Profile For Pyle

Oh I didn't mean in a jump to a different place or anything like that, just in a "I got over that first hurdle" kind of way. And you're right I didn't get anything from my school for that reason, I'd assume swift and most other large companies like them have a pretty ridiculous turn over rate, which would make sense to keep what they can to keep people from using them for a license and going somewhere else.

On the one year part, I'm in with swift for (I believe, I might be wrong) 26 months, 13 or 14 of those being that "repayment" to them as it were. I'm going to give swift the time I agreed to and go from there, maybe I'll love swift and never leave, or maybe I'll decide I want to go somewhere else or get an opportunity I can't pass up. I'm here now and in agreement for my time.

I posted a few (maybe more) weeks ago about my frustrations at the time with trying to get into training, the annoyances with CRE and the better opportunity that opened up with swift. Swift sent me to a private school, but I wouldn't have changed that for anything now that I'm past it. I felt that it was a great option before I started, and I feel that even more so now that I've graduated. I didn't have an unpleasant experience with any of the instructors at anytime, they joked and picked at me when I struggled, especially when it was 90 and humid as could be. It was a long 4 weeks of standing on driving pads, getting sunburned, and getting frustrated with things I struggled with. I got most of my time between 3 instructors (not counting the first one that was during the class portion) and they all approached things a little differently, which helped a few things click way faster for me. I'm pretty happy with my experience at that school and I'm extremely relieved I passed and got through it. The support from them was unparalleled.

I'll be set to start orientation and qualification on Monday in Greer, SC. Hopefully everything goes smoothly. Not being paid for my training kind of sucked and it was hard to do, but I'm looking forward to the start of a paycheck, even if it's not going to be much for awhile.

I have a lot to get in order at home before I head to Greer, but I'm excited all over again. Plus, I have a new CDL in my wallet, so even if things don't work out with swift, I'll have some sort of option to use it which is a massive relief.

I guess the next chapter is Swift. Excited to get back on the road, definitely my favorite part of the whole experience so far.

Again, thanks to everyone who gave me information and the forum as a whole for having a ridiculous amount of information and resources. Hopefully in 5-6 weeks I'll be excited and nervous again in my own truck.

Thanks guys! I start school next Monday, so hopefully in about a month i'll be on the road. Another plus I didn't previously know is swift allows pets, so I could take my dog with me and that sounds like a really big plus for the mental aspect and would probably keep me out on the road for longer periods at a time.

So the last two weeks have been... Interesting, to say the least. Starts off with getting a call from C.r England, they set me up with some info and started the process of getting ready to head to Utah at the end of the month. I knew C.r England was what alot of people consider a nightmare company but I was ready to jump into whatever I needed to so I could get into the industry and get my career started. After starting the process with CRE my recuirter said he set up an appointment to get my DOT physical done the following Monday, so I called Monday morning when they opened and asked to verify my appointment time. They notified me that the payment authorization had been sent but there was no appointment setup and that I wasn't able to do it myself, that CRE had to set it up. Obviously I was a little frustrated but with the amount of people one guy at a company like that has to have under them I figured it was an understandable problem and there's no reason to be frustrated, that I had been given an opportunity and needed to stay positive. I managed to get in contact with my case manager, he apologized and told me again that he had set it up for the following day, I thanked him and kept going on with my day. I didn't call the clinic first, figuring the manager had fixed the problem, drove 40 minutes to the clinic and was greeted by the nice woman I had spoken to the previous day (who warned me that they get alot of frustrating students and drivers coming through there from CRE) and she checked the schedule, I wasn't on it. Again.

This time I was kind of angry with the situation, at this point I'm stressed about getting things in order to leave, studying for the CLP and trying to ignore the warnings and stories about CRE from drivers I know, previous students, etc. I immediately called my case manager when I got to my truck, he didn't answer (I called him several times over about a 45 minute period) but I finally got a call from him about 3 hours later after stewing in my probably unjustified frustration. I understand people in jobs like that have a frustrating situation and probably not all the information they need so by no means did I want to unload any frustation on this guy who had been polite to me, so I told him the situation, and he started arguing with me... He put me on hold after the back and forth of telling him what the clinic receptionist told me, and him denying it and telling me I knew my schedule better than he does and that I was responsible for my appointment. After getting off hold he sounded very annoyed and told me that he did in fact need to set it up. At this point I've gotten pretty worried about what I'm doing with this company, if I'm making a bad choice and potentially messing up my career before it even gets started... I know it seems to be common to talk bad about CRE and I really tried to just be excited about it. By no means do I want to sound like another frustrated student talking bad about a company before earning their salt, but if this is already what's going on before I've even started my drive to Utah, what's beyond it?

