Wanting to become a otr driver

Well I've decided to choose a different career path, I'm currently in the ibew as a material handler. While I love that job I hate how there's no warning when I'm going to be laid off and how long it will be. I want something more stable money wise.

I just want to know all the cons, from guys who do this, before I sign up with Swift (yes Swift) and find out it's not for me. I'm 21, single, no kids and want to see the country through the windshield. I've been doing a lot of research on this forum and on youtube but there's a lot to take in. The main thing that concerns me is the training, it's 11 hours per day, are these 11 hours extremely boring or do the trainers keep you busy? I've got no issue working long hours but if it's sitting in a classroom I'm not sure I could do that for three weeks. I'm also concerned with the "mentor" stage, while I'm a pretty chill person I can't deal with someone cussing me out for 11 hours over minor things.

Other than those two questions I'm pretty excited, I have zero concerns over the pre-trip because I'm mechanically inclined and should be able to learn that pretty quick. While I don't consider myself a perfect driver I'm pretty confident in myself and I learn from my mistakes. I also love driving and know driving 11 hours per day won't be an issue for me. I know it's not a cakewalk but what job is? Thanks!

 

They have a training center about three hours away from my house so I can drive rather taking a bus is the biggest reason. I looked into a local training company but they seemed fishy when I was talking with them. You get paid $500 per week minimum wage after 40 hours while you're with the mentor which is more than enough for my bills. 38 cents per mile when you're solo, from my own research they seem like a good fit for me. I'm not %100 settled on Swift and willing to go to a different company if they're better. I've just heard their training is good for green drivers.

 

So with keller they "pay" for the training? One of the reasons I didn't like trainco is you need to have your cdl permit before they even accept you, from what I hear getting the permit requires training. Thanks for posting those companies I'll shoot them a call tomorrow.