Follow me with Swift...

NP. If only more rookies had your mindset from the get go. If you are really into trucking as much as you have lead all of us to believe on this thread, then again......DON'T let it get you down. Everyday can be the biggest set back in your career if you allow it to be. I was 21 when I allowed it. I'm now 29 and have no interest in making money any other way now.

Just think. 2-3 more weeks of crap and then your out there, crap free persay! Do what I never did mentally. Try to picture 2 yrs from now. you gunna be arguing with the wife/gf over your 5k student loan from swift that is stopping yall from buying a new car/house, or are you going to be driving that new car home from the terminal on your weekend off?

Now if you can't deal w/ piss bottles and smoking, by all means, wait for a trainer that you will enjoy. You won't learn nearly as much being depressed and pissed off the rest of your training

Hang in their.........we's gunna make yous a super trucker one day

 

I am interested in beginning a career in trucking and have spent the past two months researching companies. I do not have a CDL and I am looking at companies that offer or sponsor the training. Swift was one of the companies I looked at since I see their trucks on the road all the time in Georgia. I have heard good and bad about Swift but that's with most of the companies on here as well. I really considered Swift for my training but was a little worried about the tuition repayment rate per week. I think it was $55/week for 18 months and then $75/week for 34 more weeks; and then I heard it was $150/month for 13 months. I know it doesn't sound like a lot of money but if they are only paying you $450-$500/week for the six weeks you are with a trainer and then $0.26/mile when you go solo, that's a nice piece of your check gone not to mention taxes and benefits. Does anyone have any idea of how much you will actually bring home each week? Is it worth it?

 

Not to be too harsh on ya, but don't expect to make too much more then what you said as a rookie! If you have the avail. to go through school and stay with them for a year or year and a half to pay back the school and to get your experience you'll be better off. You might make little to fair money starting out, but once you have a solid year or 2 under your belt you can then choose the best carrier you want for yourself at prolly at least .38 + cpm.
If your going into trucking NEEDING to make say $600 a week every week, then don't get into trucking! Thats my .02 on it

 

As gross as that is, I'd rather know that they were in the truck than all over the ground at parking lots and terminals. If you want to live nasty in your truck, at least keep it in the truck and don't make the area you're in just as nasty.

 

so lovestoshift,

I see your posts went from entertaining and full of enthusiasm to not so much of either....=(

whats going on brother,
Im trying too get all caughtup on whats going down!

So they switched your mentor and he is a discusting pig....not surprising..
I do the old bottle trick but it doesn't stay in the truck very long..
and fyi....make sure you look who's behind or beside you if you decide too toss it out the window at 60 mph...
when it lands on a car and bursts they are pretty upset....=)
just personal experience..lol..of what NOT too do

So your mentor hit something in the truckwash....??

He probley blamed you for it as your a newbie..
even if HE was driving at that point.
YES they do that...don't be surprised

hence WHY all the hush,hush and being treated that way....

untill they do their fact finding about what occured..

its only my guess...

So now your having second thoughts about trucking??

Like I told you always remember "all that glitters ISN'T gold"

meaning that it was all fantastic in the begining and now you faced the real side of what goes down in the trucking world..sometimes the hard reality is hard to take at first

from my perspective I understand where your at...BUT I feel its NOT enough too pack it all up and not return...or just quit.

its not all roses and sunshine ALL the time, its like life...everything is a learning experience, So I encourage you too stick with it, take all of this as a learning experience, take the good and the bad, put it behind you and move forward.

I have NEVER agreed with putting a newbie in a truck and sending him national for training, as being a newbie and if you have a bad experience or something happens and your rattled and still in the truck, its not good for the newbie or the company...I am a big proponant of putting newbies on day or two trips and returning too your homebase,so you can get out of the truck and have a break too refocus and reenergize and let the new learned experience sink in a bit. make the training program more progressive.

but this will never happen as the demand too get bodies in seats is very high so its a rush...

So take some hometime and refocus...I wouldn't quit...pull something out of your experience too learn from and tommorow is another day and move forward. complete your training, keep an open mind and learn all you can

ttyl

 

Sorry...
but I ALWAYS get a chuckle when it comes too this subject.
My bro went into trucking thinking he was going to get out and make the kind of money I was with 15+ years experience under my belt...
he found out fast that it wasn't that way...

its like this,
even doctors who comeout of school after 7 years start at the bottom of the pay grade and as they put their years in and get experience as a hands on doc or go specialized into a certain feild their pay goes up....

trucking is NO different...
you need the seat time and the otr experience too move up the pay scale
yes it kinda sucks in the begining..I was their once too and every other driver out their.

now today...
I don't run for miles..(personal choice)
I work by the hour and I don't get into a truck for less then 22/hour and it depends what I am doing that can go up.
as I have enough experience and a solid performance record too back it up...
and how did I do it.
I started at the bottom and worked my way up and I still learn everyday.
but I have enough experience now to be able too kinda write my own ticket for my pay grade.
as I am now in the prime catigory in the trucking world,
I have enough experience too where I can make decent chedder


YES you CAN make good money trucking
and NO not right off the hop....

you have too look at the big picture with trucking
it sucks in the begining but if you choose too make it a longterm career,
more experience= more money
more experience= more gravy runs and picking and choosing what you want too do. to suit your personal lifestyle.

ttyl

 

I agree 100%. Back in 01 when I went through a company training program to get my A class I had the whole "I'll live in a truck and not have bills" theory. Well, I learned in about a week, that living on the road wasn't cheap. Over the years I've learned tricks and trades to cut costs of being on the road, thanks to forums like this and others that I talked to as a rookie
I had the bad trainer experience myself and I let it get to me and had to pay for it in the long run!! Now that I've been back out there and have the experience its much more enjoyable, but I truely did some self realization years back!! It all worked out for the better, but it doesn't matter how many people on here try to help the new guys out and they think everyone is just blowing smoke up their arse.

 

Hang in there for that last 100 hrs. Your sence of pride and acomplishment will be unmatched by very few other things you'll do. Remember when you get your own truck you can arange it any way you want. It will be YOUR pictures on the dash. YOUR snacks on board. YOUR books, tapes etc. YOUR music coming out of the speakers. Only YOUR clothes in the closet. No more of others people's crap to put up with, cigarette butts, piss bottles and dirty whatever taking up space.