Hair Follicle Testing

So you went to a private training school to have the freedom of choosing who you work for and the best option you have is a company who’s closest yard is over two hours away from you? Swift doesn’t meet your standards based on someone else’s opinion yet at this point you’re not even sure you can pass a drug test? This approach isn’t going to be very conducive to your growth. As others have said, yes you are just a number until you’ve proven yourself. That in itself should motivate you to be open to any opportunity to succeed with any company willing to give you a shot. It seems like you’re just making a stance instead of looking to align yourself with a purpose in this industry. Swift treated me, my classmates and fellow drivers very well. They accommodated us as much as possible and held us to a very high standard.

Stern, but fair. It was a great environment for us that wanted to do nothing but be the best at what we do. Do not apply anywhere until you know for sure you can pass a drug test. Once you get to that point, focus on making your own success instead of listening to other people’s self-inflicted failures and worrying about following in their footsteps. Focus on what you want and not what you don’t want. Best of luck to you man, I’ll be rooting for ya!

Does the school you are going to attend require a drug test?

So my only Concern about when i first get into the industry. i have been an avid weed smoker for most of my life i do not believe in taking pills because they just create a more problems . i do not Drink , weed was my only thing , now 2 weeks about i decided to get into the trucking industry and Quite smoking . i have 0 problem doing that because Money and jobs are more important than smoking . i start trucking school in a month from today , by time i get out of school and get a job for a company i will be about 2.5 months with Nothing in my system so a urine test will be no problem. but i do not want to apply to a company and get a hair follicle test and be denied a job for something i did before i was in the industry. Do companies denied you the job because they seen Marijuana in your system 2 months before you started working for them or in the industry? i get why they do the testing because they're hard to bypass unlike Urine and Mouth Swabs . how does it work . are they looking to see how recent it was before you last used or they looking to say hey you used in general so we dont want you? i cant really find any clarification on it . would suck for me to spend 7k on school get a job than be denied and have it go on my DOT that i failed a drug screening. for something i did before i was in the industry! i know ill probably get those people on here who will give the " should make better life choices" but i know for a fact there are plenty of Truckers who drink in there down time , wake up and get on the road when im sure the booze are still lingering in there system. that is there business not mine.

Thanks for any information in advance!

Toby

In one post you, you are complaining about two things you don't like:

1.Not enough tuition reimbursement. 2. Having to take a Greyhound bus.

You haven't even finished school, yet, you are complaining about what companies do or do not offer? How about you actually complete school, pass your CDL test, apply to a company and actually pass their drug tests before you grumble about what that company does or does not offer.

I can tell you horror stories about my multiple experiences with Greyhound. They were absolutely ridiculous. But, I survived. Even so, What do you expect? A company isn't going to provide you a stretch limousine service to school or orientation. Your cutting out a company for consideration because they "don't care for their drivers" if you travel by bus to orientation warns me that you are going to be an "entitled" employee who is constantly complaining about the company you work for.

You had better get use to the fact that at first, you will be nothing but a number to a company, especially large ones. It will be up to YOU, and not them, to become more than that.

My only problem with them is you can not take the Truck home during home time and the FL office is 2h20m from my house so that is about 5 hours it takes away from family and i would pass by my house on the way to the yard to park the truck. Windy Hill is the company and i like everything about them .. well i wish they gave a little more in Tuition reimbursement. but .40cpm and $25 every time i open my doors after my first stop.. if you know of any decent companies in North Florida that do not HF .please let me know .. Waiting Longer isnt really an option. Definitely dont want to work for a company that is going to put me on a Grey Hound . because to me paying for a Bus tickets does not show you care and only means i am not a number and just a name ..

