Endorsements

They didn't used to.

 

They didn't require me to have any endorsements to get into their academy. Only thing I needed was air brakes, combination, and knowledge. But if you can get it and willing to study they all should come in handy. No telling what you'll need or want to do 5 10 15 years from now. Better to have and not need than need and not have them. Also you will virtually never sit cause of the variety of things you can haul down the road. Make yourself as valuable to the company as you can for your benefit. Good luck!!

 

yeah...i,d get all the endorsements at same time. it cost the same price if you take it all at one time. also you,ll be available for any hazmat loads while anyone else would be sitting if they didn,t have the endorsement.

 

No, you are not required to get any extra endorsements and, yes, Swift does pull doubles, mainly in the Northwet. Google "Rocky Mountain Doubles". Having endorsements will only marginally increase the available loads and a Hazmat will put a DOT target on your truck every time you go through the scale houses. Ask Scottie...
Frank

 

Swift doesn't require endorsements, nor do they pay more for hazmat/doubles/triples, so why pull them? 90%+ is dry van...

 

Odd... they used to offer a 4 cent/mile bonus on doubles. They take that away?

 

And they do pay extra for hazmat

 

It's kind of a double edged sword. With the hazmat endorsement you're held to a higher standard as far as violations go (meaning takes slightly fewer points to put you out of a job).

On the other hand, if you're in a planning area like I'm in now that is truck heavy/load light (too many trucks not enough loads otherwise called Under Booked) and there pops up a hazmat load on the planner's screen and (s)he sees an empty available hazmat driver-- that driver has a leg up on the competition and will be offered the load even though they may have just gotten empty or about to be and the poor sap who has already been sitting for 3 days waiting at the top of the que has to keep sitting waiting for the next available load and dares not turn it down for fear of returning to the bottom of the que.

Doubles and tankers are good idea too, remember you may or may not stick with Swift for the duration. An opportunity may pop up than you can use 1 or more of these endorsements for a local gig back home after running for Swift (or any carrier) for as little as 3 months.

3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, 24 months etc seem to be critical milestones for experience in trucking that open up more and more doors of opportunity.

 

Thanks for the correction.