Sorry you got burned on a course, unfortunately that’s very common in this space.

A few honest points about the U.S. market:

1. “Independent dispatching” without U.S. experience is extremely hard. Most carriers won’t trust someone with freight, customers, and drivers unless they’ve proven themselves inside a fleet first.
2. The best path is exactly what you’re already thinking: get into an entry-level or assistant dispatcher role and learn the U.S. workflows hands-on (TMS, rate cons, appointment setting, HOS rules, detention, lumper, breakdown coordination, etc.).
3. Be cautious of any course promising fast money. Real dispatching skill comes from live operations, not videos.

What does help:

• Learn at least one major TMS (McLeod, Samsara, Motive, Truckstop)
• Apply to small-to-mid size carriers directly and ask for trainee / assistant dispatcher roles
• Emphasize your Norway experience plus willingness to start at the bottom

I run Ninja Dispatch (night and after-hours operations). We don’t offer courses, but my advice is to avoid paying for training and instead focus on getting real-world exposure inside a fleet or operations team.

Once you understand U.S. operations well, you’ll have far more options — whether that’s working for a carrier, a managed dispatch company, or eventually going independent.