Swift Mentor

[LennyD]

Hi everyone, first post.

I'm approaching my 6th month solo OTR with Swift and i'm looking for some input from anyone who is/has trained with them.

What is the pay like? Do you get higher preference for loads? A better DM that isn't trying to rip you off every chance she gets!?

[Uturn2001]

One question for you.

With only 6 months experience what makes you think you can train someone else?

[LennyD]

Sure, I'll give you 2 answers.

Considering industry standards, my lack of experience alone would be enough to not qualify me to train others... no argument here.

With Swift, however, a driver with 6 mos., no accidents, and no log violations fits the basic qualifications to train.

Now I have to ask myself if i'm fit to train others.

I would say the short answer is yes... or at least yes because I know I would be better than my trainer (12 yrs exp, no communication skills, no teaching skills, only knew how to yell and scream... I learned more in my first 2 weeks solo self-taught than i did that whole 6 weeks)

I've heard countless horror stories about swift trainers, with good stories few and far between. I know I could do better.

[glasman2]

I'll be honest with you.
I don't drive yet... I start school next Monday.
When I "DO" start driving, last thing I want is someone with "only" 6 months under his/her belt. I would refuse you.

[groovemachine]

Actually, if I were driving for Swift, I would rather have a good trainer with 6 mos experience over a crappy trainer with 6 or 12 years experience any day of the week.

I would say, go for it!

[LennyD]

I wouldn't have any problem knowing that students turned me down.

Just curious... what is the minimum amount of experience a trainer would need to have for you to accept?

Would a trainers experience level be the most important determining factor if you had a hypothetical reference that documented a trainers abilities through student reviews?

When I finished my orientation, only 3/13 of my class were immediately placed with trainers. Another guy was matched 8 days later, and the rest all left for different companies.

3/4 had horrible trainers... 2 of them quit... me and the late starter are the only ones still with the company.

There isn't a whole lot that goes into driving a truck. I would say the most important qualities a trainer can posses are communication skills, and the ability to not treat your student like a sub-human... pretty simple... yet, most swift trainers don't meet these standards, and this is their biggest problem as a company imho.

If you're an idiot, have no respect for your student, and are only concerned about maxing miles on both log books... there is no amount of experience that will validate your worth as a trainer.

[kc8vje]

I also have thought of trying the swift trainer program too. I have nearly 10 years. But I don't know if I could handle some of the students that the CDL mills turn loose.

I've trained people before, but they were experienced road drivers learning how to use a dump trailer and drive off road at the mine sites.

Good luck man.

[Uturn2001]

There are a lot of people out there training who should not be. Some due to lack of experience and others who can not or will not teach.

IMHO 2 years of experience is the min anyone should have before attempting to teach someone.

Did you know that states often require 5+ years of experience before you can become a "liscensed" instructor at a CDL school?

[jegzus]

This is a pretty sticky subject for some people. I'll tell you about my swift training experience.

I went through their CDL school in Millington, TN even though I had my Permit for 6 months prior to going there. I even asked if I should just go get my CDL at home before leaving as my family has a few car haulers. They told me not to which I thought was very strange, but I soon found out they only wanted me to go through the school to get their 2000 dollars or however much it cost.

The school was a joke, the majority of the students were barely qualified to drive a car much less a truck. I ended up being the person who demonstrated everything to the class and was always picked on in the class room. The whole time in class I felt like I was being drug down to a much lower level because most the others were clueless. I also ended up being the go to guy that everyone in my class came to for help with different things.

Once I got with my trainer in Jonestown, PA he let me drive after an hour of being with him. After that point we ran like a team as he saw he didn't have to teach me anything but the qualcom and the paper work. He was a lease operator who had been driving for swift for 4 years. On numerous occasions he would have me back into places after he tried several times and could not get it in the hole. He was a really nice guy except for the fact that he was having an affair with another female trainer and we would stop at truck stops with her and her student all the time.

He did however try numerous times to tell the DM that and training supervisor that I was ready to get my own truck starting as early as 2 weeks with being with him. They didn't go for it though, which makes me think that they don't even trust their own trainers opinions. I also was forced to stay out an extra week which meant I was out for 9 weeks because they couldn't get us a load to a terminal.

So the moral to this story is I had better skills as a "trainee" than my trainer who has been driving for 4 years. Granted I grew up driving trucks in the yard and backing them since I was 9 years old. I even drove more miles than my trainer the whole time I was with him, as I did not stop but maybe once per 11 hours to take a bathroom break. While my trainer would stop every 3-4 hours or so.

So take that how you will, but I personally would take a trainer with less expierence than one who still doesn't know what he is doing after many years. Just my two cents.

[jnk2001]

I would say the short answer is yes... or at least yes because I know I would be better than my trainer (12 yrs exp, no communication skills, no teaching skills, only knew how to yell and scream... I learned more in my first 2 weeks solo self-taught than i did that whole 6 weeks)

I've heard countless horror stories about swift trainers, with good stories few and far between. I know I could do better.

