Thank you and i wanted to thank everyone again for your helpful suggestions, I havent been on since the weekend but have been very busy looking into all this info you all have given me owe boy thank you thank you thank you hubby is seeing the lite now lol...

Deannainlasvegas,
You and I have quite a bit in common. This is a big change for my family as well. My youngest is 18mo. At least I have 2 teenagers to help out. One thing I learned while I was helping DH find companies to apply for is that the only companies that didn't have complaints on the message board were the ones that weren't on the board. lol. This is a place for people to come to vent as well as get info. If you read between the lines you can learn a lot. My DH mentioned ISS ratings to me when he was in school. Those are the safety ratings for the trucking companies. I did an internet search for Safe Stat because I saw it on here. It took a little while to get used to using it and where all the info on the company can be found but it has useful info on what percent of the inspections end with the vehicle or driver being put out of service. When I read between the lines that tells me whether the company takes care of their equipment and whether they expect drivers to run legal. It was a big help to me. Believe it or not, there are some starter companies with excellent safety ratings. Hope it helps. I'm sure we will find ourselves on the same threads a lot. Good luck to you.

The biggest thing your hubby needs to do is keep a good attitude. Don't let the guys in the company fill his head with BS, as that's usually what it is. He needs to make his own decisions and run with what's right for him. As has been said before, as long as he keeps a level head on his shoulders and drives safely, the "starting" companies can be a good jumping point.

I've been driving with CR England for about 2 months now and I'm loving it. I don't listen to the guys sitting around the yard complaining. First of all, why are they sitting in the yard complaining? Duh?! If the wheels ain't turnin', you aren't earnin'.. As long as he keeps a good attitude and takes everything his DM tosses his way, he'll start getting the cream of the crop runs and make some decent wages. Takes some time, but that's the way it usually is with any company you start with. Good luck!

__________________
Electile Dysfunction - The inability to get aroused over any of the presidential candidates.

I believe that attitude makes a big difference. If this is something your husband really wants to do he probably will look for the good side of situations instead of the negative anyway. If someone hangs out with a bunch of complainers they have to complain to fit in. If you have a good attitude that can be contagious too. I don't mind if my friends vent about bad things that happen but if they did it all the time I wouldn't hang out with them because it would just bring me down. Same goes with this board. If there is someone that constantly complains and never has anything good to say, I skip their posts when I see them. I like getting a balanced view. A lot of members here will have complaints and things they like sometimes in the same post.

Personally, in this economy I would stay put for a while. Beleive me, as a master mechanic, he is making more money than he will as a driver for several years. He is gonna average about $450-$600( or even less depending on the company)take home for probally at least 3 years unless he is Extremely lucky. Im not sure about NV, but here in Indiana a master mechanic can make at least $60,000 a year or better and maybe closer to $100,000 depending on who you work for and how good you are. A beginning truck driver will make on the average about $29,000-$39,000 his first year, I have been driving for 7 years and it took me until last year to make over $55,000.
If he really wants to be a driver then my advise would be to apply to as many companies as he can while in school, and dont settle on any pre-hires until at least the last day or so he is there. A lot of companies will pre-hire and then when it comes right down to it they wont actually hire. Most companies make up their minds after you actually have the paper that says you passed. Also, DONT go to ANY company that will "pay" for your school. The facts are that they dont actually pay--you take less money on the mile to begin with and then they only pay a partial amount. Take the higher pay and pay your own school off. When they "pay" for your school, you will be around $.23 a mile. If you pay, you will start around $.30. You can pretty much figure that $.01 in this industry is roughly $25.00 a week.

[quote=Timtruck;583130] He is gonna average about $450-$600( or even less depending on the company)take home for probally at least 3 years unless he is Extremely lucky.
I have a very hard time believing this. Wouldn't be many truckers with families if this were true.
Im not sure about NV, but here in Indiana a master mechanic can make at least $60,000 a year or better and maybe closer to $100,000 depending on who you work for and how good you are.
Maybe everyone that wants to drive a truck should be a master mechanic instead.
A beginning truck driver will make on the average about $29,000-$39,000 his first year
There is a big difference between 29,000 and 39,000 but 29,000 seems very low even considering recruiters lie.
I have been driving for 7 years and it took me until last year to make over $55,000.
I won't even respond.
When they "pay" for your school, you will be around $.23 a mile.
That is a ridiculously low number and might be a training wage somewhere. I didn't see a number that low on any of the websites or even in the brouchures from company sponsored training CDL mills.
If you pay, you will start around $.30.
Not every company starts out at the same cpm if you pay for your own school. A lot depends on what type of truck you will be driving. Flatbed pays more than van usually.

This guy sounds like an anti-recruiter. He wants to rid the world of newbie truckers....but why? Sounds a bit disgruntled to me.

