Profile For Bryan L.

Rico, you are right. You have to pay back the total tuition if you choose to not work for them which amounts to around $5,500. They offer a great deal to work that first year for them...you will only have to pay back a small percentage and if you stay a second year they will give you the money back that you paid in...so your tuition will actually be free.

I know the short cut route is not the best to take when going into a career but I was juggling with all the horror stories about being OTR and thought that maybe a local position would do me justice.

I cleared it up in my own mind and I am going to go ahead and put in the work to do my year OTR.

Thank You Chris for your reply. From various sources... I am hearing the same thing...it is best to go ahead and do that one year over the road. I guess I was just looking for an easy way out of having to do it.

Greetings Bill W,

Thanks for your reply.

Swift makes it perfectly clear that what we owe is for the Academy and the hotel. Going through the academy does not guarantee employment. I have orientation set up for this Monday the 14th. At orientation we find out if we are considered employee and then we are issued a number.

If we choose to work with Swift they take a percentage out of our weekly checks. I was also told that if one is not hired or does not work for the company the money still has to be paid back. If I choose the local job...I will just pay what I owe out of pocket.

I just recently graduated from the Swift Academy in Phoenix AZ. Equipped with my new license and a desire to get into trucking I am faced with a dilemma. Do I go OTR or work a local job that my cousin is able to help me get paying $20 hour, plus overtime.

My goal is to move me and my family out of Colorado and into GA by 2015. I know experience is going to be necessary to get other driving jobs when moving from here to GA. So will my working a local, class A job qualify me as having experience or are companies looking for drivers that have been over the road when they say 1 year driving experience?

FYI: I am a family man in his early 40's with children at home. I know that being OTR can place stress on the family unit but I need the experience. So will working a local job be just as good as OTR?