Fired From Swift

Last year I obtained an insurance license. Earlier this year, I obtained a real estate license. I wanted to wait to start CDL A school until I finished obtaining a real estate license.

Three different licenses for three different careers within a year's time. Talk about A.D.D.

Focus, man........focus!

It would be pretty hard to get a single license having ADD and being unable to focus. People go to college...full time...studying a plurality of different subjects on the same day. I did each license one at a time. The insurance license was two months of an online course. The real estate license was about two months of an online course. That's it. Now I have those licenses. I put my insurance license to use selling medicare advantage plans during the open enrollment period, which was temporary. I had been planning to obtain a real estate license, and I'm an agent with a referral broker. So, in my spare time, I do hand out my business cards and can refer for any real estate needs. None of this would preclude being able to drive. My desire is to drive. Is there something wrong with having cognitive skills in juxtaposition with driving?

Mark, did you "pee in a cup?"

If not, you must have been gone when they did that. Any major carrier counts that as a refusal - it has nothing to do with the Mafia.

Yes. I peed in a cup.

It would be pretty hard to get a single license having ADD and being unable to focus. People go to college...full time...studying a plurality of different subjects on the same day. I did each license one at a time. The insurance license was two months of an online course. The real estate license was about two months of an online course. That's it. Now I have those licenses. I put my insurance license to use selling medicare advantage plans during the open enrollment period, which was temporary. I had been planning to obtain a real estate license, and I'm an agent with a referral broker. So, in my spare time, I do hand out my business cards and can refer for any real estate needs. None of this would preclude being able to drive. My desire is to drive. Is there something wrong with having cognitive skills in juxtaposition with driving?

My guess is that is why you were let go.

Technically any work you do in your off time must be logged as on duty, by the way.

But from Swift’s (and any other company’s) point of view, (a) you aren’t fully committed, and (b) are a risky investment. They could invest their time and money training you only to have you walk out to sell insurance or real estate.

Brett wrote...

The chances of this being the entire, true story are about one in a thousand....maybe less.

I agree.

Mark I’ve worked for Swift over 6 years now. They do not operate this way.

I don’t believe you are telling us everything, or in the correct order. Not sure, but you, and only you know what really happened.

Today is Thursday. Did you call your recruiter back? Following up on your last conversation? If you are indeed telling us the whole truth, get yourself back to the school and ask for a meeting with the school’s director. Take your paperwork with you.

Also you never mentioned the name of the school and location. Is it one of Swift’s Academies? Or something else.

My concern is that my 2 hours in the classroom would negatively impact my ability to get in with another company.

Mark, I'm concerned you had no clue what you were getting into, and probably still don't. This is not like getting an insurance license or a real estate license. When you go to a Paid CDL Training Program it is far more like an intense job interview than just another class to help you gain a license.

Here you are showing up knowing you've got a tooth that's likely to give you issues. That makes no sense to those of us who understand the Commitment involved in making a good start at trucking. You should have put off the schooling until you were ready to commit yourself, or at least had a bottle of Extra Strength Tylenol available to help you get through until you were hired.

You were there two hours and then decided you needed to leave because you had a toothache? What do you expect them to do? Let's roll out the red carpet for this guy! C'mon man! Now they are thinking, "What happens when we assign this guy a load and he doesn't even show up at the shipper because his big toe is sore that day?"

I don't know for sure what happened here, because your tale of the events makes no sense. I do know that you blew the interview though. That was a really bad showing on your part.

Mark A

I drove before(11 years), then I got into a motorcycle accident. Fast forward 8 1/2 years. I go to a private school again to obtain my CDL A. I apply to Swift, I go through the drug test and hair follicle test. The pee test came back negative, but the hair follicle did not. On my last operation, I was given oxycodone for pain. I had to go get a letter from my doctor that I was no longer taking such meds. I was hired at Swift and still there. I'm happy here. But as Old School said, you have to follow up with the recruiter. If you want this as much as you say you do, then YOU have to fight for it. Bug them until they give you a full reason or at least an arbitration to look into the mistake if it is that. I wasn't there or anyone else on this forum, but we get so many lies here on TT that you'll have to excuse most of us on here for being sceptical.

Raptor

Very well said Raptor. Sometimes I worry that those lurking or that may find this forum due to a google search will see some of these threads and think we're a bunch of supertruckers and not come back due to us appearing judgemental. This is by far the least judgemental forum I've seen, but we dont want to be lied to. We unfortunately get alot of posts where we're only told half the story. How are we supposed to give good accurate advice if we dont know the whole story?

Mark, if what you've said is 100% accurate fight it. You do not want a failed/refused test on your record. It will be very difficult to get a driving job. Make sure you handle yourself in a professional manner.