CDL Schools in Socal (Pasadena area)

Some suggestions....

• TAKE YOUR TIME. The overall freight market right now is down quite a bit from the spring-summer of 2022. It's not the "driver's market" that it was back then. Thus--choose your CDL school carefully. The world will still be there when you finish.
• "Pick the bride--THEN pick the church". By that I mean--do some real soul-searching on what type(s) of freight that would interest you the most--then zero in on specific companies that do such freight--and then ask them what schools near you that they prefer. DON'T DO IT THE OTHER WAY AROUND (i.e., "cart before the horse").
• When you finally do graduate, and get your CDL--get ALL of the CDL endorsements then (tanker, hazmat, and also...doubles/triples). You may well need them in order to stand out from other driver applicants. Besides--those endorsements are door-openers, and also money-makers!!! DON'T LET SOME WEENEY TALK YOU OUT OF HAZMAT. MOST HAZMAT LOADS ARE REALLY NO BIG DEAL: hairspray, charcoal, lighter fluid, etc. Most hazmat loads are not nuclear waste (or similar).
• Stay the #### away from any job or account that has you delivering to any of the so-called "dollar" stores: Dollar General, Family Dollar, etc. Those jobs are meat-grinders for new CDL grads. And thus--you've been warned.....

-- Lual

 

Choose a cdl school that's at least 160 hours.
DO you want a local home every day job, regional or OTR?Several trucking companies to choose from in the Los Angeles area or OTR/Regional companies that hire new cdl school grads from that area.

 

I went out OTR first. Id had enough of driving a car around So Cal, let alone big rig. Get out and see the country and get paid to do it. I retired from my PD on 05/05/05. Stayed home until Novemeber and then hit the road. Just retired for good in March. Good luck to ya!

 

@KLF77 --

DOT Foods/DOT Transportation (that you mentioned, above) is an excellent example.

I would be pulling loads for them, myself--except their nearest facility is too far away (for them--but NOT for me ).

Barring any good feedback from anyone else--one way to look for possible CDL schools of strong merit is to merely look at the ones DOT recommends on their own website (if you haven't, already):

DOT Transportation -- map & info of recommended CDL schools in the lower 48

None listed there are really closeby for you (the nearest appears to be up in Bakersfield)--but at least you get the idea.

These schools have very likely been hand-picked/vetted by DOT....so you really couldn't go wrong with any shown on that map.

Suggestion: if you maybe have a friend or a relative that would let you stay with them while you went to one of the listed schools (nearby to them) shown on this map--that would indeed be a fantastic way to get started.

Also: if possible--go to a CDL school that won't put an "automatic only" restriction on your license. You'll need to test out on your final exam with a tractor that has a manual shift, to avoid that.

Keep us posted on your progress.....

-- Lual