Starter Trucking Companies?

I've had my cdl or a week now, I was with a mentor from swift, but he was terrible. I called swift and they told me to get to a nearby terminal , when I told my mentor he absolutely lost it, threatened to leave me on the highway. I told him swift said they wi fire him and he told me to shut the **** up, he told me to pack my **** and whipped my student handbook at my face, I'll be pressing charges. Now I'm on my way home and I'm not sure where to start at this point, I'm looking for dedicated or regional.

I might look for a local job with a straight truck or dump truck just to get some experience

Unfortunately that won't count as experience toward a class A job because those are class B trucks. Class A companies, especially if they're OTR companies, only count class A Interstate jobs as experience - meaning you have to leave your home state. Now if you drove a class A truck locally that would count as experience toward other local class A jobs but you didn't stick around Swift long enough to get some OTR experience to qualify for most of those jobs anyhow. So you're kind of in a pickle now.

I get it, I'm not here for criticism. What's done is done.

It seems that's exactly what you were here for - to criticize. You didn't even last a week before bailing on Swift but you didn't hesitate to criticize Swift as a company, your trainer, or your recruiter. If we wouldn't have given you the third degree about what happened you would have been happy to let everyone believe Swift and everyone you dealt with was to blame. That's why people are being critical toward you. We know what it takes to do this job. We know how incredibly difficult it is. We also know a lot of people get into trucking that really don't belong there or aren't dedicated to it and they wind up badmouthing the companies and the industry instead of taking the blame themselves. That makes the entire industry we're all a part of look bad.

That's why you're getting a hard time. We're trying to find out what really happened so we can point you in the right direction.

Me personally - if you had told me you don't want to leave the area and don't really want to drive at night I would have told you trucking was the wrong career choice. It sounds to me like you're in the market for a 9 to 5 job and there's obviously nothing wrong with that. But you're just not going to find it in trucking very often. Sure, there are local gigs that get you home every night. But rarely do you only put in 40 hours. Remember, you can work up to 70 hours every 8 days. That's nearly two full time jobs. Even the guys who get home every night rarely put in under 50 hours a week and most of them are only home long enough to take a shower, eat, and go to bed before leaving for work again.

Not only that but you're apparently single now and trying to get custody of a child. Old School was right.....this really wasn't the time to get involved in a new career.

And don't look for anything regional. That's not gonna be any better than OTR.

You're in a tough spot and I don't know what to tell you. I'm assuming you owe Swift some money for tuition now but I wouldn't go back into trucking just for that reason. If the job and lifestyle doesn't suit you then you're better off cutting your losses and looking for a 9 to 5 job somewhere or a more suitable career. Trucking is really tough. If your heart isn't in it and you're not ready for the challenges it brings you're going to be overwhelmed by it.

So what are you blaming exactly for it not working out?

A. Your personal family issues.

B. Your lack of research when going into this industry.

C. Swift and all their bad employees.

D. Your trainer.

?

Or is it that you just couldn't handle the job? Why would you go into trucking if you refuse to night drive?

It's completely fine if this job isn't for you. But it also shows a lack of responsibility when you keep pointing the finger at other people. Your trainer was trying to make a driver out of you and believe me when I say this, if my student said he won't night drive I would probably giggle and drop him off at the truck stop too.

My trainer was also a bit of a knucklehead and I can bet money he was worse than yours. Case in point, my trainer took a #2 in a bucket a foot from my bed.

I think you need to realize that the problem was completely you. As I always say, you need thick skin for this job and I don't think that's you.

If you think a local job will solve all your problems then you're fooling yourself. Most local jobs do a lot of night driving, the ones that don't you don't qualify for due to lack of experience. I seriously think you shot yourself in the foot here.

You're right, that's my fault for not being psychic, I total knew my daughters mother was going to run off with her. I'm in the wrong guys, I should've just let the mentor physically assault me and be completely fine with it, what kind of world am I living in, Jesus ****ing Christ.

If you didn't get along with your trainer you were told to call Swift and they would give you a new one, correct? You didn't get along with your trainer, you called Swift, and they were going to give you a new one exactly as they had promised, correct? But instead you quit. That's on you. That's not on us, that's not on Swift.

You told your trainer you didn't really want to drive much at night. Driving at night is part of the job and you certainly knew that going in. That's on you. That's not on Swift, that's not on us.

