for those who need experience or are classed as too young, listen to this.
i passed my class 1 & 2 8 years ago on a 7 week course which started on my 19th birthday. i was obviously too young to drive commercially but i did start looking around as soon as i was 21. the big agencies are full of empty promises and zero respect for the drivers so try the smaller ones. they sometimes insure their own drivers like the first one i drove for. some clients still insisted on older drivers but not all of them. especially on rigids.
as for starting out, why jump straight into artics? i have been on rigids for several years now and have only recently gone back to class 1 but the advantage i have is not worrying about height, width etc. im used to driving trucks so the only thing i have to worry about is reversing and taking a bit more road when i turn. rather than biting off the big lump, do a bit of rigid work and get some of the changes out of the way before advancing to bendy vehicles and the extra hassles of coupling etc. you will find it easier that way too. once you have shown you can handle a rigid, most employers will give you a chance on artics anyway since you then offer them more flexibility