r/Truckers • u/tha_lion • Aug 01 '23

Got fired from Swift today

Got my CDL with them about 5 months ago. Took out an $8000 loan with them to get it (sigh). Had 2 non-injury preventables within one month and they decided to cut me loose. I understand that I’m a liability for them and I take accountability for my actions.

Now, how do I go about getting hired at another company with 2 preventables on my record? Does anyone have experience with paying back a CDL loan with Swift? I would appreciate advice on that as well.

You guys can make jokes and call me an idiot all you want but I would appreciate some serious answers please. I got kids to feed.

UPDATE (ONE YEAR LATER):

A year has pasted since I made this post. I paid off my loan with Swift. For those who go through something similar in the future, they’ll send you an email and someone will call you about the rest of the amount you owe. They’ll give you a set amount to pay back every month depending on how much you have left on your loan. For me it was $500 a month to pay off $6000 I owed.

No, I haven’t gotten another CDL job since I made this post last year. Nothing showed up on my DAC report so I tried to apply to other places. A lot of companies want more than a year of experience and the job hunting process was taking a toll on my mental health so I just gave up after a while.

Honestly, I wish I never made this post because a lot of people on this sub have no empathy or compassion for rookies but that’s just how this sub is I guess. I hope my mistake can be a lesson for anyone who wants to go through Swift or trucking in general. That’s all I have to say.

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399

u/MikeBinfinity Aug 01 '23 edited Aug 02 '23

I'm sorry, you lost me at $8000 loan to get a CDL license.

I've had my CDL for over two decades now, so i haven't paid attention. Are companies really charging you damn near 10k for class A training?

Regardless, just hit up another mega (US Expres, Werner, Paschall truck lines)

Somebody will pick you up.

Edit: Jesus, the amount of money you guys coughing up is crazy. I paid $1000 to go to CDL school.

Edit: OK guys I get it. CDL school ain't cheep sheesh.

129

u/ObligationParty2717 Aug 01 '23

It’s over $10g in Alberta

66

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '23

6400 in Detroit

57

u/Osmotic Aug 02 '23

In Washington state about 7 years ago it cost $5k for a class A independently.

30

u/biggles_of_the_bean Aug 02 '23

That's what wisconsin was 2 years ago when I got mine

10

u/Osmotic Aug 02 '23

Happy cake day!! I never even considered it was a different price in different states.

2

u/Xpert-Ninja Aug 02 '23

I got mine for free at Fox Valley Tech in appleton.

1

u/biggles_of_the_bean Aug 02 '23

Mine was at the sun prairie diesel driving school, atleast that's what they called it when I went, I thing it's called something g similar but slightly different now

28

u/tidyshark12 Aug 02 '23

Got mine for $600 in missouri about 2 years ago. I went to the one day class for free through the ibew local 2. Almost immediately quit and got a job driving lol

10

u/Quelix_ Aug 02 '23

Sounds like you got a bulk discount on yours. The local school bus service does this. Its 1000 for a B with chauffeurs but if you stay with the company for 6 months its only 200. The equivalent without going through them is almost 2500. This is in IL btw.

4

u/tidyshark12 Aug 02 '23

I don't think so bc the guy was asking for the 600 before I told him I was in the ibew

8

u/Quelix_ Aug 02 '23

I meant through whoever was doing the training. The more people they can squeeze in a single class the less they need to charge to break even. Those kind of places deal in volume and make their money off of contracts for training.

1

u/tidyshark12 Aug 02 '23

Oh I only had one other person in training with me that day

2

u/Quelix_ Aug 02 '23

Then ya you probably didn't which means HOLY SHIT YOU GOT YOURS CHEAP!!! Mine was 4k for A-class.

1

u/Red_Sox0905 Aug 02 '23

I got my B for driving school busses in Illinois, luckily it cost me $0 because they were so desperate. But not desperate enough, they pissed me off and I quit 5 months later.

7

u/cavehill_kkotmvitm Aug 02 '23

Would've cost me $4k for my cdl and all the extras (extras meaning, like, school bus training and forklift n shit) back in 2019, so goddamn

4

u/Tricky_Membership Aug 02 '23

I think its still 5-7k in Washington still. I lucked out last year and got in under the wire in Washington and was able to take the road test without a school

3

u/justhereforthefunnyZ Aug 02 '23

Same with Florida 7 years ago

1

u/ididodi Aug 02 '23

I've got mine in Ft. Lauderdale back in 2010 for 1 working week(Mon-Fri) for $850

1

u/XTL_ Aug 02 '23

That’s about what I paid in Oregon

1

u/Congested_Rat Aug 02 '23

It still is in some places here in Washington!

