Headed to Swift

[JERRYLEWIS]

Hello,

I have been lurking for a few weeks now while I have been trying to get accepted to a trucking company. It took over a month but I am finally going to Swift in Tennessee on the 9th. Is there anybody who has been to the school there that knows what its like? It took so long because I have not worked for over 2 years as I have been a stay at home dad while the wife worked. I have appreciated reading these forums as a way to prepare for life on the road. I was Navy for 6 years so being away from home is nothing new to me.

[Sealord]

Do an archives search using "swift training" here, at layover.com/lounge, truck.net, newbiedriver.com. You should get something. You may also want to use MS Carriers Training as the Swift school was the old MS Carriers site before Swift bought 'em. BOL

[Webby]

Hello,

I have been lurking for a few weeks now while I have been trying to get accepted to a trucking company. It took over a month but I am finally going to Swift... ... It took so long because I have not worked for over 2 years as I have been a stay at home dad while the wife worked...

Did you have to provide additional information to prove you stayed at home? What all was required besides application to get accepted if you don't mind. I am in same situation and not worked in past 15 years. Last child left the nest this summer.

[dieselgrl]

You will generally need at least two letters that verify what you have been doing during a period of long unemployment. Swift recruiters often forget to mention that, and I've seen too many potential drivers have to go home to get supporting paperwork and then return to Memphis weeks later.

Swift is not a bad company to start off with, they can and will give you a migrane at times, but they have their good moments. There were times I made fabulous money with them, and times when I swore I was going to starve to death. It's all what you make of it.

The schooling itself could be greatly improved... I attended the Swift Academy in Millington, TN (Memphis), and I will be frank with you... you will not learn anything other than how to pass your CDL test. Learning to be a professional driver is something charged to your mentor during your additional six weeks of training on the road. It is IMPERATIVE that you get a quality mentor and feel that you are learning from him/her. Your first year will be *HARD* - but stick it out and generally between 10-12 months in, everything starts to gel in your mind and you realize it's not that bad - or you find out it's not for you and you go home.

[JERRYLEWIS]

Thanks for the responses. Yes I only had to get two signed papers stating that I was a stay at home dad.

[JERRYLEWIS]

anybody else going to the swift in tennesee on the 9th?

[jmilici]

Hello,

It took over a month but I am finally going to Swift in Tennessee on the 9th.

I'm sorry.

Pay for your own training, you'll be better off.

[NevadaJim]

Hello,

It took over a month but I am finally going to Swift in Tennessee on the 9th.

I'm sorry.

Pay for your own training, you'll be better off.

Maybe someone can explain why Swift is so bad. All I hear is pissing and moaning about how bad a certain company is. Based on all the negative things I read one might think that EVERY Swift driver is a heap waiting to happen. I just find that hard to believe. I guess what I'm getting at is if Swift is as bad as some say then it would follow that all their drivers are crappy drivers? Maybe someone that has the negative things to say can be more specific and state facts rather than general statements. Speaking for myself, I'm a quick learn and take responsibility for my own personal learning curve. That being said, Is it possible for someone that has his **** together to go to a Swift school and become a decent safe driver?

[NevadaJim]

Hello,

It took over a month but I am finally going to Swift in Tennessee on the 9th.

I'm sorry.

Pay for your own training, you'll be better off.

Maybe someone can explain why Swift is so bad. All I hear is pissing and moaning about how bad a certain company is. Based on all the negative things I read one might think that EVERY Swift driver is a heap waiting to happen. I just find that hard to believe. I guess what I'm getting at is if Swift is as bad as some say then it would follow that all their drivers are crappy drivers? Maybe someone that has the negative things to say can be more specific and state facts rather than general statements. Speaking for myself, I'm a quick learn and take responsibility for my own personal learning curve. That being said, Is it possible for someone that has his **** together to go to a Swift school and become a decent safe driver?

[XoticGA]

I'm going with Swift in TN too :wink:

Get in touch with Rokk on the boards.. He'll give you a no bull**** run down on Swift he's awesome

[Adam9315]

good luck y'all.

[lifespalette]

Jim....Swift isn't any better nor are they any worse than every other training company out there.....I didn't get my CDL through Swift, but I did end up going with them and maybe I was lucky, but my trainer was an old veteran who pushed for professionalism in all aspects of being a driver.... once when I asked him if he thought Swift was the best, he just answered "there ain't no best company to work for... just the one you work for."

It wasn't until some time later in the training period that I understood what he meant...........it's what you make it. As an inexperienced driver, you're not going get to rich there......but then you're not going to get rich anywhere as a new driver.

The six weeks is rough and unnatural.......any time two adult males live together in a walk in closet sized space for 6 weeks it's unnatural. Most likely your lifestyle is about to be turned upside down. I promise you there are going to be times you want to just say screw it.....and there are going to be times you want to just knock the crap out of your trainer and there are going to be times he wants to do the same to you. You live out of a duffel bag, you eat out of your food box, you shower in places you don't want to know what's on the floor let alone step on it with your bare feet...you'll see parts of towns you wouldn't drive through in your POV....you're whole life clock is about to be reset.......and we haven't even begun to discuss driving.

Do your year ........get your experience, then if you find that the relationship with Swift isn't for you, then you can look else where. Everybody and his brother will give you an opinion....but like the old saying.......opinions are like ass holes, everybody has one, and most of the ones you find on this forum or any other forum are biased in one form or another. You'll find there are two sides to every story and the only one you're getting is theirs. Nobody ever wants to admit they screwed up in one way or another.....it's always the company's fault.

