Starting out appreciate advice

Do NOT go to a school that YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR. As one guy stated above you will NOT make a living wage starting off. I made that mistake and a whole year and 4 months after I got my CDL I couldn't afford to make the monthly payments of the $4,000 loan. Of course I have 3 kids and a wife that don't work so maybe you will be able to. I've been to 5 places in that year and four months so also try to choose the right place cause I didn't 5 times. Point is that loan is now gonna cost around 10k if not more due to court cost, attorney fees and interest at 19% compounding monthly and adding to the principle. I think I now owe $82__. You live and learn now I work for a place that is treating me right and now I make a living wage. But at 19% the interest alone cost over 100/mo. Good luck.

 

You can do well financially by attending a private cdl school or a few company cdl schools. Yes, some companies that hire new cdl grads don't pay much, but some pay well. As for Schneider, the only way I would go there is with their tanker division because it's easy to make over $60K there for a new cdl grad plus the tuition reimbursement.
Another excellent choice is Old Dominion Freight Line which is a company many drivers choose to stay and retire. Their website has "1 yr. experience required" but in PA they routinely hire new cdl grads and even send recruiters to the schools there. Line Haul division is best and it's just drop & hook, terminal to terminal. They hired 14 students out of one class recently.

 

There is some bait and switch with Schneider; "Oh, that job is filled now, so do this one until we have another opening." Schneider Bulk, tanker division, isn't that way; cut & dried, tankers only.
Here's some more to consider:
Calex Logistics - based in PA and does a lot of produce loads out of California.
TMC - has their own cdl school and PA is a state they hire students from. You have a choice of milage pay or percentage pay; drivers say percentage pay is best for bigger paychecks.
Freymiller - excellent refrigerated company and good reputation for being driver friendly. Hires new grads through the "Restore Program." If you like this company, ask about the Restore Program which is on the website.
Schuster - nations largest ice cream hauler; Blue Bunny Ice Cream
Tyson Foods - refrigerated trucking
Nick Strimbu Inc. - refrigerated division. Teamsters.
Magnum Ltd. - refrigerated trucking

 

Here's an Old Dominion ad for Line Haul drivers from PA:
Eligibility Requirements:

• High School Diploma or equivalent preferred.
• Must possess a valid commercial driver's license with hazmat, doubles, triples and tanker endorsements.
• 1 year previous tractor trailer driving experience and/or be a graduate of a State Certified and Licensed truck driving school, acceptable to Old Dominion and/or have satisfactorily completed the Old Dominion truck driver training program.

 

I was never a job hopper until I started driving a big truck. There are a lot of reasons why I've changed trucking jobs.

1: trainer was a nasty fool.

My first company put me in a truck with a POS. I lasted 3 weeks then "found" a local job.

2: company lies about pay.

My second job was local. I was moving equipment all day, 6 days/week. I LOVED the work but the owner was using voodoo accounting. My checks NEVER added up. When he hired me he told me he "can't keep drivers." Went OTR.

3. grass is always greener.

I went over the road with WS. The pay was awesome. I was doing multi-stop deliveries, out 5, home 2. Truly a very good beginner job. But, after driving all day, a drivers gonna browse Indeed and Craigslist. I applied at a solid company for local work and got the job!

4. local work is a lot more work than OTR.

I started on at a DC in my city. I was driving 3rd shift delivering heavy products to our stores within a 300 mile radius. Typical night was out at midnight and back by 2:00 pm/4 times a week. All hands on. I learned that I can't sleep during the day. I was eating benedryl to sleep. But my brain wasn't having any of it.

5. sometimes it IS too good to be true.

Found a postal contractor willing to take me on. I was running one overnight trip to NYC once a week and three short 8 hour trips down south. $22.73/hour. I was in heaven!!!!! My wife asked me why I wasn't complaint. Man, I was doing just a over 40 hours on duty/week, 4 days a week and happy as could be.

Then the bottom fell out. Apparently, if you've lived abroad for more than 6 months in the last 5 years, homeland security can not process a background check. I was let go. I was in shock.

6. give-in.

Right now I'm sitting at the 15 month mark. I'm hauling AG products for a local company. I'm paid $6 an hour LESS than what I made at the postal contractor. It's ok though. It's a placeholder. I supplement my crap wage with savings. The work is easy but the down time is hell. When I get a trip to the coast, I have a solid ten hour day with no BS. When they run me purely local, I get back to our warehouse and have to sit for 1,2,3 hours before anything else happens. It drives me nuts. I don't get on with the guys all that well. Everyone has been there a decade. They're like family. Im not looking for buddies or anything. Im looking to work and go see my family. Hopefully I can stick it out for a solid year, buy a truck and make it on my own.

There are all kinds of trucking. Once you start driving, you'll understand a bit better.

Good luck

 

Loving my time with Swift. People will tell you don't do it, but I can only make a recommendation based on my own experience. They are a great company to train with, work for and maybe even retire from.

 

I paid for my own school, I didn't want to be tied to a company, also I didn't owe my first job anything either because they didn't train me so I had no problems quitting when they made me run illegal everyday and lied to me non stop.

The other drivers still use me as an example of why you can't treat employees like trash. Lol

 

How about making a career out of the military instead of driving a truck? The food is healthier and you'll stay in better shape and The benefits are phenomenal.