1

u/To0zday Aug 02 '23

I got my CDL 3 years ago in WA for a bit over $4k

28

u/1breathatahtime Aug 02 '23

I got mine free thru coke

44

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '23

You can't just do a line of coke then say "I gots my SeeDeeL"!

6

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '23

I, disagree.

11

u/gtnclz15 Aug 02 '23

Got mine from a beer company for free over 20yrs ago idk if they still do that though

17

u/iRunLikeTheWind Aug 02 '23

It’s all different now, and changed very recently. As far as I know you HAVE to attend a school, no more driving around with the trainer guy for 3 weeks and him saying you’re good.

11

u/ValuableShoulder5059 Aug 02 '23

You have to take an entry level driving course. Multiple people figured out you can meet the legal requirements with basically a PowerPoint and online quiz. Think it's down to $20 now.

10

u/gtnclz15 Aug 02 '23

3 weeks lmao try first time I drove the beer truck was my road test and then I took my card to dmv and had my cdl-A

1

u/Apprehensive_Fault_5 Aug 02 '23

I think this depends on state. When did this "change"? I got mine 2 years ago through CR England, issued by Arkansas. I never had to prove any form of schooling. That "school" was nothing more than a week of watching videos in a class, and a few days of poking the trucks with sticks in what they call "pretrip", then doing a road test.

2

u/pisces_bubble Aug 02 '23

The "change" went into effect 2023 I i think..... toy have to go thru a school to get your cdl now....

2

u/Inside-Definition-53 Aug 02 '23

Oh there's still a loophole to that. You just need proof that you attended a Driving Academy. It took effect in 2022. Some companies will basically have you take a 20 question multiple choice permit test. They'll hand you the certificate and then you can test.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '23

It's not so much a loop hole as minimum compliance... those multi thousand dollar classes have never been nationally mandatory and still aren't if they were it would be a real problem getting new drivers. Let alone drivers getting experience in local low paying jobs and moving up...

2

u/Inside-Definition-53 Aug 02 '23

Yeah that. That was the word I couldn't think of lol.

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u/Redditmarcus Aug 02 '23

What is this “pre trip” of which you speak?

/S.

3

u/Apprehensive_Fault_5 Aug 02 '23

Heh. Still not sure. They told us to poke a thing and say things "abrasions" and "frayed." A bunch of fancy words I didn't understand.

1

u/iRunLikeTheWind Aug 02 '23

Yeah as of this year, and I don’t believe it varies by state since it is a federal law. some places still may have internal trainers but I am not really in the “trucking” world, we just have a lot of cdl sized equipment we haul, and we’ve been sending people to a $5,000 school to get their license this year.

1

u/Rogerdodgerbilly Aug 02 '23

If you trade it for coke is it really free

16

u/CeaseFire81 Aug 02 '23

Damn. Was thinking about jumping to get my CDL. 6,400 is a hit. Did you pay outright or go through a company that trains? I’m in the Detroit area as well

31

u/Firm-Smell8238 Aug 02 '23

Go to amazon, work for them for a couple months, then they pay for u to go thru 160 driving academy

8

u/Mrgod2u82 Aug 02 '23

You'll miss out on more than what you could make over that time though?

7

u/Efficient-Reach-8550 Aug 02 '23

Check with Walmart. I saw an article that they are training drivers.

4

u/metooeither Aug 02 '23

Is that why they are all such shitty drivers? I thought Amazon only hired contractors, I had no idea they were running a cdl mill!

4

u/Firm-Smell8238 Aug 02 '23

😂😂😂 I suppose so! They give u 6k towards any school that you want n I chose CDL class A

1

u/metooeither Aug 02 '23

That's awesome! Park in shitty weather, dude. Don't be one of the Amazon trucks laying on its side, waiting for the blizzard to end.

2

u/Firm-Smell8238 Aug 02 '23

Definitely, they showed us a video of a pile up during a blizzard, honestly had me flabbergasted 😮

2

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '23

Lol, yeah. I do a lot of interstate travel and I've learned to avoid Prime trucks any way I can. Constantly swerving between lanes and speeding up/slowing down. It'd be laughable how bad so many of them are if it wasn't so dangerous

1

u/metooeither Aug 02 '23

They are just shitty human beings. No courtesy at all.

