Just applied to swift what to expect?

Academy graduate here.

Went to Swift Academy in Richmond. Excellent training, and technically a separate company from Swift Transportation. About half of my class went straight to other companies. Yes, they owed the Academy some money, but most companies that hire new drivers have some sort of tuition reimbursement. I was talking with three companies other than Swift, and all three would have repaid my tuition over varying lengths of time.

The company I really wanted to go with required six months' experience. So, I planned to run with Swift for six months, then jump over to the other company.

Bottom line... That was nearly three years ago, and I'm still driving for Swift. They are not a bad company to work for. Most of the negative stuff is simply BS that people repeat because it helps them believe that the company they do work for isn't that bad.

 

Either that or they simply could not cut it with Swift.

Which to me is baffling.
Swift must be the easiest trucking company to work for.
Well, if you make sure to be on time and safe that is.

Then again, I have never had a bad DM.

 

Good Luck

I also give Swift a passing grade. They aren't as bad as you hear.

 

Is the training done in an auto or manual rig?

 

That depends on what your mentor has.
If it is a company driver with a 2016 or newer truck it will probably be auto.

 

All of the Academy training is in trucks with manual transmissions ; if you train and road test with an automatic there would be a restriction on your license .

 

Has that been implemented yet? I just had a student who took their DMV test in an auto, and they don't have the restriction.

 

I was at the Richmond terminal a month ago and was talking to one of the Academy instructors who mentioned that .

I would love to have a hybrid transmission that could be switched to auto in heavy traffic but it hasn't been invented yet .

 

Technically, you can do that with the auto shift transmissions. However, don't try to pull a hill in manual mode...

Personally, I'm happy to let the computer take care of the shifting. What a lot of people don't realize is that they are technically "automated manual transmissions"; a regular 10/12 speed transmission that the computer float shifts.

They do require a different technique to drive, which generally takes a week or two to pick up. Most drivers love them once they get used to them.