That same day I got in contact with swift, which I thought wasn't an option after not hearing from them (I applied for them the same time I applied for knight) but I got in contact with a very nice recruiter who found my application and went through the first interview process. She ran everything and told me I was good to go (I'm beyond happy with this news) I signed and filled out some tax forms and school packets.

Again, I know swift doesn't seem to be one of the companies that's looked upon like gold by hopefuls or people already in the middle of their career like prime is. But swift looks like a pile of gold to me at this point in my career, and I've heard alot of good things from drivers both previous and current. From all the information I've found on companies in this process, swift really isn't bad, and the pay, opportunities, and lack of what seems like trapping in some cases is really appealing (the ridiculous interest rate and cost of schooling from CRE, pay, saftey, training, restriction on your license right out of the gate).

I'm set to go to a local school with swift for about 4 weeks and then get into otr training, I'm so excited about swift. I'm really glad I'm going to get a good 4 weeks of quality training, and from a school only 40 minutes from my house. Trying to get info from swift on what I need to do to get into the flatbed division as well.

This has been a long winded update, but a few weeks ago I was really bummed about getting turned down by a few companies. Knight had filled their training when I signed the conditional letter (I can't remember who from knight was in that thread but I'm glad he had his input). So I ended up going down a route that I was thankful for but worried about. I didn't stop with that and ended up getting a much better offer. Things are really looking up and I'm very excited about starting my training and getting into my career, I've wanted to do this for a long time.

Not to say CRE is bad and that no one should spend their time there, I'm sure many people enjoy it there and make a great life for themselves. By no means do I want to put any drivers down.

I'll try to update my schooling and otr training as best I can, in case there's anything helpful hidden in the rambling.

Swift is the next chapter in my life and career and I'm going to make the most of it. I feel really lucky.

I gladly signed the form, glad to hear there's people who genuinely enjoy the company. Hoping to hear something from them soon.

Thanks for your info, everything is appreciated.

Stressful not knowing if companies are taking a serious look at me, but an exciting opportunity.

Thanks for all your input, Greg. I'll definitely do what I can as you suggested. There's two schools near me that offer cdl training so I figured maybe worst case I can try to pay my own way through school and come to companies with that in hand.

I heard back from a couple companies over night, CRST, C.r. england, and knight. I'm exploring all paths I can, knight asked me to sign a conditional letter of employment which as far as I can figure is just a way to keep me interested in them until they decide to toss me in a truck or toss me on the sidewalk? Either way I'm excited just to be looked at.

Thanks for your encouragement and information, hoping things work out with knight, it would be amazing to be in a flatbed division learning the trade in a a month or two.

Hello everyone, I've browsed the forum for about a year tossing the idea of trucking back and forth. I wanted to get into trucking when I turned 18 (I'm 21 now) but was told I had to be atleast 21 and wouldn't be taken seriously unless I was 23, but after being terminated from my (pretty bad) job in March of this year, I wanted to jump two feet into trucking and make it my career for the next decade atleast. I've been having trouble getting in with companies because of work history, from age 17 to 20 I worked under the table for an electrician trying to learn the trade, he retired and I went to work for retail and hated every minute of it, got incredibly depressed. After I left I went to work as an independent contractor because I decided I didn't want to have 5 bosses breathing down my neck and being in a small room every day ever again.

I got a call from maverick and was incredibly excited to hear from them hoping they'd tell me I'm on, but sadly the recruiter (who was a genuinely nice guy) told me I wouldn't be considered because of my lack of work history because I only have 12 months of legitimate work experience in the last 3 years. I understand that it's federal requirements they are dealing with but I don't think I can go back to working another bad job like before. I've sent applications to a few companies like roehl, which was my first choice but I couldn't even get through the automated application process because I've only had my license for a year. I'm still applying for company training programs, even places like c.r. england.

I guess what I'm trying to get to is there any company I can get into to pay my dues in the industry, or a way to make myself more appealing to companies (related work, etc)

I understand that most every topic has been covered in the forum but I figured I'd start this to see if there was information anyone could provide to my situation. Thanks guys.