I'd say yes, cuz with your attitude,it has to be better then being yelled and screamed at for 6 weeks. you can't learn anything that way.

[NevadaJim]

I say go for it. If you can keep a level head with a rookie and know how to teach, I wouldn't have a problem going out with you. I'm not sold on this idea that a trainer needs to have X amount of years to be a good trainer. There are pros and cons to both sides of the story. But, I would much rather have someone with less experience than someone that's only in it for the money he can make from my miles.

[NevadaJim]

I'll be honest with you.
I don't drive yet... I start school next Monday.
When I "DO" start driving, last thing I want is someone with "only" 6 months under his/her belt. I would refuse you.

I'm gonna play devils advocate just for discussion purposes. You haven't driven yet and you're going to refuse a trainer with 6 months. Based on what? Someone that has never driven doesn't know right from wrong, doesn't have a clue if what he's being taught is correct. You haven't been out with a trainer yet, so you don't have anything to make a comparison on. I'm just curious what you would base this refusal on. I hope there is some logic behind it and not just opinion or something you read on a forum somewhere. I will be starting school soon too, so I'm curious what matrix you use to determine if someone is a suitable trainer for you, as an idividual, and why. Your ideas may help some of us in the same situation.

[glasman2]

I'll be honest with you.
I don't drive yet... I start school next Monday.
When I "DO" start driving, last thing I want is someone with "only" 6 months under his/her belt. I would refuse you.

I'm gonna play devils advocate just for discussion purposes. You haven't driven yet and you're going to refuse a trainer with 6 months. Based on what? Someone that has never driven doesn't know right from wrong, doesn't have a clue if what he's being taught is correct. You haven't been out with a trainer yet, so you don't have anything to make a comparison on. I'm just curious what you would base this refusal on. I hope there is some logic behind it and not just opinion or something you read on a forum somewhere. I will be starting school soon too, so I'm curious what matrix you use to determine if someone is a suitable trainer for you, as an idividual, and why. Your ideas may help some of us in the same situation.

Call it a gut feeling. Part of this is, I feel a "good" trainer should have 3 to 5 years under his/her belt. With 6 months and having a bad trainer, not learning anything from him and being self taught, I don't see how he/she would know all the ins or outs of trucking yet. My feelings on a self taught driver with 6 months would be a danger to myself and others on the road.

Here he is.... 6 months.... had a crappy trainer..... learning on his own.... and "Thinks" he is a better trainer than others. Yet is still "Learning".
I want someone that can answer off the wall questions if needed, not someone that says "well I'm not sure" or tries to make up an answer.

Years ago I was out there with a friend ( whom is a truck driver ). I was just going for the ride and checking it out. He had been driving for 10 years, so I felt good about going out on the road with him. He knew what he was doing and answered a lot of questions I had at the time. So it's not like I haven't been out on the road, I just wasn't driving. He would point out stupid stuff that "other drivers" were doing and tell me why is was stupid or a danger to others on the road.

My answer has nothing to do with what I have read on here, it's how I feel about going out with someone with a good amount of time under his/her belt, that would "know" what to do should an emergency arise, and not panic and do the wrong thing and get us both killed.

If the company that I want to work for hires me, I already have a trainer set up. It's another friend that has been driving for 5 1/2 years. I feel good about this for 2 reasons. 1 he has 5 years under his belt with no tickets or accidents, or violations. 2 we are friends so we already get along, and we already talked about ( several times ) the training, ie if I do something "really stupid" he might raise his voice, mostly out of panic.

I can understand "some yelling" or "raised voice" if someone or I would do something "really stupid" BUT I also told him if I felt the yelling wasn't called for I would yell back. He said "fair enough", then we would talk about it. I really don't see that happening ( yelling ) because I'm a safe driver and always look for hazards now. When your driving a 37 foot motor home you always check your mirrors, intersections, ect, same with driving a motorcycle, which I own and drive both. Yes it's not the same, but it's close as far as hazards go. You can't stop a motor home on a dime and need to know what is around you at all times. Same as a motorcycle, most people don't see you, and you need to know where you can go to avoid an emergency.

I can understand where the OP is coming from.... He had a bad trainer.... he wants to be a better trainer, and I think he is thinking in the right direction, but I also think he needs more time under his belt.

This is just my opinion, my gut feeling. Who knows... he "could" turn out to be a good trainer, but I don't want to take that chance.

Now he, you, or anyone on this board can bash me for my opinion/gut feelings, but it's not going to change my mind.

[coalregion]

I'm with glasman on this one. Say your having open heart surgery next week, who would you rather doing it. Somebody with 10 years experience and thousands of operations under his belt, or somebody 6 months out of med school, with maybe 10 under his belt?

[NevadaJim]

I'll be honest with you.
I don't drive yet... I start school next Monday.
When I "DO" start driving, last thing I want is someone with "only" 6 months under his/her belt. I would refuse you.

