Finding the right fit.

A lot can change in 13 months. You may no longer be driving a truck. I wouldn't worry about anything until the last 2 months at Swift. Heck, you might decide to stay at Swift.

 

lol you drive for swift and your basing an opinion on USX based on what you have heard? not throwing stones driver, but man that made me laugh.

companies dont like animals in the truck because most people are lazy and do not clean up after the animal. have you ever been in a truck that the previous driver had an animal? they stink to high heaven and back. not saying you dont care for your animal, but there are drivers out there who refuse to shower and wear clean clothes much less let a dog out to take a leak.

 

See, heres the problem: You want want to play, but we cant reccommend a team without knowing which sport you can accel in. Pittsburgh Penguins, Pirates or Steelers? So lets take these next 13 months and find out what sport you want to play and THEN perhaps we can reccommend a team.

First thing that will give us an idea is how you deal with the godlike trainer. Some drivers worship their trainer and deify him/her. 10 years down the line, they still refer to what they were taught instead of what they learned on their own. Some absolutely hate everything about the whole Swift religion and quit before they get assigned their own truck. Some grit their teeth and develop a high tolerance for pain. Some recognize that the trainer is human and prone to making mistakes, focus on the good and not the bad, and can actually work as a team with the trainer.

Second, you have to survive D-DAY. Bottom feeders companies go through drivers as fast as the Allies did soldiers at Normandy Beach. Are you Private Ryan or Captain America? Like Blind Driver said, can you stick with your plan and make 13 months? Everyone has bad things to say about bottom feeders, but it does say alot about a driver's character when he can stick to the plan and accomplish what he set out to do.

Third, while you are trucking, at shippers, receivers, truck stops, on the bigroad look around. Any teams or any sports peak your interest? Tankers? A certain reefer company? Bed buggers with the gigantic sleepers on their trucks? Skateboarders? Oilfield winch trucks? Car haulers? Cattle barons ruling the highways after the sun has set? Find the clique you want to hang out with.

Anyways, be sure to bump this thread up in 6 months and 11 months. Luck in battle, friend.

 

I want you to become very picky. Nonchalant people never excel at anything.

 

Like Blindriver said, I would take it one day at a time. Plus once Swift is done with you, you may not be able to drive for anyone else!

If you have any options at all at this point I would find a good smaller company to drive for and stay there. If you don't mind me asking, where are all these new drivers getting the idea that they have to drive for a mega-carrier for a year? Is this something new that they put in the DOT handbook that I'm not aware of? Its the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of!

Like I said, if you want to make money and have a successful driving career stay away from the mega-carriers. There is absolutely no need to drive for them to gain experience. If anything most good carriers probably prefer that you haven't driven for one of the mega-carriers. Having Swift on your resume isn't necessarily a good thing. It pretty much means you were bum rushed through their schooling and then thrown in the truck with one of their "trainers", who just go their license themselves a month ago, utilized for super cheap labor rate at $300 a week, and then given your own truck to repeat the process!

Do yourself a huge one... sit down, take the extra time to do some thorough research and find yourself a really good smaller carrier to drive for. Its not going to be easy peasy. It will take a little time and also involve you following up with phone calls, but it will all be worth it. You will be much happier working for a legit carrier and you will be making a lot more money.

Good luck, hope its not too late....

 

^ this guy. But then Swift might be a good fit for him. I am with a mega carrier I guess, but after the first 2 legs of training (400 a week for 4 weeks local, home every night, 500 a week regional, home 3 nights a week) I started making good money as you are required to go coast to coast for 5 weeks. Actually you aren't allowed to solo until your first year is up. I happen to like it, as it happens I finished all training today, got a nice raise but was clearing nearly a grand a week as a trainee. Actually me and the trainer have decided to stay on together so it worked out.