I've seen a ton of info on pay and benefits and what to expect starting out going OTR. However, I haven't seen much about what happens after you get your 1-2yrs OTR? I know the pay goes up, but is it worth it? How about home time? Seems starting out most big companies do the 7 days out, earn one day of hometime. Does that still hold true of drivers with 4-5yrs experience at the same company or do they get more? Does everyone quit after 1-2 yrs at the starter company then use their OTR experience to leverage them into a better position at another company.

I'm trying to figure out if going trucking would be a good move for me. I know that starting out will be a rude awakening, but it might be worth it if things are better after 1-2 yrs. If not then whats the point? I worked as an auto mechanic for 8yrs and one of the reasons I left was because there wasn't a better position that I could work myself into. There was no where to move up in the company. It was a good company, but I couldn't see myself doing the same job for the next 30yrs. I know there are a lot of different avenues in trucking, I'm just trying to find out if its that much better after you pay your dues.

Thanks,
Kevo

Traditionally otr will give you about 36 hours off per weekend wether you have 1 year of experience or 10. This is why there is such a high turnover in this segment. After drivers earn their stripes they look for dedicated routes to be home more often and earn comparable pay to what they did as an otr driver. Many of the local gigs offer great pay, benefits, and hometime but you have to have several years of safe driving and a clean mvr to qualify for these choice assignments. The best jobs are rarely ever advertised and usually are word of mouth between drivers and friends or family.
The companies that advertise each and every month have such a high turnover they need new drivers every month. You should really think about this when you next decide to apply at a mega carrier (companies with a thousand trucks or more).