CDL-A Training Questions....Jr College or Driving School

I have been gaining a great deal of quality information from this forum that is much appreciated.

A little background: I am a 58 yr old, unemployed veteran. I had been giving care the last couple of years to my elderly mother, who passed on May 31 of this year. Before quitting my job to help her, I had a very solid work history all the way back to 1975 when I entered the Air Force. I have decided that I want to go into truck driving to take me to retirement in ten or twelve years, or until I can't do it for physical reasons. I have no family ties, no wife, no kids, very little debt, no mortgage, rent, etc. I love to travel, and I love to drive. I don't have an actual "home", so I am free as a bird. I have a clean driving record, and no criminal convictions of any kind. I believe I am perfectly suited for the trucker lifestyle.

It looks like I will be able to take advantage of veterans benefits, and go to a junior college or truck driving school and get most or all of my tuition covered. I am trying to figure out whether to attend Southwest Texas Jr College (Uvalde), or Del Mar College (Corpus Christi) CDL schools, or go with a school like Sage or Roadmaster in San Antonio. It seems like the many say go with the Jr College. The length of those programs are only 3 weeks. Sage has a one to one student / driving instructor ratio, and a five week program, but costs about $1500 more. Also, I am not sure my financial aid will cover all of Sage. I would really appreciate opinions on which way I should go.

 

Actually, Swift is offering full scholarships to their training academy for qualified vets, and I have already spoken to a recruiter. Even though I would pay no tuition, it would still mean a one year contract with them if I go to their academy, and I would rather have more options. I do like the advice to talk to various companies that look attractive to me and find out from them what schools they approve of before I make up my mind.

As far as how much I can get, it looks like I can get all my training paid for with benefits related to my military service and based on my current situation.

 

Of the carriers that hire new drivers, Con Way impresses me most so far. Crete is another company I would consider, based upon what I have researched, but according to their website, the only school they approve of in Texas is Continental in Dallas. A couple of flatbed companies look good too. At this point though, who knows?