Listen to your trainer, learn the company way of doing it, and be professional......then you can decide if Swift is for you.

one thing to remember about Swift is this...about 85% of the people you hear complaining about them and putting them down have never even worked for them. Keep that in mind. They are not the best company out there and certainly are not the worst. they are just very big.

[TankerYanker]

Very well put lifespalette!!!

BOL JerryLewis

[Super 8]

="jmilici"

I'm sorry.

Pay for your own training, you'll be better off.

="NevadaJim"

Maybe someone can explain why Swift is so bad. All I hear is pissing and moaning about how bad a certain company is.

Some companies have bad reputations. Swift, CR Englund have bad reps. TMC and CFI and Crete generally have good reps. Some of the criticism is probably undeserved, but I would pay attention to the general consensus. If a lot of people are unhappy, it might be because they have reason to be.

The reason Jmilici said "pay for your own training" is because it gives you the freedom to pick and choose who YOU want to work for. If a company pays to train you, they expect you to work for them for at least a year. If you quit because the company sucks, you end up owing them them an inflated price for the training. It's not worth it. Pay for your own, get the CDL, and hire on with a company that will finish you and even offer tuition reimbursement. If you hate the company or find a better offer somewhere else, put in your notice and move on. If you end up hating trucking -and there is a good chance you might....it's NOT for everybody. earn enough to cover your initial training costs and move on to something else.

I paid for my own training, and I'm glad I did. I need to pay the credit union for the lone, but beyond that I'm free to work for whomever I choose for as long as I choose.

[Riokin]

anybody else going to the swift in tennesee on the 9th?

If you mean August 9Th then I'll be joining you.I'm leaving Monday night from Columbus, OH on the bus, maybe we'll run into each other.BOL

Adam Cooley

[street_95]

i am suppose to be go to training in SA. Texas on the 9th, but may have that rescheduled, as i need some more time to take care of personal business at home etc...before i disappear for 3 weeks.
i couldn't believe how fast i got a response, i filled out an application online at around 8 pm and my phone was ringing an hour later.....

Robert

[JERRYLEWIS]

Yes I just got my confirmation number for the bus this morning and will be heading out on monday morning. Good thing I found my PSP after losing it for two weeks. Gotta have something to make the ride bearable.

Jerry Lewis

[JERRYLEWIS]

Well abit nervous. Monday morning will be here before I know it. Being away from home 9 weeks will not be fun, but I figure it sure beats 6 month deployments (prior Navy), so I can handle it. I have a question though anybody that has attended swift training do you go to class 7 days a week? If not do you get the weekends to practice on the range and what not? I'm hoping for 7 days as being new to trucking I want all the information I can get.

[Toothpick]

I drove for Swift for 17 months. Went to their San Antonio Training Academy. Back then the cost was $3000, which was paid for after 10 months of driving. Then Swift started paying you back that money after 10 months as incentive to get you to stay. I still had one month of that pay back left to collect when I left Swift.

As for as the school and the training are concerned, I have no major complaints. However, I did go through three trainers though. The first two didn?t care about Swift or if I learned to drive, they were in it for the money. The last one was excellent and very dedicated and wanted to move up to be a training coordinator one day.

Additionally, this was back still when Swift was first trying to weed out their unscrupulous trainers. Swift has made very significant strides in their training program since back then and if you get a bad one, just get off his truck and request a better one, or if you get one that goes to sleep the first day you drive and only after approximately thirty minutes of observation like my first one did, report him and he will be fired instantly on the spot.

As for as working for Swift goes, I have no complaints. I got a brand new Volvo right out of training, so as for as I was concerned, the equipment was excellent. I averaged about 2800 miles up to about 3200 miles a week, with my highest week being in excess of 3700 miles and my lowest week being a little over 1400 miles one week in January. The trick is to get a DM whose is willing to work hard to get you good loads and good miles, and if you are not happy with your miles then I urge you to contact your fleet manager to fire your DM and request a different one. You can do that with Swift and I did in the beginning because I had DMs that were new hires and I didn?t want to suffer through their learning curve.

Another thing I guess I should mention is overall Swift is a very driver friendly company to drive for and a much more driver friendly company than it was in the past or so I am told by some of the old timers. When I still was with Swift, my DM used to tell me all the time to refuse preplans if I wasn't satisfied and happy with the miles, which I did all the time.

Why did I leave Swift then? Well I left Swift because I got an offer I couldn?t refuse. You know a once in a life time opportunity paying much more than most trucking companies, with better benefits, better vacations, better time off, and a guaranteed salary whether I run or not and a brand new Volvo 780 to booth, so I couldn?t refuse. It pays to have connections! And no I?m not working for a traditional trucking company anymore. Instead, I?m working for the new trucking division of a major chemical company and I still am pulling a dry van.

However, if I lose my current job for any unforeseen reason, I wouldn?t hesitate a second to go back to work for Swift, because they always went out of their way to treat me right. In fact, I will always be very appreciative to Swift for giving me the opportunity to break into this field.

Oh yeah?I have seen many of the regulars on this forum with chips on their shoulders downgrade and badmouth Swift at every opportunity when newbies like you make inquiries regarding Swift, and many of them who otherwise usually provide pretty good and honest information. In any event, disregard everything they say, because they have never worked for Swift. They just know what they have heard in the past and 99 percent of it isn?t true. Hence, their knowledge of Swift is very biased and primarily based on hearsay and innuendo that comes mostly from disgruntled drivers who would have failed with any other trucking company too, and no Swift doesn?t hire just anyone off the streets as you are going to soon find out.

Good luck and I hope you turn into an excellent driver!