Ive been approved with swift to attend the training academy in Fontana ca. To my understanding I will have to stay 3 weeks(to get my cdl), get sent home for a bit and then the second orientation will be so I can get sent out with a trainer for 6 weeks. I live 50 miles away from the terminal but I plan on staying on the hotel( so add $500 to the $3,900 of the training). I will have to pay them $4,400. I will finish paying them after 13 months of driving for them, I believe that's the contract for 13 months. But my concerns are the road test I have to take after I come back from the 6 weeks of training with my mentor. If I don't pass it, will I not be hired as a solo driver and STILL have to pay them the $4,400 out of my pocket? I will have my cdl, but will they put it on my report(that I didn't pass my final test) and every other company will be able to see it and make it a disqualification when I apply with them? If that's the case, I rather do what my uncle advised me to do. Which is pay school(dootson school of trucking) out of my own pocket, I have the money for it but I just thought something I didn't have to pay upfront for was better. I am 22 years old,turning 23 until April. If I do pay for school out of my pocket, I will work at my recent job until tax season come. Do my taxes and start school around the same time so I can have my cdl as soon as a turn 23(some companies require you to be this age). And then apply with swift again, but no contract will have to be signed. So I can leave their company if I don't like it. What would you guys do if you were on my position? Attend swift academy and be linked to them for the next 13 months(which I would like just because it would give me expirience & time under my belt). Or pay school out of your pocket & apply with them later on but with no contract involved? My uncle is a trucker and he said he sometimes sees swifts drivers at gas stations, smelling bad. Why ? Because swift works the crap out of them their first year. That a few say that they're gone for a whole month and then home for a few days only, also that some get paid just enough to survive on the road. Just enough money for food and other stuff you spend money for on the road.how is it possible to get paid that little???He tried to encourage me to get my permit only and go with him on the road to get an understanding of how everything works and he will let me barrow the truck in the lonely freeways towards Arizona from Cali. He said once I "kinda" get it, to pay school and get my cdl which the process should be a bit quicker he said since I would've had learned a few stuff with him. I have two clear choices I just can't decide what to do now just a day away from my orientation day at swift. If swift really does pay that poor for your first year that you can barely afford things for yourself and not to send money back home, I don't think id like it. I have a mom and 6 dogs here at home that counts on me. Any people that went through swift training academy and signed the contract, please advice me. Would you have done it if you had the money for school?
Last day to pick
Discussion in 'Swift' started by chorizo992, Aug 16, 2014.
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Unless it is paid up front you will owe someone for your training.
Stop worrying about that, and simply learn to drive the truck.
The test is simple. 4 right turns, with a tight one in the mix. Just take your time and you'll be OK.
Concentrate more on backing skills.
The contract is simply to pay back what you owe for the training. You can always move to a different company while paying back the debt. You are not obligated to stay with Swift for any amount of time, but you are obligated to pay the debt.
The thing is, if you stay with Swift for a year it will be paid off. If you stay another year they pay you back in kind, thus rendering the training free.dptrucker Thanks this. -
I had the money for school. I chose Swift's Academy because technically I already shelled out for a trucking school back in 2008 and received my license then; however, I ended up letting my license go. I didn't want to spend money on another trucking school upfront when I had already wasted money for a license that didn't get used back in 2008.
Swift's Academy is 0% interest and the loan is only 12 months as some other posters have corrected me. Also, there is no stipulation in the contract that you have to work for Swift after attending the Academy. Once you get your CDL, you can go work for someone else if you want. You'll still owe the money and just won't be eligible for the tuition reimbursement that you receive for working for Swift (the academy is basically free if you drive for swift 2 years).Last edited: Aug 16, 2014
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you can take a shower every day if you choose. some obviously chooses not too. thats not just swift drivers either. your test out will be easy. just be confident in what you do. money will be tight at first for sure, but try to buy food at walmart and not at truckstops or resteraunts.
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But what about the average pay for a starter in the first year? I know I would probably waste 150$ a week on food so I can subtract that from my paycheck and also $75 (weekly payment for training & $25 for the hotel stay during training.) $250-$300 off my paychecks every week mandatory. Will I have at least another 250$ left every week to send back home for bills and other stuff?
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I'm only 3 paychecks in since getting off my mentor's truck and upgrading to solo. My first 2 checks were pretty dismal thanks to being broke down half of my first 2 weeks. My latest check is actually fairly decent. I've also been averaging about $12 a day on food ($100/week).
I feel $250-300 should be pretty easily doable if not even more. There's plenty of variables that can go into it, still. -
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I think the Swift driving academy is a good way to go. I got my CDL in 2009 at their Millington TN school. Drove a year for Swift, two and a half for Averitt and now I'm on a local dedicated run for Mercedes Benz. The year with Swift was over quickly and then I went on to a better situation with way better pay and creature comforts. Some of my buddies I went to school with are still with Swift. You'll do fine on testing out.It was way easy.
chorizo992 Thanks this. -
Your truck can be brand new or 10 miles away from being taken out and shot, it's a CRAP shoot. The Academy worked for Steve but it's supplemental income, we couldn't live off of it. He needed a job and had no money for school, it worked. You get what you put into it. Work hard, and drive you'll make money. You are in charge of showering and washing so that's on you. Save as much as you can because you don't know when you will run or when you'll be in the shop. Does it happen a lot, no? but it does happen.
chorizo992 Thanks this. -
I believe you're over thinking the situation just a bit. As said above you're only signing to repay the loan and hotel...not to make you an indentured slave to Swift.
I went to Swifts San Antonio academy 3 years ago. Paid the loan while driving the first 13 months and was reimbursed the whole amount the second 13 months. Total cost of my CDL was $0. Would do it again given the same choices.
Dont sweat the road test either. By the time you finish with your mentor you should be able to control the truck in any situation. You will have by then driven freeways, cities, mountains, back roads etc. my test at Lancaster TX was out the gate, take a few turns left and right and back in the gate to park.
Driving the truck will become second nature. If you want to make money and get good miles every week two skills you'll need to master quickly are trip planning and time management, especially with e-logs. You'll need to demonstrate you can safely and consistently pick up and deliver your loads on time. You'll have a steep learning curve those first few months learning the ins and outs of life on the road and Swifts rules and culture. The monetary rewards and other perks come when you do.
As as far as showers, you get credits for free showers from your fuel stops...use them. You'll find because of schedules and whatnot you may not shower every day though. I shower every other day max!! I build that time into my schedule. Any Swift driver that's walking around stinking is doing it by choice. I refuse to live like a pig.
Good luck on your road ahead!!bigmikectn and chorizo992 Thank this.
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