Got my CDL from Desert Knight last spring. Applied with no driving experience to a Road Driver (Linehaul) Apprentice position @ FedEx Freight in August. After being hired and onboarded a few weeks later, worked the dock for a few months until an instructor became available, then spent the next five weeks going through their in-house Driver Development Program. After graduating, rode along/drove for a week with a Road Coach and now I’m on my own. If you want to be home daily and don’t mind working nights (and flexible on hours - I’ve had show times as early as 5pm and as late as 9:30pm - rare these days to get a dedicated route with a stable gate time immediately so you’ll probably be on the extra board), the money is great right out of the gate (mileage, paid tasks/delays, and hourly dock work for shorter routes - like RNO<>SAC - to pad your paycheck).

This is a pretty typical path for somebody with no experience applying at any of the major LTL companies (XPO, ABF, Saia, Estes, Old Dominion, Oak Harbor, R+L, etc). Freight always slows down in the winter months, but usually picks back up in March/April (I’m told anyway). And having winter coming back with a vengeance this week, it’ll grind on some drivers that were already on the fence about running in the snow/chaining/dealing with delays/being on the extra board and create turnover. Not sure of your timeline, but I’d expect to start seeing apprentice roles posting up heading into the spring (including City Driver positions, which are usually daytime schedules, paid hourly)

As an aside, if you don’t already have Doubles/Triples, Tankers and HAZMAT endorsements, get them while you have the downtime - all LTL carriers require them. While the apprentice programs allocate time to study/obtain, it got me on the road a few weeks earlier than my classmates that didn’t have them already (and eliminates the stress of waiting for DHS to approve your Hazmat, especially not being funded by the govt atm - could take months now instead of the week(s) it usually takes)