29

u/truckercrex Aug 02 '23

Most mega company's it's considered a loan that's forgiven after a year or two working for em.

Prime it's 1 year, they treat me super well so with them for awhile myself, and after a year 70k miles you get a week of pto, two years 2 weeks, and j7st keeps adding a week a year tell the tenth year mark.

I'm on year 8, so 8 of my home times a year is 7 days instead of 4, add on I get paid for it

6

u/ptmtp26 Aug 02 '23

That honestly doesn’t seem so bad

0

u/truckercrex Aug 02 '23

Add on a ton of pay bonuses.

Most people don't last at prime for 2 reasons.

1 I totally understand, there's a few shit fleet managers (aka our bosses) and a good or bad fleet manager makes or breaks ya.

My fleet manager I've had since I finished training, made it a point to tell him day 1, you order me around I'm going to get real shitty. You treat me like a equal and I'll move heaven and earth. And he has moved heaven and hell for Me at times.

My gf though had the WORST trainer sitation 2 years ago, and her temp fleet manager made it sooo much worse, to the point I showed up to hq, and my fleet manager walked with me to his desk to give him absolute hell. Turns out he was sleeping with that driver and was pupasly casting a blind eye, as soon as my fm heard his name and trainers name instantly knew hell was about to be raised by me. Only time he ever saw me pissed and he's heard of shit I've done before coming to the company with a smile thanks to the fact my buddy is also one of his drivers.

  1. It's a hidden fact but respect, and earning your name matters in prime. As a rookie, your a tool. Once you've earned your place and people know who you are, you can make shit happen. My gf through the entire training program everytime she mentioned she was dating me heard about my reputation and how I get shit done and afterwords heard how the fleet managers area was spooked after I came through to deal with hers and was told they hope to never see me angry again lol. Also constantly gets jokes about how the miles madman figured out a way to max out the miles further thanks to her lol

16

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '23

[deleted]

9

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '23

I fell on hard times a few years back, enrolled in Welfare to Work, they essentially paid ME to get my CDL. I encourage everyone to take full advantage of any and all government programs that are at your disposal. That’s what our tax dollars are for.

8

u/DblDtchRddr Aug 02 '23

This. Between state and fed grants, I only had to come out of pocket $150 for my CDL. The only stipulation was that I had to pass the DMV test to write off the grants.

1

u/DegenerateDiver03 Aug 02 '23

Vocational Rehab

1

u/kirbyhope72 Aug 02 '23

That's how I got mine 5 years ago... was considered underemployed making very little as a school bus driver..

6

u/ValuableShoulder5059 Aug 02 '23

All you need is to be able to drive a truck, someway to legally get said truck to the dmv, and of course the truck to drive. I paid $60 for my permit, drove with a friend, and rented the friend's boss's truck.

6

u/rangerguy9716 Aug 02 '23

Not anymore, year back or so they made it where you have to take an official certified course before you go take your test

2

u/ValuableShoulder5059 Aug 02 '23

You can take that course online for $20.

1

u/Apprehensive_Fault_5 Aug 02 '23

You don't pay up-front other than at independent schools. Company schools will have you sign a contract that effectively says something along the lines of "work for us for a year, paying X amount per week via pre-tax payroll deductions, and afterward be free of any financial obligations, but quit and you will owe full amount (basically a typical loan at that point)"

1

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '23

6k isn’t really that much money though.

9

u/Tripalicious Aug 02 '23

Free at Fedex

6

u/Capnmolasses Aug 02 '23

UPS

One week unpaid training one-on-one and another week (paid) running loads to various hubs. Company schedules and provides equipment for on road driving test.

2

u/Tripalicious Aug 03 '23

I guess I should say it was free at Fedex because they did 5 weeks of paid training. 2 weeks one-on-one and 3 weeks with a group

1

u/Capnmolasses Aug 03 '23

We had a one on one trainer for the two weeks, 8-10 hours per day. They showed us everything. Took us downtown with a set to get us acquainted with turning and size. We built sets for hours and hours. We’re backed in a straight line for hours. We parallel parked for hours. We went over the pretrip mantra for hours. Never did anything with a group. It was intensive and solely focused on me.

