In February of 2008 with a tough job market I decided to give trucking a try. I figured why not, my Dad was a trucker for some 30+ years, I figured if he could do it why not dive in a see how I like it. The last 25 years I spent working in the Information Technology field, better known as IT, but with the down turn in the job market and with no luck finding a job in the last nine months I was finding few options in the job market, of course my age of 50+ did not help much.
Before deciding on Swift Transportation I spent quite a bit of time looking at several other trucking companies like CR England and others. I also spent quite a bit of time on the net surfing for information from blogs on truck driving and truck driving schools. At the time Swift was one of the few trucking companies hiring individuals with absolutely no trucking experience. I spent quite a bit of time going through Swift's web site, viewing all the videos and testimonials, as well as their benefits which are not bad. I also like the comfort zone idea that Swift has for drives, if a truck driver wanted to just work west of the Mississippi then you could select that zone and you would only be offered loads in your comfort zone, but if you really wanted to stay busy and especially with this slow economy then it's probably best to select the zone that includes the lower 48.
I finally decided it was time, I had done enough web surfing on trucking and if I was ever going to get started then now is as good as any. I picked up the phone and called the toll free number for the Swift recruiter for my area. When the gentleman answered the phone, he said this is Jeff how can I help you, I told him I was thinking about truck driving but I had a couple questions first. Jeff said sure what are they. My first question was are you hiring which Jeff replied "yes" and the second was, do you hire people over 50 and Jeff said why of course in fact some of the best drivers are older, which I found refreshing in this day and age when it seems the youth have an edge over their older counterparts. Swift really is looking for people with a clean driving record, which I had. I then filled out the online application and then a couple days latter Jeff called to let me know that I had been accepted to join Swift as a student and would attend truck driving school for three weeks in Lewiston, Idaho and then I would spend the next three weeks on the road driving with a trainer/mentor. It felt good to finally be accepted to a company after spending the last nine months sending out resumes, interviewing and dealing with all the reject letters that came in the mail. I was glad to know that at least for the next six weeks I had a purpose and was very excited to try something new. There are a lot of great things about trucking, your not couped up in an office all day like some, but can see the country and get paid for doing it. I know some truckers that have sold their house and just live on the road and do team driving with their spouse and they feel like they are getting paid to be on vacation and see the country. Trucking can be a very rewarding career for some, but for right now I was just focused on getting through the next six weeks and graduating so that I could get my own truck and hit the road.