swift orientation

Good luck to you.

 

where are you at?

 

Yeah, where are you? Swift does orientations at several terminals each week.

 

I went to orientation in Gary IN. They put me up in a nice hotel (The Trump Hotel.) They also fed us everyday and were friendly and professional. Swift is a decent outfit from what I have seen. I regret not staying longer but I was young and dumb and couldn't hack the OTR lifestyle.

 

Day 1 you do some paperwork, orientation, drug tests, DOT physical. Day 2 is the road test, then they will beat you with boards and electrocute you in the face, while showing you a 1980's projector slide show of how to do your proper pretrip inspection. Swift believes that, by associating the trauma of severe 3rd degree burns on your face and the pain of blunt-force trauma,combined with the pretrip inspection list, you will remember it perfectly and be a safe driver.

 

You forgot that thing they do under the fingernails and the electrical thing they do to your thing speaking of things.

In at least some seriousness, orientation could be accomplished in a day but it takes three to get the results of your whiz quiz. While you are on your many breaks go to the smokers area, introduce yourself, and talk to the drivers instead of staying with your orientation group. You'll learn more than you will in orientation but remember to ignore 75% of what you hear since its pure bs. Also remember most successful drivers are rarely found in terminals and rarely sitting around when they are. (Certain shuttle drivers excepted of course.) The toughest part of being a truck driver is the transition from the same thing same place you do now to life OTR. The more info you have involving how to cope with that transition the more likely you'll find trucking an enjoyable career but most importantly a fulfilling lifestyle.

 

Thank you sir for excluding some of the shuttle drivers!

 

Don't be self conscious about being a noob when you get the opportunity to talk to other drivers. With over 18, 000 of us if you completely embarrass yourself its unlikely you'll ever meet up again.

I was a week into school, Swift Academy-San Antonio TX, and stepped up to talk to a company driver who was pulling out of the adjoining Central Freight terminal after spending the night. The Academy has moved to Corsicana and we are banned from that terminal but I have counted inkeeper as my friend since.