Contemplating a career change

Well I'm back! It has been roughly 2 months since I have added to this thread and I finally have something to add.

I tried to go through the motions and get funding for the CDL class at York Tech, but it wasn't happening and my time on unemployment was at the point that if I didn't pull the trigger and arrange for funding elsewhere I was going to be in trouble. I ended up borrowing the tuition($2700.00) from a family member and enrolled three weeks ago.

Class has been a ton of fun, and I am learning a lot. So far we have taken all tests except for the final exam and I am jamming right along with a 97%. We have done some street driving, roughly about 4-6 hours each and that is going good as well. The instructors at YTT are very knowledgeable and patient. They make it as fun as they can and provide us with real life stories from their pasts, which really helps give us a feel for what to expect in this industry. I would say that the only area I am somewhat struggling in is the 90 degree backing, but they even allow us to come in early, stay late or come in on Saturdays to get extra seat time.

ALmost right off the bat, I started to apply at a couple of companies that sounded interesting to me. My first choice was TMC, since they are only a flat bed company, and seem to spend a lot of extra time training you in the fundamentals of their niche. My second choice was Roehl although I can't remember why exactly. My third choice was H.O. Wolding. Within 24 hours of filling out applications for both Roehl and TMC I had responses from them. TMC wanted some additional info, which my instructor provided for me. Roehl provided me with a prehire letter. I applied to Wolding about 10 days later, and am still waiting to hear back from them, but I am confident they will want to give me a go.

TMC was still waiting for a previous employer to return a call to verify my employment, but would accept my W-2 as verification if I wanted. I chose to provide this to them and a few hours later I was offered the chance to attend orientation. This was what I was waiting for, but was scared to pull the trigger. Wolding actually sounded better to me, but I knew if I didn't go with TMC I was going to regret the decision later(for that matter I still may regret it!). So, I let TMC know that I accepted their offer and am scheduled to go to Des Moines in late September after I graduate.

I am very excited that this is working out for me. I appreciate everyone on here who has helped me along the way. Hopefully I have made the right choice in going with TMC. I still and will remain as positive as I can, which so far, has been very easy. This has been such a fun growth experience.