I keep reading negative cuts and insinuations about driving for Swift. I have done a lot of reading and research, including emailing with someone who is in his first year of trucking, and I keep coming back to Swift as the best way to get into trucking and get some valuable driving experience for the first year. Is there something critical that I'm missing and that I should know before I decide to join Swift to get my training and early driving experience? Is there something about this company that is really horrible? Please let me know.

Swift will meet the bare minimums and get you trained and out on the road. The point that is often made here is that there are many other choices that are much better. There are companies that train you to more than the barest minimum essential standards, and we tend to recommend them over someone known for minimal training and low starting pay. Swift may be a large company, but their reputation in this area leaves a lot to be desired.

If you have a questionable past or driving record, then Swift has somewhat looser standards for recruiting than many of the other companies. This results in them having a pool of new drivers that in many cases were not acceptable to other companies. This in turn leads to their extremely high turnover rate and the appetite they have for new drivers to keep their seats filled. With 18,000 trucks, and a roughly 130% annual turnover rate, they need to hire and train about 24,000+ new drivers a year just to remain where they are. That number makes them a drivers mill, and leads to some questionable and hurried up training practices.

You can probably do better than them, and that's what folks here are trying to tell you when they recommend against Swift. We want you trained well and safely so you can have a long successful career and not be part of the 130% turnover.

I appreciate your straightforward reply. I definitely want to be trained in the safest and most thorough manner possible. Would you give me a short list of companies that fit that mold. I have no DUI's or any criminal record. I have had two minor moving violations in the past three years. These were so minor that they do not show up on an insurance check of my DVM record.

Hey there Bluebeard, did anyone give you a list of options in regard to training? I, like you, want to start training & driving (getting a paycheck) ASAP & Swift seems to be about the best deal going.

If you can avoid the bigger companies .... swift, schnieder , jb hunt and the likes you can be better off in the long run .... there are other companies out there that supply training and some will work in your license

Give Maverick a try (all flatbed and specialized) they have a school also .... in AR .... if you go to do training .... try to avoid the "company school" .... check to see what their requirements are for you to "pay back" the school .... sometimes its not worth it

The best choice if you can is find a private school near you to go to .... you can also find community colleges in your area that offer the class to and it would be alot cheaper .... the one in Johnston County, NC for a resident it was I believe $700 for their 3 week course .... try that before signing with a company .... it then leaves you an open door as to who you can choose from

hey there,I am not a driver yet,but am about to hopefully start with a company(Maverick).I have done a lot of research.I'm sure there are a lot of others that could answer you much better than I,but they are probably out on the road.There is:
Millis Transfer-you pay 500.00 down,they train you and tote the note for the remainder of the 2000 that's left,from my understanding if you stick with them a year,you are reimbursed.they pay during training,and they pay pretty well,500 for wks 1&2,550 wk 3,600 wk 4,650 wk 5,700 wk 6.

Drivers Solutions train for a lot of different companies like PAM,USA and several others.

Watkins Shepard,their training is 4 wks,250 down and they finance.after 4 wks you are out on the road.

Wil Trans out of Missouri,I did know some about their training,but have since forgot

TMC a flatbed company company that offers training.

and of course Shneider,which I'm sure you can do some searching on these boards and find out about them.And there are many more that I can't think of right now.
I chose Maverick,because I want to drive flat bed and they seem to be exactly what I'm looking for.Hope this helped some!

Burky is right............ Just say no to Swift.



Maverick (flatbed), Watkins Shepherd (flat or van), TMC (flat, step, heavy haul) Arrow (flat) Melton (flat) Roehl (flat or van). I don't know if Arrow and Melton train, but the others do, and while they may have some problems they are miles and miles ahead of Swift.

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Well, personally I'm not a fan of the schools because, in general, all they're interested in is getting you by the state CDL test. There's no real
world driving knowledge gained from them, in general.
I don't see what the big deal is with the "big company" schools myself. You get trained their way of doing things, on their equipment, on their paperwork, with their customers. Sure, you're committed to them for 12-18 months, but so what? Even if they suck, stick it out and get that experience plus the free school, and then move on.
My Swift experience is this...I went to school with Schneider about the same time as a friend started with Swift. Very shortly after finishing my training and getting my own truck, I ran into my friend on the road...he was a TRAINER already. How much could he possibly know in that short a time? That sealed Swift's fate for me right there.
But, in the end, it's your choice, and you have to do whatever works best for you, in your situation.

Like Burky said .... Swift is more of the driver mill type .... they go thru drivers so fast there that they have no option but to put someone with 2 months experience in as a trainer .... doesnt make sense .... nothing against the drivers but it is more like the blind leading the blind

In this profession you can never have enough experience .... and to think that someone that has driven a big rig for 2 months knows it all is just insane

This has really been helpful, guys. I am now going to take a much harder look for other ways to get my CDL and some road experience. I do want to drive OTR, however, so I need to find a company that can give me those kind of miles on a consistent basis. I hear so much about Maverick. I know that they are a smaller outfit than a company like Swift, and I wonder if they can provide the kind of miles that I am looking for. Also, is there an advantage to driving a flatbed? I know you get a little more pay, so it must be a little more demanding. Can anyone fill me in on the advantages vs disadvantages of flatbeds?