Comments By William K.

I just meant that I have no previous experience. Sorry.

I just did a bit of quick math and realized I only need to make about $10k bring home my first, and possibly second, year to keep my current lifestyle (at least my wife's). If I go to a company with a veteran apprenticeship program and my military retirement check, money will be even less of a stressor than it was. It was already nothing since we have no bills. If I decide to change companies after I get some experience for better pay, it's all gravy. AWESOME!!!!

Another issue is the TWIC card and sleep study.

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea years ago (probably 10) and "used" a machine. I haven't seen anyone about it since and I definitely don't use any machine. How much of a hold up can the sleep study and getting the machine be to the process?

I've been reading about people showing up to training and being surprised with "hidden fees". If I pick a company that pays for the training, like Swift, would there be anything they don't cover other than a few meals, laundry, etc.? Would I need to bring a few hundred for some random test or background check?

I've changed states with my regular license before (active duty military). I should have known it would be something that simple. Guess I'm just tired from a long day. Thanks.

Reading about Prime's apprenticeship program and the 1-1 trainer/student ratio just sounded about the best I've seen so far as the most personalized training. I could have misread it or missed something, but it looks good so far.

I've changed states with my regular license before (active duty military). I should have known it would be something that simple. Guess I'm just tired from a long day. Thanks.

Reading about Prime's apprenticeship program and the 1-1 trainer/student ratio just sounded about the best I've seen so far as the most personalized training. I could have misread it or missed something, but it looks good so far.

So Prime offers a paid apprentice program which would get me my CDL permit in Missouri. I would first need to get my regular license in Missouri too right?

I'm currently stationed in Florida but will be going back to Texas toward the end of May. Swift's training is only about 20 miles from my house, and TDI is about an hour away in Dallas. I completely forgot about the permit. I may have missed it or forgotten, but do I need to get it before I attend training? If the training is in Texas, that's easy. If I go with an out-of-state company like Maverick, that's a whole different story.

I plan on being out however much is required to get paid. Time away from home is nothing new. I just mentioned Swift and Maverick because they are the first two I'm researching. Researching them is showing me things that I didn't know I need to look for in other companies. Once I feel confident I know enough about these two and what I need to look for in others, I'll be researching other companies. I just don't want to confuse myself too much right now. I won't even be able to attend CDL training until May/June since I'm still active duty military.

That actually brings up two more questions I thought of earlier.

#1. I've been reading about people showing up to training and being surprised with "hidden fees". If I pick a company that pays for the training, like Swift, would there be anything they don't cover other than a few meals, laundry, etc.? Would I need to bring a few hundred for some random test or background check?

#2. I have ZERO experience driving a manual. I would imagine I'm not the only one in this situation. Is the short training enough time to be able to pass the road test for a CDL?

I've been looking into Swift and their Veteran Scholarship Program. Their website says they only offer 1000. Without talking to someone at Swift, I don't know how many they have left. The last few days, I've been looking into Maverick a bit. It doesn't look like they offer the CDL school, but I can cover that with my GI Bill. Their rookie payscale looks a bit better than Swift's. I'm saying Swift and Maverick only because they're the main two companies I'm looking at right this second. I'm definitely open to more options as I come across them. With the non-company paid training bringing in recruiters from various companies, I may find a completely different company. My main desire is a balance between rookie pay (I know it's going to be low with any company) and minimal down time between CDL school and orientation/driving. Thoughts? Thanks.