not that its enough but at least it is something and a step to understanding the basics. I live in South Alabama about an hour from Panama City Beach Florida. I've researched several companies and I'm interested in Tanker/flatbed with hazmat endorsement. I figured covering any or all of these was my best shot at some better jobs down the line. My concerns are everywhere I go to research there is negative feed back and I haven't come across a company in my region that looks like it'll work for me. I can be out for four to five weeks with no problem but I'd like to be able to keep an eye on my mother.

Either way sorry for the long winded post but any suggestions, opinions, and or advice is much appreciated and thank you for taking the time to read all this.

 

I can't afford the upfront cost of a private school without getting a student loan. If I could get a student loan which I should be able to. I've never had one and my credit is decent. Luckily I had full scholarships when I went to college. But I'm worried about being a new driver without a guaranteed job out the gate. Honestly after researching for so long I'm kinda just lost at what my best options would be.

 

Okay ill google it now. As far as the drug test I've never done a drug in my life so I got that going for me lol.

 

I'm not sure how the WIOA program works or even how to start the process. Ill check out Maverick now. Thank you so much for trying to help me with this I really appreciate it.