effect of passing skills,pretrip,driving portion of the CDL test at different times

Like stated earlier it probably wont matter much on how long it took. I always said that a doctor that made a 70 on his final is still a doctor..

IMO talk to Watkins Shepard. They are a good company with a ten day orientation/training...Then solo...Also CT Transport or on of the "comcar" companies...Good training, decent pay and home time.....after a few months experience of OTR there are a few companies that you can take advantage of a L/P...Epes seems to be a good requiring 3 months of OTR also they have a "true L/P'" with a $1oo buy out. Most seem to have a 10% buy out which IMO sucks.......Also most of the companies will do a tuition reimbursement up to $6k...Schnieder, Watkins Shepard, Comcar, just to name a few....I'm like you for the most part in reference to the mega carriers, I tired to stay away from them as well due to the horror stories I heard..
When are you schedule for your road test again? Is that all you have to do or do you have to re-take skills and PTI?

 

The job is what YOU make of it, not what anyone else says.

I have been with Swift for over 3 years, and I'm doing just fine.
My mentor is still with Swift after 9 years.

And Swift is the Mega of mega carriers!


You never know.
You just might get that special instructor that explains everything so well that you actually learn what you need to know to pass that test.

 

I think that Swift, as in most of the mega comp are known for they're "sweat shop" mentality of student drivers...And of course the perception of new drivers themselves. They may be an awesome company to work for after you make that transition from student to experienced driver, but from what I have heard from the recruiters on the Swift program, they suck, IMO.....Low pay, long miles, long training and not much home time...Of course I mean NO disrespect.
For a student driver to do the same job, run as many miles and make $2.72/hour....Seems as if they are displaying their true lack of respect for new drivers. Sure they're in training but still deserve the respect. they also have over a 200% turn over rate, so Ive heard along with Covenant, USXpress, Werner and many others. Why? Well simple math, They really don't care about the driver nor can they deliver the promise. They know they can heard up to 400 more through orientation within the next week and start the process over and over again.
Werner, as an example ran over 10k new driver through in 1 yr, Covenant, 100-200 + per week. Sure most don't qualify and some find out it just isn't for them but out of the high ratio you have to be real and say the company couldn't deliver their promise as well....But then again it is indeed all in what one wants.....I think most opinions are truly in the eyes of the beholder......Thanks for what you do and Im glad you are happy and believe in them. They do seem to move a lot of freight up the road...good Luck and Stay Safe!!

 

You are right! no need to go to a mega. I didn't. And neither did most of the guys I run with.

My first job out of school I hired on with a produce company that ran local Class B route trucks and line haul Class A trucks. Yes, they started me out in a straight truck, But within a week or so I was yard jockeying trailers around, and in very little time I was filling in on the line haul side. -- I never even took a road test with that company! Worked there for years. I was never treated unfairly.

Living in the Chicago area, I'm sure there are tons of opportunities like that. You may have to "pay your dues" up front by actually working to find a job like that; but it's better then taking a job with a mega and "paying your dues" in the long run by being treated like dirt and often times being set up to fail.

 

Wise. You've done your homework on this site, just like I did when I was starting out.

Yeah, this kind of thing happens all the time, where the point of the thread is lost. But it looks like you got your answer.