Do not go to a company if you could come back positive. We have a list of whether a company does Hair or urine testing. Typically its recommended to wait 90 days for urine, 6 months for hair depending on how heavy of a user you are. It's possible these companies have changed to hair or will change just before you go so proceed with caution if you choose not to wait. I'd highly recommend you hold off on school for now. A possible test will make it all but impossible to get started. Have you considered a Paid CDL Training Programs? Most of these companies will buy you a bus ticket (or reimburse rental car due to the 'rona), put you up in a hotel, possibly feed you and a couple even pay you to attend school. If you're accepted into their program you're guaranteed a job with them upon successful completion of your state exams and as long as you were honest on your application.

I worked at a Walmart DC before going to FedEx Freight and I think Walmart is a great company. I wasn't part of any clique and I didn't get any special treatment, I just went in met production goals and went home.

Prime isn't hiring out of Florida and they're not the only ones. Few companies hire out of Florida, that's why paid training would've been your best bet. You pay all this money and put in all this effort to find out that you have no options because of your location. It happens all the time.

As for being a number, I prefer it. Give me my assignments and make sure my check is right. We'll get along golden.

Folks, our friend here "Mr Ginger" has 5 posts pending approval. I can sum up each one of them like this:

"I'm new to trucking, but I have it all figured out. Here are the reasons I'm the smartest guy in the room and you guys know nothing."

He says things like, "People who would come late and leave early, leave for break early and come back late, and do half the work get treated like kings. People like me who kept their heads down and worked our asses off [get treated like crap]."

If you want me to approve his posts so you can argue until the end of time with someone who believes that makes sense and has no interest in listening, I'm happy to do it. Many others will learn from your advice, even though he won't. But I'm warning you, this guy is a professional know-it-all and makes up whatever he wants to believe, so be careful what you wish for!

I'm all for the conversation, Brett. Sometimes people need to have that conversation and it takes some work to breakthrough. People come here for information and sometimes that information has to be corrected.

The post approval is your call, but I have no problem with it. Let him state his case and the information will be provided. From there, it's his choice what he does with it. All we can do is state what we know and wish him the best.

It was actually a common Problem . mean you can stand on the outside judging .. thats your opinion but there were multiple other employees who said the same thing , people who would come late leave early , leave for break early come back late do half the work and treated like kings, people like me who kept there head down and worked our asses off. but its your opinion..

But if you were not part of the click ( people who lived with in 15 minutes ) you were just another body to them.

That's a unique requirement to be part of a clique. I'd be questioning myself if I seriously thought that was why I wasn't getting along with others.

Who said it was my only option? i just said the one that i like right right now.. i can pass a urine test with out a problem.. seems a lot of people are asking the same questions about HF test.. dating back to 7 years on this Forum. self inflicted success? so people i know who started with swift hated it and are now with a different company who they have been with for 6 years and love it and have 0 problems? im not taking one person word .. idk how well you read.. maybe its just selective.. but i have done extensive research on a TON of companies.. pretty much everything i read says to stay away from swift... not saying there isnt people who dont like it .. just saying it doesnt sound like the company for me .... im sure there are companies you wouldnt work for because you have heard other people talk about them. to each there own

So you went to a private training school to have the freedom of choosing who you work for and the best option you have is a company who’s closest yard is over two hours away from you? Swift doesn’t meet your standards based on someone else’s opinion yet at this point you’re not even sure you can pass a drug test? This approach isn’t going to be very conducive to your growth. As others have said, yes you are just a number until you’ve proven yourself. That in itself should motivate you to be open to any opportunity to succeed with any company willing to give you a shot. It seems like you’re just making a stance instead of looking to align yourself with a purpose in this industry. Swift treated me, my classmates and fellow drivers very well. They accommodated us as much as possible and held us to a very high standard.

Stern, but fair. It was a great environment for us that wanted to do nothing but be the best at what we do. Do not apply anywhere until you know for sure you can pass a drug test. Once you get to that point, focus on making your own success instead of listening to other people’s self-inflicted failures and worrying about following in their footsteps. Focus on what you want and not what you don’t want. Best of luck to you man, I’ll be rooting for ya!

