Solo
I am/was in the same boat as you. Complete newbie to trucking when I changed careers. I did a bunch of research, too = posted the story on a different board.
a couple things I learned.
1) (and you seem to have this in hand) not all trucking companies are the same.
2) at least 50% of all the "what a crap company" stories are B.S.
3) do NOT let a company pay for your school unless there is absolutely no alternative. You will have to pay them back. Typically this is done via weekly deductions from your paycheck. However! If, for some reason, you can't work for X time, you may still have to make that payment. Also, if you decide that you just can't stand working for them - before you've paid them back fully, you STILL have to pay them back. I have *heard* (and this may be pure hoo-ha) that some companies won't pro-rate you. If you quit, they'll demand repayment of the full amount.
Go to your county employment agency. They will be able to direct you to the WIA administrator. WIA is a *grant* for learning new skills when you can't get a job with your current skill set. From start to finish, it took me about 2.5 weeks to have my grant in hand.
4) there are several schools here in the Denver area. Find the one that best suits your needs. As it happens, I chose the one in Henderson (Commerce City), both for its reputation and for its proximity to my home.
5) a pretty fair number of trucking companies hire out of schools. Check out
http://www.classadrivers.com/index.p...ting&ListAll=1 for a pretty nice list.
6) I recommend getting all the endorsements you can, rather than just settle for the basic CDL. You probably won't need them at the outset, but it should open doors down the road.
Best of luck!