Swift academy or not ?

I had to pay out of pocket and from what I've seen 95% of the companies will reimburse you. It may be only a certain amount a month until you get it fully back but I know going through there school you'll be obligated to drive a certain amount of time/hours with that company. If your 1000% sure your going to stay with them a while go the free route. Also there were many students in my class who qualified for hope and whereas I had to pay close to 2k, they only had to pay $180 and had the freedom to choose who they wanted to work for, which has the best pay/benefits and or what fits there needs the best. Good luck to you!

 

Mccfry, are you interested in flatbed? If so, Swift's Phoenix terminal has a flatbed division. You'll make more money. You should ask for training with a flatbed mentor instead of going van, otherwise you'll have to retrain. There will be one week load securement class before hitting the road.

 

Another one mis-informed. You are not obligated to drive for Swift after the CDL school . You can walk the day you get your CDL .

Obviously , you are obligated to pay the loan for the tuition but it is in no way connected to driving for them .

 

I think it's called the 13th Amendment.

 

I may be mis-informed... but if he dont drive for them and has to pay there tuition, that's still "out.. of.. his.. pocket.." which is what he trying to avoid

 

Not all of it ; no. I specifically put that on this thread because I've found if anything at all I post about Swift is perceived as not 100% positive I get bombarded with bashing from their cheerleading section. They get vicious as if I'm the worst SOB in the universe. Reminds me of those comedy movies when company employees are at a business meeting and start waving their arms in the air cheering the company and hugging each other with tears streaming down their faces.

 

Well ... passing off hearsay as fact tends to bring that out in people.

 

Calling me profanity laden names is also passing off hearsay as fact. I invest a lot of time trying to give good answers to questions and I never bash anyone even if I disagree.
Anyway, my answer to the OP was trying to inform him an Apu equipped truck is better than being harassed day and night about "Why are you idling?"

 

While I was with Swift my overall idle percentage was quite low, somewhere around 3%. I get better sleep with no noise and the window cracked for fresh air anyway. However, I did get "harassed" for high idle times when running the deep South in summer, then it got upwards of 40%. The thing is the "harassment" comes in the form of automated Qualcomm messages, easily erased and forgotten. Anyone that feels genuinely harassed by that either has a kick me sign on their backside or a very bad driver manager.

Other than that your posts are spot on and all new drivers should heed your advice.