The custody battle has nothing to do with anyone but you. That's not on Swift, that's not on us.

Listen, I'm not sure what we can tell you at this point. You don't want to drive at night, you don't want to leave your local area, you didn't like your trainer but didn't want to stick around for a new one, and you have baby-mama dramas going on. You're just not mentally in the game right now. You're not ready for trucking. You have to be all in to get started in this career. This isn't something you can just do when you're in the mood and on your terms. Trucking means snowstorms & thunderstorms, traffic jams, tight schedules, lots of time away from home even for local guys, and very long days. It's a lifestyle that I don't think you're ready to commit to right now. Maybe if you get the personal problems out of the way and rededicate yourself to getting through that first year you'll do great.

Getting started at Walmart or fulfilling orders in a warehouse is no big deal. Jobs like that almost anyone can do at anytime. Getting started in trucking takes way more resolve and commitment than that. It's a total life-changing career that's going to take everything you've got to get through and right now you head just isn't in the game. Step back, regroup, and if the time comes that you're ready for trucking then trucking will be here to give you another shot.

Kazi, why can't you stay with Swift and finish your contract?

Well, for one I can't handle over the road , I told the mentor I would like to drive more in the day and he said too ****ing bad you're driving all night, swift hasn't been a good experience, if I can't stay local then I simply cannot do trucking. I enjoy it just not at 3 am, I also have family problems going on right now and me not coming home for 5 weeks will hurt my chances at getting custody of my daughter. I spoke to werner and they said they could probably get me a dedicated nearby

Okay, fair enough but with a custody battle going on this was not a good time to pursue a trucking career.

You're new to all of this, but I don't want you to be confused that a dedicated job will be daylight driving only. I'm on a dedicated account and we are even more so expected to do what ever it takes to keep that customer happy. Much of the time I drive all through the night three or four nights a week

I've had my cdl or a week now, I was with a mentor from swift, but he was terrible. I called swift and they told me to get to a nearby terminal , when I told my mentor he absolutely lost it, threatened to leave me on the highway. I told him swift said they wi fire him and he told me to shut the **** up, he told me to pack my **** and whipped my student handbook at my face, I'll be pressing charges. Now I'm on my way home and I'm not sure where to start at this point, I'm looking for dedicated or regional.

Hey Kazi where did you do your training for swift (please don't say Fontana) lol just curious to know if I may end up with that guy as a mentor. That guy sounds like a real ball of sunshine. Hope all goes ok with your family situation.

Well, for one I can't handle over the road , I told the mentor I would like to drive more in the day and he said too ****ing bad you're driving all night, swift hasn't been a good experience, if I can't stay local then I simply cannot do trucking. I enjoy it just not at 3 am, I also have family problems going on right now and me not coming home for 5 weeks will hurt my chances at getting custody of my daughter. I spoke to werner and they said they could probably get me a dedicated nearby

Did you not read the job description before signing up?

I did read it, the recruiters lie. I went to school in Kansas City an salt lake, it wasn't that bad, it was fast paced and almost everyone failed, I was te first student in my whole class to pass.

I did read it, the recruiters lie. I went to school in Kansas City an salt lake, it wasn't that bad, it was fast paced and almost everyone failed, I was te first student in my whole class to pass.

School is just to get you to pass the test to get your license. Did you not research what the job requires after school. The life style? Brett's book explains all of that.

I get it, I'm not here for criticism. What's done is done.

Hey Kazi, there are quite a few starter companies that's out there but I drive for Pam Transport and I don't have many complaints about them and the ones I do, you would probably find at any other trucking company out there. They have all fairly new and well maintained freightliner's and internationals. They do have some dedicated lanes and accounts but it depends on where you stay if you can get them or not. With you only having your license for only week or so you might have to go though new hire orientation and 2 weeks over the road with a trainer then you would get your own truck or they might send you through new hire orientation then give you your own truck depending on how much driving experience you had while you was at swift. I've seen them do it both ways when I was going through orientation. You would get 300 a week until you get your own truck and even then the least you would make is 500 for the first 5 weeks even if you drive 0 miles. They try to work with you if your having problems with anything and they've gotten me to my destination on "home time" everytime I've requested even if wasn't my actual home.