Thank you again for your wonderful responses and advice .. we have taken it all in and owe do we appreciate the info, with out it, i have a feeling we would have gone about all this wrong and in the end, ended up regretting our decisions, so thank you thank you thank you....

we have decided to take things day by day but with hopes that what ever happens we make or made the right choices and with your help im sure it will all work out in the end...

if he gets a job prior to his start date for school he will take the job since its something he is already familiar with (slot or auto tech), how ever if nothing comes avail by then, then he will do the schooling and hope to find something he can be happy with, he has always wanted to be a truck driver, so either way, its a plus in our book, knowledge is power right? the more he knows the better off he will be, so he will be knowledgable in a few different professions. If he does go the trucking route, which seems to be the way he will go since the job market is so poor in his other two professions, he will be doing everything he can to get into a good company and knowing that he will have to start from the bottom he can do so as long as he knows he can move up and forward to better opportunities, werner will be a very last resort and only for training purproses. hopefully he wont have to even go there but we are going to prepare for the worse yet hope for the best...

in reference to the pay, we know its going to be a struggle at first and are very aware of having to start from the bottom up but something is better then nothing and if he cannot get a job in his other two professions then he wont be making anything at all vs a little something he could be making in the trucking profession. all in all the important thing is, is that he has something to work towards weahter it be mechanic, slot tech or a truck driver he likes all professions and has always wanted to be a truck driver maybe he can be a truck driver and when he breaks down he can fix his own truck and when on the road he can pick the winning slot machine and win us millions haha just kidding anyways, i just want him back at work so i can have my sanity back!!

owe by the way, he is not obligated to any trucking company unemployment is paying for the schooling and we are paying the difference so he does have options to pick and choose just have to find one that will take in a newbie...

Tim's numbers were not that far off.
Take home for the first 6 months will probably be between 450 and 600 a week. The company's that pay more per mile to new drivers usually have less miles, so it adds up to about the same amount of money a week.
30k a year sounds about right, on the mid-upper to upper end of what I would go into it expecting for first year.

but that sounds better then what he is making now on unemployment dont you think? and as for as him staying on track with auto mechanic or slot tech, finding a job alone is challenging enough but the pay isnt any better either so in all, regardless of which profession he chooses as long as he is working and making something thats better then nothing i will just be happy to get him out and working again because he is causing me more grey hair and stress then i need....

[quote=kimmeegoose;585206]Beleive what you want, but I see somebody else here agrees with my numbers. Also, if you read the original post then you would know that her husband is going through training now. So yes that $.23 is an average training wage at any of the biggies. You are esentially "in training" for at least a year at most companies. If you dont beleive it, you can call any and ask them. Also, most of the biggies and many of the small ones start out at roughly $.30 per mile for "newbie" drivers if you "pay" for your own schooling. If you dont beleive that then call them and ask.

Sounds to me like you are pretty cynical with your answers, your profile says that you are a trucker's wife, if that is so then you know what I have said to be true--if not then you may want to discuss it with your supposed husband, I'm sure he could confirm this.

Also, these numbers $450-$600 are take home numbers. $450 is roughly the takehome on $.23 and $600 is roughly the takehome on $.30 after taxes and insurance. If you dont beleive that, then run the numbers yourself, I took this on an average of 2500 miles per week, which BTW, if a newbie is consistently running is pretty good. If you figure even $.30 per miles at 2500 miles per week that is $39,000 a year (which was my high end) and if you figure $.23 a mile at 2500 miles per week that is $29,900 (which was my low end) Check out the companies if you want and you will see that I am right.

Average for a newbie driver 1 year out is $.32 per mile and that is $41,600 based on 2500 miles per week. Now remember I am saying average, of course some companies pay less and some pay more. Your takehome on that obviously is not $41,600, it is more like $30,000 a year which is exactly what I said. That is providing you pay taxes and insurance(which here in America we do) then take about $5200 away from that($100 a week spending while on the road, average that is) and you have an annual take home of $24,800. Anybody on here will tell you that my numbers are real close for the average driver. I agree that flatbed pays a little more than van, but the time you will spend with a trainer is longer also, so therefore your actual pay may be a little less. A company is not gonna pay you $.23 per mile with a trainer, most average around $.12 per mile while with a trainer(which is usually 5-7 weeks depending on the company). So that means that for the first 2 months that you are a newbie your pay will roughly average $500 a week or less depending on how many miles the trainer wants to drive or thinks you are able to drive. And the company still takes taxes out of that, so you can figure $400 takehome, plus you still have to live on the roadso you can figure $100 a week for that, so your takehome is $300. If you dont beleive that, then call the companies and ask. Or ask other drivers here, we have all been there and did that. Some may have got lucky and got more, and some may have got less--I am speaking in averages.

Like I said previously, if you are truly a trucker's wife(like your profile says) then you already know this, but you just like to argue.