New Grad J

If you can get your CDL yourself at a local community college, that’s the best way .

then get all the endorsements ,
Haz mat
Tanker
Doubles
TWIC

 

Each to their own, however if you want to be with a company that will give you the most opportunities for loads and miles, reefer is always the best to go with, as you have the option of dry, chilled, or frozen freight to carry, of course you'll have to weigh up the con's of reefer, like learning how to sleep with the fridge motor running behind your cab, actually it's not so bad, some claim you have to wait around longer to unload but don't see how reefer would take any longer then dry van in that situation. On rare occasions if your picking up frozen freight from a shipper they may require you to either pre - freeze, or alternatively post-freeze the temps down to a certain level before you can depart. This can take up a lot of your time if you are using a reefer designed for chilled freight as they don't have the same insolation as a reefer designed for frozen freight. With flat bed you'll have to learn how to secure loads, with straps or ropes and chains, and have the added risk of not having walls to protect your load if a strap, chain or rope comes loose. Tanker also comes with risks if your hauling dangerous goods (hazmat) if you have a spill, so you need to be extra careful when driving, so not recommended for new CDL drivers. Pnuematic is another option, the difference being you either suck or blow out your load. With tanker and pnuematic your limited to what freight you can carry though, personally I'd stick with either dry van or reefer.

 

Interstate Batteries hires CDL-A drivers for local work.