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I'm not trying to be a jerk. But I seriously get the impression that you have been more of a problem than your past 2 trainers. You sound so anti-social that it would be difficult to coach you.

By the way, chatting while either one of you drive really passes the time. You need to learn how to listen, take advice, and multitask when you're driving and not give these sudden "quit talking to me" temper tantrums.

I like you, but I would jump over fences and swim across lakes before I would train a student of your type.

No, I'm definitely anti-socia. I have a social life regardless of the trucking lifestyle. I could see where you would make that assumption. No, I am not the problem and my driver leader, HR, and I would not agree with you on that point. Again, I am not a liberty to explain the situations.

If you are getting close to the end of your training, try to just roll with the punches with this last mentor for pretty much everything but safety issues. Switching mentors only prolongs training, which is already a difficult part of trucking. The sooner you get through training, the sooner you can get in your own truck and have all the silence you can handle.

The reasons for removing myself from both trucks were actually pretty serious to the point that the issues we're escalated to HR at the behest of my Driver Leader. They involved safety. I do understand how sucking it up and getting through the training is necessary. However, these were situations where "sucking it up" would get me fired and/or possibly worse.

I do enjoy conversing, but I have no qualms with solitude. From what I understand from a psychological standpoint is that some people use excessive talking to monopolize another person's time and space. It's the equivalent of a dog peeing on everything or someone trying to take up as much space as possible. When I say excessive, I mean for my every waking hour. I do not mean someone talking for a straight hour. I can't even enjoy silence in a bathroom stall because I am a man and mentors we're both males who also had to take bathroom breaks...trying to conversations with me while I am in my stall. It's ridiculous

I think the obvious suggestion would be to speak frankly with the next mentor before you even get in the truck. Let them know exactly what happened with the first two mentors and ask them if you sound like someone they would like to train. I wouldn't even get in the truck unless you both understand each other's expectations.

How much longer do you have left in training?

I have 100 hours left. I know that I am ready to drive team. I'll be sure to discuss my concerns with the next mentor before getting on the truck. I do have a list of my expectations that are within reason such as "do not ask me to compromise my safety", "do not wake me up during my sleeper berth time", and "don't make false corrections to my logs". I'll just add "do not distract me with excessive talking while I am driving".

I hope third time is a charm because I have gone through two mentors now and for very legitimate reasons had to remove myself from their trucks. One issue that keeps popping up is that both mentors wanted me to exceed the specified speed limit of 62MPH that is in black and white writing within the company's Handbook. I can't get into detail about other reasons because I am pretty sure it is against company policy to divulge. I am frustrated because I am an easy person to get along with and I have had absolutely no issue with roommates in college, professors, coworkers, labmates, classmates, bosses, spouse, etc. However, I, for one reason or another, am getting assigned to really disagreeable and controlling people. This in no way reflects on the company with which I am working. The company has handled the issues with care and I have not felt disrespected in any way outside of these two mentors.

On a positive note, my actual driving experience has been wonderful. I really enjoy driving across the countryside and through the mountains. I have gotten excellent marks in my ability to carry out duties as a truck driver. I just hope *crossing my fingers* that the next mentor can keep their personal lives to themselves. The last thing I need to deal with is someone sitting in the passenger side running their mouths for my entire shift. It's not like I can just get up and leave the room. When I ask them(as in both mentors on separate occasions) to be quiet politely, they lash out and mope. I do understand that trucking can be lonely, but these two mentors get a fresh student after they are done with the last one. There really is no excuse for the lack of self-control on their part. It seems to me that these particular mentors have lost sight of their place in the company and their role as a mentor. I would much prefer no to be distracted by someone chewing away at my ear, especially while I am driving. Furthermore, boundaries are incredibly important considering the close proximity to coworkers for extended periods of time. I am pretty sure that I am not the only person who has felt that the excessive talking by some mentors is incredibly distracting.

If anyone has some good suggestions how to reinforce boundaries with mentors, I would greatly appreciate your suggestions.

Unfortunately you know this entire conversation is going to be deleted, right? I mean, you've been here long enough to know you don't just go on and on and on lambasting a company.

I am appreciative that this post did not get deleted because I learned that: 1) trailers can be incredibly broken down to the point of having severly rusted doors, and it is my responsibility to reject the trailer for not passing a pre-trip inspection 2) I need to be sweet as pie with office staff or they will dry up my miles

So, thank you OP, moderators, and members for educating me.

Lots of walmart are starting to carry grass-fed beef. It's still hard to find pastured chicken or pork but the beef is easier. As far as the organic goes walmart also have an organic produce section it's pretty small and limited as to what is there but it's getting better. I follow a strict low carb diet out here so I keep my eyes open for that stuff. After your trained and your comfortable with the truck you'll find little farmers markets and stuff on the us highways to shop at for some stuff.

Thank you for letting me know about the organic section in Walmart's and the farmer's markets. I think that is awesome they are starting to carry grass-fed beef! How has the low carb diet been going for you? Are you doing the strictly paleo?

I believe Swift is self-financed. I signed their tuition contract, which did not involve any Student Loan type paperwork.

Thank you! Big help and a weight lifted off my shoulders.

I will be attending TDA1 in Fontana under the Swift Sponsored Student CDL A program. I am concerned about how a "student loan" is established. The Student Loan Department is closed right now. Maybe someone on here can answer that question. Is Swift taking out a Federal Student Loan on my behalf and calling it "company sponsored"? Is this a FAFSA type of student loan? Is this purely a private loan financed by Swift and they referred to the loan as a "student loan"? This is actually really important to me and I need to know how they finance the loan. If anyone has any information regarding my questions, I greatly appreciate your assistance.

