New CDL for Swift
 

I just graduated the swift training academy in millington TN. I go to orientation next Wednesday just wandering if anyone has went to millington to train. I was wanting to know if I will be coming back home after orientation to wait on a mentor or leave out from orientation. I live in Alabama so I may be out of the memphis or atlanta terminal. If anyone has been through the swift training if so I would like to hear how it was and what to expect from the the program will I have any home time during my six weeks out

THANK YOU
Juve917

Haven't been through that program, just wanted to say Congratulations :) Wishing you the best

JUVE, I went through Swift's Richmond, VA school and I'm out of the Harrisburg, PA terminal. Whether or not you will have time to go home before going with your mentor will depend on if they have a lot of mentors available at the time. For me, I got to go home for 2 days following orientation before they called and told me they found a mentor. If I had to guess (don't hold me to this) I would say you would probably get a few days home before they find you a mentor.

As for your home time during your six weeks, that will depend on your mentor's schedule. If they had already been out 2 weeks before picking you up, you might be out one week then go home when they do. With me during my six weeks it was 2 weeks out, 2 days home, 4 weeks out, then I was done. This could be completely different depending on where your mentor runs and their schedule.

As for how the training went for me, well, me and my mentor were pretty much complete opposites so it was tough at times. But I stuck with the same guy the whole time, I learned some, and I still have a lot to learn on my own. Ask questions. If your mentor gets mad at you for asking questions like mine did at times, ignore them and just listen to the answer to your question. My mentor didn't push me harder than I thought he should have, so I give him credit for that. Don't let them push you hard until you are comfortable with it. That is about all the advice I can give you now.

Please, if you have any more questions about anything, PM me at any time and I'll try to reply as soon as possible. Good luck to you.

Tom

Just be ready to leave out once Orientation is over.

I'm currently going into my 3rd week with my mentor.After orientation i sat home for 3 weeks waiting to get a mentor there seems to be a shortage of mentors compared to all of the trainees out there basically since my second day in the truck we've been operating as a team i do most of the driving in 13 days on the truck i have just alittle over 4100 miles it might not seem like alot but we run on a Lowes dedicated only running in the northeast no further west then Erie,PA and no further south then Lakewood,NJ i go home every weekend so my training going to be alittle longer then 6 weeks but i look at it this way i'm going to be ready to be on my own when its all over.I went to work for TMC when i first got my CDL and after 11 days in the truck i only had 2000 miles so i'm way ahead in my training with swift.The only down side is that my mentor is a non-smoker and that i'm his first student so he's not really great at all aspects of being a trainer.I drive mostly at night but i wouldnt want it any other way my sleep schedule is alittle off at the moment since i'm not to used to sleeping during the day.But so far i like Swift since most of what we deliver is drop and hook we have only had a few live loads and unloads and we never sit longer then a half hour waiting for our next pre-plan.I'll keep you posted on my training take care and drive safe out there