Hello, I have been reading over the Swift Forums here (just recently discovered this site) and have a few questions.
1) Do you go on the payroll after the orientation physical OR not until you are assigned a mentor? I ask this because I have read a few posts that some students experienced a long wait time until they got a mentor (weeks). So it could be weeks before receiving any pay. Or is that not the norm?
2) It appears that most (or all?) of the Swift Fleet do NOT have APU's - and I have read some about drivers getting fines for extended idle times? What do you do if it is hot or really cold as we do travel into some areas of extreme weather? Just suffer - lol?
3) I was told (by Swift recruiter) that the training is 240hrs. This is my driving time, correct? So it could take longer than 4 weeks if you don't get enough seat time, due to short haul loads and dead time waiting to be dispatched?
4) Does training with mentor also require all zones of the US, certain number of bumping docks, certain number of mountain passes, required number of miles, etc etc
Just wondering before I travel to orientation, like many I suppose just starting out, money is extremely tight and I need to plan expenses if it could be a week or more before I get assigned a mentor.
Thanks in advance for your assistance, I appreciate it!![]()
New Swift Driver Questions
Discussion in 'Swift' started by Ryyus, Mar 20, 2011.
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This post answers questions 1 and 3:
http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr.../139292-want-know-what-new-trucker-makes.html
2 is a variable. If your idle is out of whack with your fleet, someone may look into it and make recommendations but there are no fines. Stay comfortable but don't dump buckets of company money out the window.
4 is going to depend on what fleet your mentor runs . . if it's dedicated or regional, you'll get experience accordingly. I wanted OTR from day 1. My first trainer was NW dedicated and ran heavy haul in a very narrow I-5 corridor. He was good and we had a good relationship but, after about 3 weeks, trip planning was non existent. I asked for and got a second trainer who ran heavy haul throughout WA, OR, ID, MT, UT and Canada or inter-mountain. Between the two, I got off to a strong start and have run strong since.
Your location is a little vague so I can't recommend fleets to pursue or avoid.Ryyus Thanks this. -
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Last edited: Mar 20, 2011
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You can be coded and on payroll and not receive a check. You don't get paid for not working, whether waiting for a mentor or not. You aren't producing anything (miles) when you're not assigned to a truck. The difference between training time and getting your own truck is while you are on your mentor's truck, you get a specified amount of money each week regardless of productivity. When you get your own truck, your pay is directly affected by your productivity.
You will get your driver code and if there is a mentor ready for you, you will get paid (prorated) at the next pay period. If you are coded but not assigned to a mentor's truck and there is a wait time, you don't get paid to wait. I don't know of any company that pays you to wait for a trainer after orientation. -
Rotten Thanks this.
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