Question:
Make your phone calls ahead of time. Not just talking about to schools here, but to companies as well. If you talk to 100 companies who hire students and notice a trend, you may want to seriously consider going to the school (or choosing from the top two or three) that are being recommended. A LOT of companies will only hire from one or two PTDI schools. If you're told a particular company doesn't hire student drivers, that company doesn't count toward your hundred.
Making enough calls to find 100 companies and then quizzing them thoroughly on the phone may sound like a lot of work, but you're starting a major career change here. How much effort did you (or would you) put into selecting a mate who you hope will last a lifetime? Kind of puts it into perspective; you want to stay with your employer a long time too, right? Ever wish you'd done it right the first time around? Seriously, look back on some huge mistake you made in your life and ask yourself, if I'd asked more questions, if I'd sat back and looked at the big picture a little harder, a little longer, would I have done it differently? You probably would have.
If a company's internet site says they hire student drivers, still call and verify it. It takes one stroke of a pen to change that policy and they may not have updated their website.
When talking to various schools, be sure to ask if they have recruiters come to classes to recruit students. Ask for a list of those companies. Then call those companies. Then call again. Ask for a different recruiter if you get the same one. The ask the same questions and verify the answers against the first set of answers you got. If there's a discrepancy, you might want to call a third recruiter. (I'd stop after the second and cross that employer off my list, but that's just me.)
If you're unable or unwilling to be OTR for at least six months out of school, this may not be the right field for you. You can count on OTR for at least six months as a new driver. This is hard enough on single people who don't have someone sitting at home waiting or depending on them, let alone people with spouses and/or children. Yes, there are cherry runs out there which allow drivers to be home nightly, or most nights, or maybe most weekends. Those are hard to come by, though, so unless you have an "in," don't count on it. Even if you DO have an "in," don't necessarily count on it. Seniority counts unless something just happens to drop into your lap. You just can't count on that happening. Examine your life very closely before you commit to schooling and training with a new employer in this field. If you just aren't sure, you probably need to rethink it.
You can count on having a trainer (or multiple trainers) during your training period. This can be good or bad, generally it's done to expose student drivers to as much as possible. Sometimes it's done for other reasons. Bear in mind some trainers are a lot better than others. A lot of companies will allow you to change your trainer once during training. Some won't, so be sure to ask.
If you're half of a team, count on being split up during your training period. A few companies will train you together, but I can tell you from personal experience, it is EXTREMELY difficult to have three people in a truck. Many, if not most, companies have a very strong desire for married teams and may go a little farther to get you aboard. It's real hard to be separated from your spouse for a month or more. Some companies will try to arrange your runs so you at least get a few hours together every couple weeks or so, but you can't count on it. If you're married and contemplating becoming a married driving team, just be aware of what will probably be asked of you during your training phase, and keep an eye on the bigger picture. Six months after your training if you were separated, it's not going to seem like a big deal.
Also, a lot of companies won't do co-ed training for a married team. Trucking is a male-dominated field which means Mama may have to wait around the motel (sometimes at the company's expense, sometimes not, here again be sure to ask) while their handsome half goes out first since there is likely NOT to be a female trainer available when you show up. A few companies will send the husband out first and then allow him to train Mama as soon as his training period is over. Ask, ask, ask.
Hope this helps anyone out there. Best of luck!

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A lot of if you get hired or not has to do with where you live, also.
South Florida is the pits when trying to get on with an OTR company, whereas anywhere above I-4 increases your odds.
I would add that while you are in school, once you reach the half way point start sending out apps. Don't wait till you've been out of school too long. Some companies get a little antsy if you've been out of the seat for too long.

