Truck Driving Jobs

dodgesrt4 · #1 03-12-2008, 07:54 PM

Hello everyone... first post here...

Anyway I'm a recent graduate and I'll be heading to Swift for orientation in 2 weeks. It's going to be a 3-day event and I'm very excited about it. I've never been in this industry so I'm very new here... Heard lots of complain about this company but still they're one of a few companies that hire recent graduates. I'm hoping I can get some experience so I can get out and find better jobs with ease. I've seen happy Swift drivers in the past so I hope I can be one also...

Anyone wants to share their experience about what is like in the orientation (Swift drivers preferred, but I'm sure they're pretty much the same for other companies... right?)... I knew I'm prepared for any challenge but listening to other pros here would be nice

What will be done in the orientation?

Thanks for any input!

Useless · #2 03-12-2008, 08:10 PM

Well, Dodgesrt4,

1st:

Welcome to CAD!! 8)

2nd:

I never drove for SWIFT, but I do know some SWIFT drivers.

Day 1:

Your first day is going to be a game of "Hurry up and wait".

.......Stacks of paperwork to fill out, drug testing, perhaps a physical test involving lifting abilities, then......... a number of your fellow classmates will be asked to "step out of the classroom", and then they'll be sent packing.

.......Could be because of a failed drug test, (which happens a lot!!) an unacceptable MVR, falsifications on their employment apps, criminal histories, ...... and the list goes on.

Day 2:

SWIFT trainers will teach you how to roll over stuff, back into other trucks, take up three parking spaces while parked at the truckstop, and block the truckstop fuel pumps while you catch up on your log and eat your lunch!!

Day 3:

You'll be tested upon how well you roll over stuff, back into other trucks, take up three spaces while parked at the truckstops, block the fuel pumps at the truck stops while you catch up on your log and eat your lunch, and for extra credit, they'll check to see if you know how to block the hammer lane as you drive!!

BOL2U!!

Rokk · #3 03-12-2008, 08:12 PM

day one will be paperwork and lots of videos as well as aplication stuff and a medical physical by one of swifts prefferred docs, (they will provide transportation to and from) including drug test. as well as their work well test. (physical consisting of heart rate monitoring along with phsical excercise representing actual aspects of trucks) Day one will be extremely busy day for you.

day two will be more of the paperwork and vdeos as well as different people coming into the classroom introdcing themselves. and telling you all the great things about the company. you will hear Jerry Moyes named considerably much throughout the three days and you will have vivid dreams of the founder of the company.

day three will most likely be a short day, lasting until noon or 1:00pm, wher eyou will then be assigned a trainer. (or a truck according to your experience level)

thats pretty much how it goes. i drove for swift on 4 different occassions throughout the years. it was always the same

same old videos, same old paperwork, and same old stories of how the company works.

Useless · #4 03-12-2008, 08:19 PM

Sooooo!!!

Is The King of ROKK still Rollin' for SWIFT ??

Rokk · #5 03-12-2008, 08:22 PM

heck no, i never will roll for swift again, i finally decided i had outgrown them.

took some money left to me in an estate and bought a couple trucks. now they sit out here in the driveaway so the kids walking home from school can ohh and ahh all over them. sometimes i take them for a ride around the block.

"king of rokk" you funny as usual useless.

ICS · #6 03-12-2008, 08:26 PM

a friend of mine just left for swift on monday at their Syracuse NY yard. he is a recent grad also. he is excited about it. As far as your training you can stay out a straight 42 days and get your training done quicker if you go with a trainer not in your home town. If you get a trainer near your home the days home wont count as your total. If your trainer is out of your area and he/she takes a couple days off they will have you either stay with the truck or get a hotel and that still counts as your training days.

dodgesrt4 · #7 03-12-2008, 10:04 PM

Thanks guys for all the posts. I'm sure I have the skills to handle the job, but as far as "heart rate monitor" goes... I personally don't exercise much and my heart beats stay on the high side for actions like running, carrying, etc. But that doesn't make me being not able to do the job. I've been working at a warehouse for a while carrying & moving paper boxes (~50lb/box) and I've been doing that for some time... never have any heart failure :roll: But heart beats stay high throughout my work hours.

Hope they're not too picky on this...

solid_smoke · #8 03-14-2008, 09:21 PM

I graduated from Swift's driving academy at Millington, TN mid January...4 guys in a tiny hotel room sucked...the range instruction was decent, and I did get my CDL...

Depending on where you live, you may have to wait up to 3 weeks for a mentor...so be prepared.

My mentor was very cool - a great stroke of luck or God hooking me up ...learned a lot, and we still talk...still, its not easy being in a truck with a dude for 6 weeks - but it could have been much much worse...

At orientation (back in January), I'd signed up for flatbed...requested a change of address be put in and bam - I was in flatbed...completed phase 1 and mentor time then phase 2 and was cleared to solo...that was last week...

According to a Key Genius in Greer SC, my change of address never took place ...this meant that I couldn't be in flatbed division even after being out with a flatbed mentor, and completing phase 2...according to the Informer kiosks, I had until 4/11/08 to change my license...not so according to Greer SC. Maybe they expected me to change my license at the Owner Op mentor's expense...

Long story short, I'm now waiting for a truck from a terminal that shouldn't be my home terminal, and it seems impossible to get the damned address changed. Its been a week w/o pay...it may be another 2 or 3 weeks before I get a truck.
..and ignore the nuts at the school who say you may get a new one...it'll be an older hunker that'll likely land you in the shop within a month.

I wonder if Swift just runs a school (hits you for $3900 and then hopes you go away) or really wants drivers. I wonder if its due to lack of freight...I wonder how an address change doesn't get processed...I wonder why policy can be changed by an individual on the fly - I never mind when its done to my advantage, but it hurts like hell when it prevents you doing a job that you've invested so much in...

If you're already in, hope it goes better for you...me, I'm F--kin' P-ssed Off.

Syncrosonix · #9 03-14-2008, 09:54 PM

solid_smoke:

not always true about getting an old hunk of junk truck. when i was assigned to a truck, i had to get a ride from a target dedicated driver out of phoenix to the drop yard in north las vegas. it's a 2006 volvo. at the time, it had 84,000 miles on it. now it's up to 246,000 miles. the first month and a half, it was plagued with problems. they almost got me into another truck because of it. the previous driver had sabotaged the truck.

as for changing your address, try speaking to somebody in payroll. some of the terminals have total morons working in them. there's one terminal that i despise more than fontana. i won't go into that because it'll send me on a long, long tirade.

best of luck to ya!

dle · #10 03-15-2008, 12:35 AM

Don't know about swift, but change of address is usually handled by re-submitting a new w-4 to payroll. This is so they can get your taxation location set right. I would give payroll a call and find out for sure. Have you had dispatcher assigned to you yet? If you have give them a call.