Hi,
Here it goes. I'm starting CDL school Jan. 8th. Feb.5th (or there about) I start with Werner for the 8 weeks OTR training at $325/wk. They say after my training the average is $.352 per mile and $37,306 avg. annual pay for less than 1 yr. driving.(that's including bonus')
My question is, how close do you think this is to being accurate? (I'll be driving the "National Fleet" about 2700 miles/week)
I need to make at LEAST $33k.

Okay I'm on a roll of questions now
Do I need a CB radio at first?
How much out of pocket $$ will be needed per week?
Can some one explain "per diem" in layman terms?

-rom

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no, you do not need a cb radio right now. wait till you get on the road with your trainer, then shop around at the various truckstops and buy the brand YOU want for a good price, usually around $100.

how much "out of pocket" money do you need each week........??
depends on how much you eat each day. if you're going to eat 3 full square meals a day, then figure around $150.00 just for food, sodas, coffee's, candy, chips, dips, etc.etc. once you go flat broke by shelling out all sorts of money for "junk food", you'll learn real fast how to curb your appetite.

as for per-diem, its been so long since i had to deal with that, someone else will inform you.

If you smoke, figure an average of $5 a pack. Add that to your weekly total.

Per diem is complicated and I am not the guy to go into that but, I learned long ago that Per Diem can kill you at Tax Time.

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Do the math (.352 times 2700 equals $950.40 per week times 52 weeks equals $4942.08 per year).
The problem is that Warner starts you off at 28 cents (not 35 cents) per mile and this comes to a whopping $39,312.00.
This is a lot of work but this is what the trucking companies get away with on newbies (untill legislators catch up with them).
Also there is a lot of information on Werner in this web site, most of which is bad.

Yeah, .28 but they said their average guys make .35.. That's with bonus' and all..
Any way that I can get away with being "pushed" around by Werner so I don't have to do their crap work?

[quote=romtang;99943]Yeah, .28 but they said their average guys make .35.. That's with bonus' and all..quote]
My father, who is not only a 40+ yr trucking vet but also the wisest man I know, always told me to NEVER count on a bonus as a part of your salary. From what I know from close friends who used to drive for Werner, it'd be hard for you to make more than 30K/yr. One of my friends got every bonus he could over the 4 months he worked there. After his wife told him she was going to go get food stamps since they were falling behind on every bill and running short on grocery money for their 5 kids, he quit, went back to the oilfield to catch things up, then came back to driving. Even though you may or may not have a wife and 5 kids, I would seriously recommend you seek out an alternative to this company. There are much better companies for rookies.

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Keep that diesel burnin' and those tires turnin', but get there safe to keep on earnin'!!

From my 5 weeks training at Werner, Scarecrow hits the nail right on the head in his post. I was totally misled by my recruiter & the ad on careerbuilder.com that I would be making 35,000-40,000 my first year. My recruiter sent me a letter saying I can expect to make 36K, the ad on carerbuilder said 40K. While I was at orientation, my roomate at the hotel said you will be lucky to make 30K. My trainer said the exact same thing as did some other Werner drivers I met out on the road. I know your training lasts roughly about 2 months. You only make 325-350 per week during that period. I was FURIOUS when I found out about the amount of $$ I was expected to make my first year. I fully expected to make at least 35K. Don't count on bonuses either. From what I have seen & heard, they are almost impossible to get. If I were you I would consider starting your career with someone other than Werner. I got about 3/4 of my training done, took my PTO(paid time off) & am not going back with them. I personally would recommend to someone who just got their CDL to find local work driving some type of straight truck:bus, cement truck, dump truck, delivery truck, etc. unless your heart is set on being out on the road all of the time. good luck

Hey thanks for the warning. I already (3 days ago) paid my $200 deposit at the local training school. Before training begins I will be required to sign the 1 yr contract. The school is sponsered by Werner. I do have a wife and 3 girls.
Crete out of Lincoln said that after I get training (CDL) over with if I decide to leave Werner I could hire on with them. They said as long as they know IN ADVANCE that's what I plan on doing, they won't hold it against me since my work history at Werner would be so short. They pay alot better and give you $500/wk while with trainer.
Gotta run, I look forward to ALL your advise/help..
Thanks,
rOm

Do you need a cell phone for trucking? I guess what I am asking is I have a cell phone but don't want to run up a bill calling shippers. I have alltel and have all my "My Circle" filled up.