information overload?

This member is doing his homework,I like that.

 

I would steer clear of CRE at all costs. I am not with SWIFT, but if I was back to starting over, I would consider them. But no way would I consider CRE.

 

Millis Transfer has a new school in NC and you only need $500.00 to get started.

Many trucking company schools have good training:

Swift
Celadon

 

I came to Swift after spending 25+ years in oil&gas and chemical mfg. I wanted to see the country and boy have I.

I went to Swifts San Antonio school. CDL value was 3900, no money up front and no contract saying I would work for them. I was, however, obligated to repay the "value" of the CDL school whether or not I went to work for Swift...reasonable expectation on their part. Was offered an OTR job based out of Houston and took it. The first year deductions were made to repay the school and during my second year I was reimbursed the full amount so my CDL cost was virtually zero.

Im finishing my third year with Swift, making pretty good money plus other perks so it could be worse. I also run hazmat and tank loads for Swift. I'm considering pulling regional hazmat tankers out of Houston next spring just to be home more often. The regional accounts Swift has out of Houston don't pay enough and are store deliveries which I don't care to do. Otherwise I would probably stay longer.

 

10 years ago I was in a similar situation. I needed to get out of what I was doing to save my sanity. Money was tight, but that wasn't really a big issue, I had enough to get by for several months. Like you I looked at different trucking companies, read lots of posts both good and bad, and decided Swift was a decent fit for what I needed at the time.

At the time they offered to loan the money for tuition with a reimbursement plan that would have you owing nothing after a year, and after 2 years they paid me back in full. I could have left at any time as long as I made arrangements for repayment of the loan during the first year. I was NOT tied to Swift by contract to work only for them, but rather for repayment of a loan. A similar plan is used today from what I understand.

I worked hard to learn the system and, most importantly learn the people in the office I worked out of. The first several months were tough, a new lifestyle to become familiar with, low pay, loneliness away from family and friends. I came real close to quitting one afternoon after a trying day with my truck and a difficult situation with a shipper. All of this was something all newbies have to learn to tolerate whatever company they sign on with.

Anyway, my driver manager got me on to a dedicated fleet running out of a DC 20 miles from the house. If I hadn't made the effort to learn about Swift from the inside, and develop a good relationship with the office, the dedicated position would not have been made available to me. I rolled on that account for nearly 5 years.

I continued to build my relationships within the terminal and as the dedicated position went away, I was able to get onto another fleet, the shuttle, which has me home every night and running almost 3000 miles a week.

Swift has continued to be a good fit for me over the years. My needs are met, I am happy here. Sure not every day is rosey, but that happens everywhere. Some drivers, many as a matter of fact, decide for one reason or another that Swift is not for them. That's fine, no problem, but most of the drivers I come into contact with have been here 5, 6, or more years. I know a few that have over 20 years with Swift. I also know of many that went elsewhere, then came back to Swift after a taste of that greener grass on the other side of the fence.

There are several good company schools out there, and there are even more opportunities in trucking outside of the mega fleets. It all comes down to what you want to do. It all starts with the CDL, and the basic experience. Swift is a decent place to start. Work hard and safe, keep your record clean, and eventually you can get to where you want to be.

 

I'd go to Schneider 1st. Everyone hates Swift.

 

swift is the worst,,werner is bad,, crst will run you as a team, Schneider will be fair,,

 

Look if you want to do it right find some distribution centers in your local area and go there. scope out who is running their freight out of there and go with that company, and get a dedicated route with them. Otherwise you might get addicted to OTR like I am.