Thanks for all the replies! If DH decides to do the school route the hardest thing will be we'll have no salary for 6 weeks and no medical benefits. Lots to think about.

i would not go to school. pay all that money, time, stress. then get hired at a company to most likely find that you made more money driving a cement truck. i got my class b working for a oil co. the co also had a big rig tanker. i would go out & practice a lot on my off time & days with the tanker driver to learn enough to get my class a cdl.

The point I think some are missing is just because some tiny mom and pop outfit is willing to hire someone with no school doesn't mean that the larger more established companies are willing to hire that driver if they decide to move on. You are seriously handicapping yourself by not going to school. There are exceptions but seriously, what are your chances of being one of those exceptions? Pretty poor.

If your interested in flatbed Maverick will hire you without cdl school. We had a guy in my orientation that got his cdl by running around with an owner operator and Maverick gave him a chance.

I would be a so-called "exception" :lol:

Got my CDl on my own and went o/o day one :)

I'm a success story though, followed by lots of mud, sweat, and gears!

Well if you stay at the mom and pop place a year or 2 then you have exp. and you can go anywhere.

Disagree. That may have been the case years ago but not today. You MIGHT get on with another mom and pop but not with a company that's well established.

so are you saying a guy with 5 years OTR exp. wouldnt be able to get on with a well established company cuz he didnt go to school to get his cdl.???? Most of the well established companys want exp. or recent grands.

Most companies insurance want to see that piece of paper that says "I graduated".

Check into some of the local community colleges in your area.

The local CC here offers a night an weekend course that lasts 8 weeks. You do the classroom portion of the training in the evenings and the driving portion on the weekends. I'm not 100% certain on this, but I am pretty sure that they also mix in some night driving also. Which is something you won't get from most weekday schools.

Good luck.