Entitled? Stretch Limo?LMAO!! pretty laughable! no im not asking for any of that, i get why they do it , but that isnt for me ..... Sounds like you think im going to fail every aspect .... good thing for me is i have been studying for Months , i take the practice test 3x a day regardless Because i want to be prepared . im not some person that thinks because i paid for school im going to pass it ... but i am dam sure i will go in and give it my all .the way your talking about the drug screening is like im some addict who cant stop using drugs .. i guess reading comprehension isnt really your thing. i asked a question about HF testing .. if i were to wait a extra month i would pass a HF .. but its cool you're entitled to your own opinion ill never say other wise. People keep bringing swift up like all of a sudden im going to be like OMG i want to work for them .... NO.. again i have done my research and formed my opinion. its not the place for me .. pretty simple to understand .. not all companies are the same . if you think im the guy who listens to 1 or 2 people and based my opinion You're wrong... i have spent HOURS on this page read and reading and reading ! Hours on Youtube , hours on GlassDoor and indeed as well as other Forums ..

In one post you, you are complaining about two things you don't like:

1.Not enough tuition reimbursement. 2. Having to take a Greyhound bus.

You haven't even finished school, yet, you are complaining about what companies do or do not offer? How about you actually complete school, pass your CDL test, apply to a company and actually pass their drug tests before you grumble about what that company does or does not offer.

I can tell you horror stories about my multiple experiences with Greyhound. They were absolutely ridiculous. But, I survived. Even so, What do you expect? A company isn't going to provide you a stretch limousine service to school or orientation. Your cutting out a company for consideration because they "don't care for their drivers" if you travel by bus to orientation warns me that you are going to be an "entitled" employee who is constantly complaining about the company you work for.

You had better get use to the fact that at first, you will be nothing but a number to a company, especially large ones. It will be up to YOU, and not them, to become more than that.

My only problem with them is you can not take the Truck home during home time and the FL office is 2h20m from my house so that is about 5 hours it takes away from family and i would pass by my house on the way to the yard to park the truck. Windy Hill is the company and i like everything about them .. well i wish they gave a little more in Tuition reimbursement. but .40cpm and $25 every time i open my doors after my first stop.. if you know of any decent companies in North Florida that do not HF .please let me know .. Waiting Longer isnt really an option. Definitely dont want to work for a company that is going to put me on a Grey Hound . because to me paying for a Bus tickets does not show you care and only means i am not a number and just a name ..

Do not go to a company if you could come back positive. We have a list of whether a company does Hair or urine testing. Typically its recommended to wait 90 days for urine, 6 months for hair depending on how heavy of a user you are. It's possible these companies have changed to hair or will change just before you go so proceed with caution if you choose not to wait. I'd highly recommend you hold off on school for now. A possible test will make it all but impossible to get started. Have you considered a Paid CDL Training Programs? Most of these companies will buy you a bus ticket (or reimburse rental car due to the 'rona), put you up in a hotel, possibly feed you and a couple even pay you to attend school. If you're accepted into their program you're guaranteed a job with them upon successful completion of your state exams and as long as you were honest on your application.

The DC i was at was like that , people who Transferred there said was bad , they had a high turn over rate , people who production was at 110% with max incentives each paycheck were leaving because of the BS. The Pay and Benefits were great . the Work was each IMO , but the way the shift leaders treated people was horrible .

Yeah PRIME was the one i really liked which was a shock they dont hire out of FL seeing as i see there trucks every day.. But yea i know there is a bunch that dont hire out of here . Fl slots fill up fast as its one of the easiest states to get a CDL in .

I worked at a Walmart DC before going to FedEx Freight and I think Walmart is a great company. I wasn't part of any clique and I didn't get any special treatment, I just went in met production goals and went home.

Prime isn't hiring out of Florida and they're not the only ones. Few companies hire out of Florida, that's why paid training would've been your best bet. You pay all this money and put in all this effort to find out that you have no options because of your location. It happens all the time.

As for being a number, I prefer it. Give me my assignments and make sure my check is right. We'll get along golden.