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Excellent post, TXmama.
Do your homework, very important.
Your schooling depends also on where you want to go (how far away from home are you willing to consider), how you plan to pay for it (private loan, VA, unemployment, cash, employer-paid contract, etc.), and who you want to work for. You can always talk to schools about who they place new drivers with, and they should be able to give you several companies that hire students out of there.
I would highly recommend that you don't go to work for a company just because the school recommended it. Companies actually pay schools per student driver, so be sure that who you want to work for is in YOUR best interest, not the school's.
Talk to recruiters at job fairs and over the phone, but don't put all your eggs in that basket. They are just salespeople and may not always provide you with unbiased information. Nothing they say in person or over the phone is in writing, so hard to verify. They might not be up to speed on all the latest company policies either. Also look at web sites - in writing, public information, easy to access, and can be verified later.
You can start talking to companies before you even go to school. Why would you do this? They will be able to tell you how and where to go to school that would fit their requirements.
You might want to go with a company that has a terminal, or at least a secure yard, within a few hundred miles of your home. The closer the better. Unless you have access to a secure place to park your rig when you are at home as well as an employer that will allow it, plan on going the least amount of distance possible to get your truck and trailer.
Also, if they have a terminal or yard in your area, that means that the company has freight coming through and can get you home more easily.

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want to try and speak with some current students. I was fortunate to have my dad and a friends husband graduate from the same school I attended, so I knew I was in good hands.
Take what school recruiters say with a grain of salt. When I was searching a recruiter from Roadmaster in Orlando was talking to me and had me all but hired by a few companies. Problem was, after I called these places myself I found out they do not hire from South Florida. Imagine my dismay had I forked over 5 grand and been told "sorry" by all these places.

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I went to the Roadmaster school in Orlando several years ago when it was called MTA school. It was supposedly PTDI certified, but I would not recommend it to anyone. I don't know if it is any better now as Roadmaster.
MTA went out of business for bad financial decisions and other corrupt decisions. Not surprising.
In your spot living in South Florida, you might want to think about using the address of a relative or friend you can trust living somewhere else for hiring purposes if that is what it takes to get hired. This would really depend on your family situation, your flexibility, and how often you want to be home. If you had an address along the I-4 corridor in Central Florida, that might get you hired on with a good OTR company and you could go home from there. Just a thought.

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I would have disagree with going to one of these Schools your going to get the same training at SNI for about lets see 7000.00 less. I cant tell you many times I would come across a driver who was working for some company and with his loan payment it was KILLING him and I tell him after his story would wind down that he could have went to SNI and got it done for FREE, well he tries to explain that its free on his end to but its not they are deducting it from his pay and SNI dose not. I cant see how you can pass this up.

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"I cant see how you can pass this up."
Have you ever worked for Schneider?

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Originally posted by Krackerjack9:
I would have disagree with going to one of these Schools your going to get the same training at SNI for about lets see 7000.00 less.
SNI training is 11 days. I think these weeklong wonder courses just might be part of the problem in this industry.

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SNI was trying to recruit me.
I told them I was not going with any company whose policy was to let the driver freeze or fry but not to idle the truck to sleep comfortably.
I've always been crazy, but it's kept me from going insane.
Waylon Jennings

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Hey TxMama, Im in the dallas area, do we have any PTDI schools up here? Any suggestions where to get training in the Dallas area? thanks!

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has been a Schneider driver for many years.
Hey if you can get it done for free...go for it. Schneider seems to be no better or worse than the other "newbie companies" If you can get your year experience in you can go pretty much anywhere!

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runninhorn ATDS in Prairie Hill claims to be the only PTDI certified school in north TX. they have
an office in Mesquite 972 681 9203

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Just a suggestion to add if you don't want to take the recruiters word for it. What I did, and what I am still doing, is talking to the actual drivers be it in here, or other message bords, or in real life at the truck stops, (not too many truckers would turn down a meal or a free cup of coffee) the cost of that is trivial compared to what you could be costing yourself.
"Get busy living or get busy dying."-Shawshank Redemption

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Great suggestion ROSS. Tell me, what have you learned from the truckers you have talked to out there?>

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Your advice is right on the money. I will go to school the first week of March 04 after I retire and I put togeather a matrix of 113 companys to call. I have called every one of them over the course of 3 months. I have nerrowed it down to around 15 last month and today its down to 10 or so. I have apps from 18 companies. 10 will be filled out and sent in next month. I was planning on posting at a later date as these events unfold in a new thread. Thanks to everyone here for your post/advice.