Southwest Truck Driver Training

i was lucky enough to have a VERY small class, Me and Jerry, that was it, we had 2 mexican guys that dropped out early. Southwest pushes WERNER and U.S. XPRESS a lot, i didn't want to go with either of those, most of the companies i applied to were ones we leanred about talking to instructors and other people at the school.

A WORD OF WARNING! i filled out an application for May trucking through the school with Travis on July 19th, the day after i graduated, he told me he would send the app to May in a day or two, he never sent it out. i called back a month later and they still had my app, i made sure they sent it that day. so be agressive if you need to be. don't let them make false promises. make sure you get what they promised even if it means having to go back to the school and whine till it's done.

All in all, i loved the instructors and trainers at SWTDT, but the administration and other staff can shove it, they didn't do thier job as far as i'm concerned, but i did get a thorough education due to the amazing teachers there. i guess the best advice i can give is: YES go to SWTDT, but stay on the ball with your paper work, ASK QUESTIONS, and make sure they are doing what they tell you they're doing (I.E. Sending out paperwork, copying the right documents, anything like that)

also i mentioned we had BOB as our tester, we ended up getting Darlene, which was just as great, she's a hoot lol love that gal. she knows what she's doing so any advice she gives you, or anyone else gives you for that matter, TAKE IT! they've all been around the block more than a few times , the instructors and testers that is.

Hope this helps you out! if you have ANY more questions feel free to ask, i'll give you the honest truth. 8)

 

it all depends on the situation, some local companies hire right out of school if you're lucky enough to find them, but yet almost EVERY company wants at least 1 year OTR exerience before they'll even look at you. i found that the best way to learn about companies to work for right out of school is to ask around AT school, maybe swing into a few of the truck stops and ask some drivers you see there. there are quite a few by the school. my favorite is Danny's Truck Wash over on 67th and I-10, the truck wash part of it, south of the actual truck stop, has a great lounge, showers, a chrome shop for all your shiny needs, a CB shop i never seem to get there when the cb shop is open though... and they have pictures of pretty sweet trucks in the main hallway, one or two of which were made by the Chrome Shop Mafia in the show Trick My Truck. well i'm wandering off topic here. sorry lol. WORD OF MOUTH seems to be a good way to find companies right out of school, just ask around and gather info. then there is always this here website thingy, great way to gather info about the company you're wondering about

 

Hi George, thanks for the info...I'm wanting to go OTR at least for a year or two, I want to see the country as much as one can cruising down the road at a hot 62mph! Lol...but wanted to know about the options. I'm in the researching stage and just want the skinny so I'll know as much as I can before the first class.

 

thanks for the advice, I'll keep them on their toes.