I was wondering the same thing as the person who started this thread... I'm almost old enough to drive OTR and I don't want to be out of work by the time I'm 35.

Realistically, no profession is going to have a guarantee that it will be there when you are 35. Look at programming, engineering, biology, medicine, law, etc. Trucking will be no different. However, now is the time in which you can make good money in trucking without spending 4 years at a university. Kid you not, lab technicians with biology/chemistry bachelor degrees are making $15-$18/hr. Civil Engineers fresh out of college are earning around $25/hr starting. They lose around $40,000 towards college costs and miss out on earning a yearly income. Professions and jobs are like stock, and you just have to know when to invest and when to sell. It would be unwise to expect any profession to be there forever. Case in point, dentists fear the day the R&D field produces a vaccine for carries(cavities) or successfully can market regrowing teeth. Whatever you decide, I wish you the best. It is overwhelming picking through all of those fields out there and looking for the best odds.

I have been working on a food list and trying out different food prep techniques from boiling water in a microwave and dropping a cracked egg in to soaking oatmeal overnight. I know I sound like a hippie, but I really try to eat organic and primarily vegetables and grains with a free-range egg once a day. If and when I eat meat, it has to be grassfed/free-range/wild. I hear about a lot of Walmarts out there. They mostly do not carry non-pesticide non-gmo food, which is going to make figuring out my cuisines a little difficult. I read a large number of medical/science journals, which include nutritional health. I am very concerned about the high amount of pesticide residues found in/on produce. I am also concerned with the whacked-out ratios of omegas in food. If I eat junk, my body aches in the joints, and I don't feel sharp in the mind. I try to avoid that feeling as much as possible. I especially don't want to feel awful away from home and under the stress of operating a dangerously heavy vehicle. I want to cover all of my bases BEFORE I complete my CDL A physical exam since I won't have that opportunity to organize and prepare prior to roading with a mentor.

This is what I have so far in regards to my food list: Organic Raw Walnuts (I eat 1-2ounces a day) Organic Thick Cut Oats (3/4cp every morning) soaked in water overnight Pure Blueberry from Lakewood Organic Juice (not from concentrate) -Blueberries and cherries are extremely important in my life because they really help reduce my stress levels and keep me alert throughout the day better than a cup of coffee. This will be good to have on hand if I can't find organic berries at truckstops. I will take a couple of the bottles with me within reason of how much I can fit in my dufflebag along with my other items. Freerange non-refrigerated eggs -I will keep the eggs in a hard-shelled protective small case. I do not want them breaking on me and it is important that they do not undergo refrigeration at any point because they will no longer stay fresh unrefrigerated. Refrigeration changes the enzyme ratios that keep the eggs from going bad when unrefrigerated. If I eat 1-2 eggs, a carton will hold me over for about a week. SunWarrior Illumin8 Aztec Plant-based Protein Meal Powder -This is the only darn Powder I could find that did not contain hemp seeds. I have to be very careful about hemp seeds if I am going to be ingesting this everyday. The last thing I need is to throw a false-positive on a drug test because my hippie protein powder has hemp seeds in it! Organic 100% grassfed Whey -in the event my body wants a rest from the SunWarrior Plant-based powder, I can down this instead. Canned organic peas/beans with BPA-free lining -The cans are about $1.25 a piece and I can just eat straight out of the can. I know it doesnt sound appetizing, but I am more concerned with nutrition and blood sugar levels (not diabetic, but I do get reactive hypoglycemia where my blood sugar spikes and then crashes after eating high carbs). I figure I can have about 10-12 cans in my bag and then restock at some point. By the way, you know what is awesome about peas? They are one of the more nutritionally complete foods. I will bring some methyl-b12 with me just in case. As for meat, well *sigh*...a steak and some chicken would be nice, but I am guessing it would be wishful thinking any sort of high standard meat would be near truckstop locations. Canned wild caught salmon, tuna, sardines -I can't eat these everyday because of the mercury content, but I can at least have them 3 times a week. Organic Stone Ground Whole Wheat And Sprouted Wheat breads -I'll buy a loaf a week Organic peanutbutter -i hope my mentor is not allergic to peanuts. If so, I bring a sunflower/pumpkinseed butter just in case. Organic Fairtrade chocolate chips -these are great because I can throw walnuts and chocolate chips onto a rolled up piece of bread if I crave something sweet. Powdered Goatmilk - I tried it last night. It was not that bad. It did have that malt smell though, because it did come from a powdered form. I can drink this on the go, and it contains 8grams of protein per serving. Ya' know, crack open a can of peas and drink some reconstituted powdered goatmilk with a slice of bread. :/ I kid, I kid, I am sure it wont be that bad :/ yes it will LOL Such is life

Overall, my food cost should be around $180 for a month and I am going to live as an accidental ovalactopescatarian for the length of my mentor training.

I don't plan on carrying many personal items on me. My dufflebag will mostly contain my food and hygiene products. I will have 7 thin undershirts tightly rolled, which I will change daily under my three button up shirts. This will keep my button up shirts from absorbing sweat and I won't have to worry too much about washing them on the regular. The same goes for pants an. I will bring three pairs of pants and change my underwear everyday. I'll also pack some thin gym shorts so I can wash all three of my pants on laundry day :) Maybe, I'll just pack my rolled up clothes into my rolled up sleeping bag with my pillow and a top sheet.

I'll take a pic of my dufflebag spread when I gather all of my items. My wife is going to drive my pre-packed dufflebag up to me on the 20th day of my trucking school, so that I'll have my stuff in hand with a hug and a kiss goodbye if I pass on my 21st day and get teamed up directly afterwards for the 5-6 weeks of Swift training mentorship.