Class A CDL + Shuafers endorsement

So people pay $100,000 - $400,000 for a college education to maybe earn $100,000 but you think $6,000 to earn $35,000 - $40,000 is not a value. That makes college 100% - 400% and driver training 15% - 17% of earning potential.

So you can already do a proper pre-trip and post-trip inspection, blind side back into a dock and parallel park a tractor-trailer. You can smoothly up and downshift gears and you maintain lane control while distracted with shifting. You already know how to properly maintain your logbook and understand the HOS rules. You know what kind of driver, vehicle and logbook infractions will put you OoS or get you locked up. BTW, this might be 10% of the duties and responsibilities of a professional driver. There are many things you do not learn on the job. These things cause you to lose your job if you don't understand them before you start driving.

When you have ~3 years and 500,000 miles you will be a seasoned driver. When you have 7+ years and 1,000,000 miles you will be a veteran. I'm still working on my veteran status and still I learn every time I climb up in the truck.

The worst problem is you don't even know how dangerous you are right now. Until you get enough miles to be safe and look back you won't even know how unsafe you were. You have no idea how much you don't know. Even after driving school and company training you still just have a license to learn. You will learn many things daily the first several years. If you get to the point you aren't learning, get out before you are swiped out of existence.

With all due respect, I don't know how old you are but if you don't lose this I don't need training mentality you won't last too long in this industry. Your demise will however be spectacular and entertaining. There are old truck drivers and there are bold truck drivers but there are no old bold truck drivers.

Do yourself a favor and get the best and longest driver training you can. Good luck!

 

Just a little off topic but I have a question. Is it just Swift that calls their driver trainers "Mentors" or are there other companies?

 

Getting your CDL-A is the easy part. 99.9% of schools are only going to teach you how to get your CDL and some days on logs and regulations. I would find a company that charges the least amount of money and go from there.

There is alot more things involved with being a truck driver other then just driving down the road. Everything from driver etiquette to looking at a situation and deciding the best way to get your 53' trailer in a hole. In the real world its more then just parking between some cones, most of the time its parking next to a $100,000 + truck. It can be a very stressful while learning the ropes, heck its even stressful at times to the most seasoned veterans.


Just going with a trainer to learn how to drive on both sides of a mountain is well worth it.

 

AFAIK, just Swift.

It's a trend-setting thing, I think.
Or, maybe, it's because 'trainer' implies that the trainee will actually be trained in every aspect of the job - which clearly isn't the case, all too often.

Using the term 'mentor', as in a guide or advisor, seems to water down the 'training' aspect. At least, it does in my opinion.

I had a pretty good 'mentor', but there were some areas that he could have been a better 'trainer'. But I gather that the mentors are not that well trained for mentor-ship before being given the responsibility of training others. If they were, there would be fewer of them and they would make a lot more $$$. Not to mention, there would be much fewer complaints, mistakes, accidents, service failures, etc.

 

They call themselves " mentors " to feel important. People go through school to be a teacher and the people who call themselves " mentors " teach themselves.

 

Cough,

Gag,

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mentor

 

Just how much experience did this " mentor" have? Or do you know of an average that you have seen?

 

When the CDL first came out I had held a Chauffers license for 10 years, driving for other companies. I moved to Phoenix and went to work for Swift in 90. I was eligable to get a CDL with the "Grandfather clause", meaning I was not required to road test because the carrier had to verify my driving background.

I cannot remember the exact dollar figure Swift, who hired me and worked me driving their equipment, wanted just to take the road test for the CDL, but I think it was around $500.

Needless to say I quit Swift before the deadline for the CDL and went to work for Freymiller, and they signed off on the CDL.

 

I think with Swift it is 1 year.

 

When I stepped out of trucking 10 years ago, I was still learning after being in it 19 years.