career path advice

I have a class A cdl with X endorsement. I got my cdl a in May 2011 and was hired by Schneider, went through training and drove solo, NE Regional for a total of 3 months. Left because I got frustrated & was naive about the trucking industry & probably had unrealistic expectations. In hindsight, should probably have stuck it out but I didn't. I did a little flatbed driving this spring, just a temp thing, and want to get back to trucking. Some of the larger OTR companies will have me but I think I would prefer local LTL work. Home daily, hourly pay, etc. They are a challenge to get hired by with my limited experience. I feel I need more time with a trainer & some LTL companies will do that but I may have to do time as a dockworker to even be allowed to apply for a driver position. Don't know how long that would take. Not sure if that's more cdl driving opportunity wasted or is that the best way to get with an LTL company? Or am I best off just taking my lumps OTR, getting training & experience from them for a year or so & then moving on from there? I want to learn to do the job right & definitely feel I would benefit from a little further training & instruction, especially given the amount of time off in the past year. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated, from newbies, veterans & anyone in between. Thanks for your help.

 

I thought they'd want more experienced drivers. Also I'm in Northeast so hadn't really given it too much thought. However, I am currently single & unattached, no kids/pets and am flexible for the right opportunity. I see you're from Tx, do you drive oilfield? Hows the $, hrs, lifestyle, any training? I'd consider it for a while, curious what's involved. I've heard there's good opportunity in that field in TX & Dakotas I think.