I'm gonna play devils advocate just for discussion purposes. You haven't driven yet and you're going to refuse a trainer with 6 months. Based on what? Someone that has never driven doesn't know right from wrong, doesn't have a clue if what he's being taught is correct. You haven't been out with a trainer yet, so you don't have anything to make a comparison on. I'm just curious what you would base this refusal on. I hope there is some logic behind it and not just opinion or something you read on a forum somewhere. I will be starting school soon too, so I'm curious what matrix you use to determine if someone is a suitable trainer for you, as an idividual, and why. Your ideas may help some of us in the same situation.

Call it a gut feeling. Part of this is, I feel a "good" trainer should have 3 to 5 years under his/her belt. With 6 months and having a bad trainer, not learning anything from him and being self taught, I don't see how he/she would know all the ins or outs of trucking yet. My feelings on a self taught driver with 6 months would be a danger to myself and others on the road.

Here he is.... 6 months.... had a crappy trainer..... learning on his own.... and "Thinks" he is a better trainer than others. Yet is still "Learning".
I want someone that can answer off the wall questions if needed, not someone that says "well I'm not sure" or tries to make up an answer.

Years ago I was out there with a friend ( whom is a truck driver ). I was just going for the ride and checking it out. He had been driving for 10 years, so I felt good about going out on the road with him. He knew what he was doing and answered a lot of questions I had at the time. So it's not like I haven't been out on the road, I just wasn't driving. He would point out stupid stuff that "other drivers" were doing and tell me why is was stupid or a danger to others on the road.

My answer has nothing to do with what I have read on here, it's how I feel about going out with someone with a good amount of time under his/her belt, that would "know" what to do should an emergency arise, and not panic and do the wrong thing and get us both killed.

If the company that I want to work for hires me, I already have a trainer set up. It's another friend that has been driving for 5 1/2 years. I feel good about this for 2 reasons. 1 he has 5 years under his belt with no tickets or accidents, or violations. 2 we are friends so we already get along, and we already talked about ( several times ) the training, ie if I do something "really stupid" he might raise his voice, mostly out of panic.

I can understand "some yelling" or "raised voice" if someone or I would do something "really stupid" BUT I also told him if I felt the yelling wasn't called for I would yell back. He said "fair enough", then we would talk about it. I really don't see that happening ( yelling ) because I'm a safe driver and always look for hazards now. When your driving a 37 foot motor home you always check your mirrors, intersections, ect, same with driving a motorcycle, which I own and drive both. Yes it's not the same, but it's close as far as hazards go. You can't stop a motor home on a dime and need to know what is around you at all times. Same as a motorcycle, most people don't see you, and you need to know where you can go to avoid an emergency.

I can understand where the OP is coming from.... He had a bad trainer.... he wants to be a better trainer, and I think he is thinking in the right direction, but I also think he needs more time under his belt.

This is just my opinion, my gut feeling. Who knows... he "could" turn out to be a good trainer, but I don't want to take that chance.

Now he, you, or anyone on this board can bash me for my opinion/gut feelings, but it's not going to change my mind.

Thanks for the response! Good luck out there.

[NevadaJim]

I'm with glasman on this one. Say your having open heart surgery next week, who would you rather doing it. Somebody with 10 years experience and thousands of operations under his belt, or somebody 6 months out of med school, with maybe 10 under his belt?

That analogy is a little to the extreme, but point taken. The difference is these so-called experienced drivers are wrecking trucks and killing people every day. It doesn't say much for the experience theory.

[spencerian]

I'm with glasman on this one. Say your having open heart surgery next week, who would you rather doing it. Somebody with 10 years experience and thousands of operations under his belt, or somebody 6 months out of med school, with maybe 10 under his belt?

Totally irrelevant. You are comparing a skilled trade with a teaching trade.

Now who would be better at TEACHING the surgery?
Who has the people skills?

I had trainers I could get along with. They were new, but expressed their points well (illegal or not).

I did have a trainer with 19 yrs. experience. I couldn't make heads or tails of what he was saying!

[boneebone]

Sure, I'll give you 2 answers.

Considering industry standards, my lack of experience alone would be enough to not qualify me to train others... no argument here.

With Swift, however, a driver with 6 mos., no accidents, and no log violations fits the basic qualifications to train.

Now I have to ask myself if i'm fit to train others.

I would say the short answer is yes... or at least yes because I know I would be better than my trainer (12 yrs exp, no communication skills, no teaching skills, only knew how to yell and scream... I learned more in my first 2 weeks solo self-taught than i did that whole 6 weeks)

I've heard countless horror stories about swift trainers, with good stories few and far between. I know I could do better.

You think you can train someone with six months experience? LOL come on, get real. Six months or even one year is nothing.

Get some real miles under your belt first, rookie.

[ajritter04]

And this one is only 7 months old..only to insult the guy.

Bitter much, or just a Swift fanboy?

[Colts Fan]

Every post by him is a negative insult. Someone has some mommy issues.