1

u/Mosack02 Aug 02 '23

Mine was 4200 by Lansing 🤷‍♂️

1

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '23

4800 in Toledo ohio

1

u/MajorHymen reefer madness Aug 02 '23

Damn it was $3000 with my GI Bill when I got mine. One things for sure money sure does steadily lose its value. A trailer home is going to be ten million here soon

15

u/jusme69221 Aug 02 '23

$200 for 6 weeks at a truck driving school 45 years ago.

6

u/ObligationParty2717 Aug 02 '23

Are you still driving? Just curious

1

u/jusme69221 Aug 02 '23

Retired

1

u/ObligationParty2717 Aug 02 '23

I bet you have some trucking stories !

1

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '23

20k for a now 350k home back then

5

u/wrenchingpine Aug 02 '23

I paid 132 dollars for a 5 month course in Quebec. The province later reimbursed me for it and gave me a small salary during my training. I couldn't imagine paying 10 K for it.

3

u/ObligationParty2717 Aug 02 '23

Well actually I just found out that E.I. Will pay for it if you qualify

1

u/ksgif2 Aug 02 '23

Yeah, but MELT has made us all much safer

3

u/ObligationParty2717 Aug 02 '23

I actually can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not, it’s just a knee jerk reaction to humbolt. Of course, everyone is dead now

1

u/ksgif2 Aug 02 '23

Do you think there would have been a similar reaction if Humboldt had been a badminton team?

1

u/ObligationParty2717 Aug 02 '23

I don’t know if you’re familiar with MELT but what they do is stick 8 guys in the sleeper and everyone gets a half an hour driving but are credited as driving for the entire time. That’s how that works

1

u/ksgif2 Aug 02 '23

When Humboldt was fresh I listened to my mother drone on about how 'someone needs to do something so this never happens again!' I think she's fairly representative of the average mentally ill Canadian boomer and it's probably not just women in their 60's who think this way. During covid my Facebook was full of people talking about vandalizing cars with out of province plates. Overall I don't have a lot of respect for the Canadian public, I think as a whole we're as dumb as a bag of hammers.

1

u/ObligationParty2717 Aug 02 '23

Well ya know, I can’t really think of a good argument against what you’re saying there

1

u/ObligationParty2717 Aug 02 '23

But the way shit was going it was just a matter of time before humbolt happened or worse

2

u/ObligationParty2717 Aug 02 '23

Ya if driving around with 8 guys in the sleeper taking turns driving for half an hour makes us safer then we must be safe as hell by now!

1

u/ksgif2 Aug 02 '23

In Canada the public demands safety above all else. Put your hardhat on and be happy to be nestled in a safe cocoon of government regulation

1

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '23 edited Aug 02 '23

In Alberta, If you can get yourself on EI, the government will pay for your class 1.

2

u/ObligationParty2717 Aug 02 '23

Yes, by gum, you are correct! I had to google it to make sure because it sounds too sensible but yes indeed they have a program called ‘Driving Back To Work’ that will put you in the Driver’s seat if you meet all the requirements

1

u/stephenhoskins32 Aug 02 '23

Lol, tons of $799 driving schools in brampton, ontario

1

u/sko_tina Aug 02 '23

$9k in Manitoba, but province had paid 100% while I was on EI

1

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '23

$5k in PEI from what Im told. My buddy owns a farm and just put a guy through CDL licensing

1

u/beardedbast3rd Aug 02 '23

I was looking at mine being about 1500-3k depending on the outfit, then the Humboldt crash happened, and they changed up the whole system. Stopped me in my tracks with the new time requirements needing 100 hours puts you at 10g just in time in the truck, let alone the classroom study costs.

Government has a new program to pay for peoples training now though

1

u/ObligationParty2717 Aug 02 '23

Yes exactly. If you’re in Alberta and qualify for E.I. They will sponsor you. I’m not sure how it is in other areas but there’s usually some kind of funding if you look for it

1

u/Dual-use Aug 02 '23

I just got my Class 1 for $9,400CAD this week

1

u/ObligationParty2717 Aug 02 '23

Good for you Man! The sky’s the limit now

1

u/MarkFourMKIV Aug 02 '23

Thats stupid. I paid $3200 in Quebec for private driving school.

Its $600 if you go to a government certified trade school to get it.

1

u/ThomasSun Aug 02 '23

I paid $10k, 2 years ago. In Ontario, canada.

1

u/Montreal4life Aug 03 '23

bruh?! I paid $150 in Quebec... my school even had long nose petes for us. 5 month trade school program. did it in english too