Starter Trucking Companies?

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

I just feel there is more to the story here than a bad trainer. Sorry things have not worked out at Swift. Hopefully you will have better luck with Werner.

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.

Appreciate it bro, I'll check that out

I understand how you feel Kazi. I did the research and felt the lifestyle was a good fit for me. Once I started living the OTR life style I quickly realized I had made a mistake. Fortunately I did not have an employment contract with a company. If Swift paid for your training they will want their money. Have you considered how you will pay them?

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

I just feel there is more to the story here than a bad trainer. Sorry things have not worked out at Swift. Hopefully you will have better luck with Werner.

In all honesty man, the schoong was great, I was the first jn my class to pass the written and road tests. I studied insanely hard for this and worked so hard. But once I got iron the road it went downhill, this guy is crazy and assaulted me. I might look for a local job with a straight truck or dump truck just to get some experience

In all honesty man, the schoong was great, I was the first jn my class to pass the written and road tests. I studied insanely hard for this and worked so hard. But once I got iron the road it went downhill, this guy is crazy and assaulted me. I might look for a local job with a straight truck or dump truck just to get some experience

This is why I do not understand why you are giving up so easily. There are stories on here of people getting multiple trainers to get it done. Your next trainer could be a perfect fit for you. If not, get another one.

The custody thing is another matter. Nothing is more important than family.

Good luck.

Most companies are not going to give a dedicated route to a student,right out of school.they bring in 50 unknown people every week as perspective drivers. They want to see if you are reliable and dependable.You dont have to drive at night,when on your own truck,its a test to see how you cope with stress.Everyone would like a dedicated route with home time.My advice would be to stick it out,and show them you can do whatever it takes to get the job done.

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.

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.

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.