Just got permit in Southern California, where to start?

Training costs and good company are separate decisions. There are multiple ways to get CDL school paid for. Focus on the best possible employer fit FOR YOU BEFORE you decide about getting your CDL. What would you think if your friend said "I've always wanted to learnt to shoot rifles, so I signed a contract to join the US Army for 4 years?" I'll post some links to more specific info about CDL school and finding an employer that fits you below. I DO NOT recommend signing up for CDL school and expecting to find a good job before you complete school. CDL school may only be 3 weeks. Some employers only hire newbies from certain CDL schools, or CDL schools with key features. Think of the good employer as a future spouse and CDL school as the wedding. You would not spend your time looking for the best bargain on wedding venues, chapel, minister, reception food and drinks, etc and then hope to accidentally meet the future spouse on the way to the chapel on your wedding day. You focus on the future spouse and work out the wedding details afterwards. Some trucking companies have their own school for newbies. EVERY trucking company will put you with a trainer after CDL school and that is where you learn the 90% of this industry you need to know. CDL school is just to get the license in your pocket, even if you go to an expensive or long duration CDL course at a community college.

To get a good match between you and the employer you have to read this forum enough to find what factors make this job hard for drivers and then decide which of those factors are important to you and which you can accept something less than perfect in order to get a big improvement in another factor so you can be happy. DO NOT LISTEN to people telling you all trucking companies are alike. They do similar types of work but their requirements and their rules vary and those can be the difference between a company you can be happy at and a company you cannot be happy at. 80-90% of newbies entering the industry quit before they complete 1 year of experience. IMO, lots of that is due to drivers rushing into a company that doesn't fit them and then the stress of this job combining to make staying and getting experience seem too hard. It is hard for everyone in their first year, but working for a mis-matched employer makes it too hard. Whatever company you choose to work for, make them put you in contact with current working drivers doing the work they will hire you to do. Ignore what the recruiter tells you. The words of a recruiter are not necessarily true, they DO NOT bind the trucking company to any particular policy "but Drill Sergeant, my recruiter said I could sleep until 9am during the weekdays".

NOT ALL CITIES are good places to live if you are a truck driver. NOT EVERY CITY has the same amount of opportunities. Just stating you want to stay in your current city doesn't change the amount of trucking opportunity or the quality of employers in that city. Almost any medium to large city with one or more Federal interstate highways will have many trucking jobs in the area. Almost any city where two of those Federal interstate highways cross will have many more trucking opportunities. Some states produce very few manufactured goods that need shipping. If you live in one of those states you will have a harder time getting home as often as you want. If that is your area you may have to decide is it better to make more money at a better company and not get home often or is it better to make less money and be home for 34 hours every weekend or two. In trucking a "weekend" is often only 34 hours long. To get the best match you need to know what you need and what the trucking company is providing in way of pay, benefits, schedule, quality of equipment, frequency and duration of home-time, rider/passenger/pet policy. There are decisions about picking fuel stops, driving routes, are you being video recorded while you drive, how much freight the trucking company has to be moved, etc. AVOID CR ENGLAND at all costs. They advertise more than any other company and they have maybe the worst reputation in the industry. England and Werner have MOST of their current drivers only having 90-180 days experience behind the wheel. Avoid any dedicated dollar type stores. Some of those stores are named Dollar General, Family Dollar, 99 Cent Store, etc. Regardless of their actual name, or the trucking company with the dedicated account for that dollar type store working on that dedicated account is usually career suicide. The stores have not enough space for a giant truck. The customers and employees park in the way of a truck getting to the store's freight door. It is virtually guaranteed you will hit things and after 2 or 3 of those events you will be fired. For some newbies this all happens in 60 days or less. Good luck getting another job with accidents and a termination on your record.

Here are a few posts of mine for newbies to read.
Money for CDL Training
Every new CDL driver needs Tanker endorsement.
Passing your CLP/CDL Endorsement Tests - HowTo
Check Company Score - SAFER WEB

 

What is HCOL area?
OK, I'm a little slow on that one, but figured it out; High Cost Of Living.

 

1. Company Driver Trucking Jobs | Ashley Distribution Services LTD
   Paid CDL Training Overview:
   Become a Class A CDL Driver in our Paid Training Program!
   • Paid travel to our training center in Missoula, MT
   • Meals and lodging provided while training
   • $900 a week guaranteed while OTR with a trainer for 30,000 miles
   • One-on-one training with coaches that provide real-world experience
2. • Hiring area:
     • CA, CO, ID, MT, OR, WA, WY
     • 

 

Prime Inc. has a tanker division that hauls wine out of California.
Don't know if it's better than Ashley or not because one is tanker and one is dry van.
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Prime Inc. Tanker Division | Bulk Liquid Transport Carriers
Tanker Division. Prime Inc. is a tanker transport company, who’s Liquid Bulk fleet consists of over 350 trucks and over 600 tank trailers with capacities of 6,800, 7,000 or 7,250 …
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Prime Inc. Truck Driver Training | Paid Class-A CDL Training
Get your class a permit. Before heading to orientation for the Prime Training Program, you …
Probably be sent to Salt Lake City, UT for cdl training.

 

OK, I posted tanker, dry van, so here is a refrigerated company that hires in your area and has cdl school.
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Refrigerated Trucking And Service - Reefer Trucking
Swift Refrigerated is one of the most capable and service-driven refrigerated carriers in North America. With 5 major operating centers strategically placed to serve you. If you need a carrier that can ship fresh

 

Wow....just....WOOOWWW!!!

Posts 2-6 above are actually amazing.

I only wish someone had "coached" me like that....back when I first started out.

--Lual

 

I have seen @Chinatown work his magic for years on TTR. He's the real deal.

I got coaching like that when I started out and that is exactly why I try to help. I was a few weeks away from being homeless and turned my life around with trucking. Most of that was caused by following people with years/decades more experience. I know how it made me feel when some driver helped me out during my time on the road and it's worth more than a bonus, IMO.